Instead, company officials are scheduled to appear before the public service commission in September. CenturyLink is seeking to be partially deregulated in parts of Wyoming that are closest to cities and towns in Wyoming.

If it is deregulated in those areas, the company would be free to set rates, Lee said.

CenturyLink used to be Qwest and, before that, U.S. West, Mountain Bell and AT&T. Since the late 1800s, it has been the monopoly phone company in Wyoming. But these days, the company has plenty of competition in those areas.

Now the company provides Internet, too, Lee said.

A third group of telecommunication companies is the competitive carriers coalition, which is not regulated in Wyoming but is regulated federally. The coalition supports a law passed in 2013 that exempted Internet protocol-enabled services from regulation under the Wyoming Telecommunications Act.

It would like that exemption to continue in the new act, said David Piccard, a lobbyist representing the Satellite Broadcast and Communications Association.

Reach political reporter Laura Hancock at 307-266-0581 or at laura.hancock@trib.com. Follow her on Twitter: @laurahancock.

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