"FCC Chief Cites Internet Weak Spot" Wall Street Journal (07/31/02) P. A2; Dreazen, Yochi J. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell told the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday that he might not be able to stop WorldCom from shutting down its Internet backbone service, UUNet. Although Powell was confident of his ability to prevent phone services from being abruptly dropped, he said telecommunications and bankruptcy laws were at odds, and made his authority over Internet services unclear. Powell also said the current consolidation going on in the telecommunications market was unavoidable and might necessitate a previously untenable merger, such as one between long distance carrier WorldCom and one of the Baby Bell companies. Committee Chairman Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) said he was set to introduce new legislation that would give the FCC more control in cases of bankruptcy. Hollings, however, said he would block one bill coming in from the House of Representatives that would give the FCC more powers because it would also make the Baby Bell local monopolies more dominant in the broadband arena. Powell noted that backbone companies may be legally able to ignore FCC directives and start cutting service to customers before they have a chance to switch providers. http://www.msnbc.com/news/788023.asp