In the past four years demand for 212 numbers has more than tripled thanks to second lines, modems, faxes and the emergence of about 30 small competitors which, says Nynex, buy telephone numbers in blocks of 10, 000.

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So obviously there are up and down numbers, and obviously some of the competitors have faced challenges.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

We currently estimate the user decline to slow down in the coming years, but if Perfect World continues to cede ground to its competitors, the actual user numbers could fall much below our estimate, and this could mean a significant downside to our price estimate for Perfect World.

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