WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court refused Monday to intervene and temporarily extend federal regulations that force regional phone carriers to share their networks with competitors at discounted rates.

In Maine, the high court’s refusal could eventually mean higher phone and Internet access rates for consumers.

Regional companies, such as Verizon Communications Inc., BellSouth Corp., Qwest Communications International Inc. and SBC Communications Inc., said the decision would have no immediate effect on service or prices.

But long-distance companies such as AT&T and MCI Inc., which want a bigger share of the local market, claim the ruling could lead eventually to higher rates and less competition.

MCI said Monday that it may have to raise rates and abandon some markets, but the company offered no specifics.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist refused to grant a stay sought by AT&T, MCI and an association of state utility regulators.

The decision means that government network-sharing rules intended to make local phone service more competitive will expire today. An appeals court threw out the rules, and the Bush administration last week decided not to ask the Supreme Court to review the lower court’s decision.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said Monday that the FCC would begin work soon on interim rules. Meantime, he encouraged the phone companies to negotiate deals, saying “commercial agreements remain the best way for all parties to control their destiny.”

In Maine, some competitive long-distance telephone service carriers and Internet service providers are nervous because the federal government no longer is requiring discount pricing to promote competition.

With no government-mandated rules to ensure competition, the result could mean price increases for wholesalers that are passed on to consumers or the loss of competition altogether, especially in rural areas, said Phil Lindley, spokesman for the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

“That’s the fear,” Lindley said.

Verizon is the majority owner of telephone lines and systems in Maine, and it sells access to those networks at wholesale rates to companies that don’t have the money to invest in the infrastructure or that believe it’s more cost effective to just buy bulk usage from Verizon.

The rules that expire today affect what’s called “UNI-P” service – Verizon-owned networks that are not used by Verizon but are available for rent by companies such as MCI, AT&T and about 22 other companies in Maine to offer competitive long-distance service.

Companies such as MCI pay regional carriers monthly for each phone line. The price varies by state and region; most state prices are in the low $20s. Verizon, the largest regional company in the country, said it would like to raise prices $6 or $7 a line over three years.

The rate increases won’t occur this summer, Peter Reilly, Verizon-Maine spokesman, said Monday.

He said Verizon has notified its wholesale customers that it would give a 90-day notice when a rate increase is planned and “will make every effort to negotiate competitive contracts in good faith,” he added.

“The Verizon network will remain open to wholesale customers,” Reilly said. “We’ve also committed that we will not suddenly increase the wholesale charge to UNI-P any time this summer.”

A Verizon service called “interoffice facilities,” which primarily are used by Internet service providers that don’t have their own lines, is not supposed to be affected by the ruling, according to Fletcher Kittredge, founder and chief executive officer of Great Works Internet, based in Biddeford.

But, he added, Verizon notified him that the rates are subject to change now that the other local rules are expiring.

“Interoffice facilities” route Internet users from their computers to host Web sites – primarily the entire Web, Kittredge said.

“Verizon has said that if these [UNI-P] rules are overturned, there’s no rules,” Kittredge said. “We got a letter from Verizon that says ‘we reserve the right to charge for anything.’ That’s disconcerting to say the least.”

At Mid-Maine Communications, based in Bangor, no rate changes are expected because the company does not rely on Verizon’s network, according to spokesman Nick Winchester. Mid-Maine has invested in its own networks and only uses a Verizon service for “last-mile connectivity” to some homes.

“That’s not something affected by this decision,” Winchester said. “There’s no change of business for us.”

Kittredge said Verizon likely will not raise wholesale rates substantially because it “doesn’t want to take the huge public relation hits.” Plus, he added, Verizon, just like Great Works Internet, faces competition from cable companies.

The Supreme Court will announce this year whether it will hear the broader appeal. The government’s decision not to request the action makes high court review less likely.

NEWS business writer Deborah Turcotte and Associated Press writer Gina Holland compiled this report.