Supreme Court Rejects Qwest’s Appeal

Qwest Communications International Inc., which acquired regional phone carrier US West Inc. in July, lost a U.S. Supreme Court bid to topple Washington state rules that buttress the rights of new entrants in the $100-billion local phone business. The justices, without comment, let stand a San Francisco-based federal appeals court decision upholding the Washington rules. In rejecting Qwest’s appeal, the justices passed on a chance to revisit a complex set of issues they last considered in a 1999 decision. In that case, the high court said, among other things, that the Federal Communications Commission has authority over the prices and terms incumbent local phone companies can demand for access to their networks. Local and long-distance companies are now fighting over particular rules--both at the FCC and at the state level, where some regulators are continuing to press their own deregulation requirements. Although Denver-based Qwest also sells long-distance service, it took the side of local phone companies in the legal fray. Qwest rose $1.81 to close at $41.56 on the NYSE.