WorldCom/MCI Merger - Backbone Monopoly?

[randy () its bldrdoc gov]

NANOG Participants -

Does the NANOG community have opinions regarding whether the 
WorldCom/MCI merger will result in what effectively could be
considered a "monopoly" of the Internet's backbone?  Say, for
argument, that WorldCom/MCI merger will result in its control of
60% of the Internet's backbone traffic (measured, perhaps, as a 
percentage of IP packets taken from all ingress "access ISPs" 
and provided to all egress "access ISPs").  Is there real 
concern that this type of backbone "control" will negatively 
affect ISPs in the short-, medium-, or long-term?  Does, for 
example, Qwest's planned deployment of a fiber infrastructure 
to become the "World's Biggest Internet Backbone" (WebWeek, 
Vol. 3, Issue 37, Nov. 10, 1997, p. 1) make such fears unfounded?  
Thanks in advance for any public or private responses on
this inquiry.

- Randy Bloomfield (303) 497-5489, randy () its bldrdoc gov 
(Note:  inquiry supports a technical research initiative of the 
Instiute for Telecommunication Sciences (Boulder, CO), a part of 
the U.S. Department of Commerce)