WHOSE DOMAIN?

You've got to hand it to Congress. Nobody knows how to work the system as well as the representatives and senators on Capitol Hill. Currently, there is lobbying aplenty on the Hill as the House takes one of what should be about a half dozen swipes at rewriting the Telecommunications Act. The U.S. Telecom Association, CompTel, the Association of Local Telecommunications, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and other concerned groups are preparing for what may be next legislative session's battle royal over who gets what piece of whose network at what price and what's off-limits. But not before another election cycle, which means it's time for all the lobbying groups to open their checkbooks and make some generous contributions. That's the way the system works. Propose some legislation that is important to a lot of groups with a lot of money, knowing that with all Congress has on its plate, it's unlikely anything will happen for at least a year — after the entire House is re-elected. Then extend your hand. Perhaps no issue is more important in the next Telecom Act, though, than whether certain services fall under the auspices of federal, state or local regulators. And that's where things get tricky for those doling out campaign contributions. Because while it may appear that states tend to favor telcos on some issues while local regulators seem to fall in line with cable operators on others, that status quo has a way of changing in the blink of an eye. Even at the federal level, one sea change of an election and suddenly, all of the pieces have been rearranged