Qwest Communications International Inc.

Qwest Communications International Inc. reported a 6 percent drop in third-quarter profit Wednesday as customers continue to give up traditional landline telephones.

Qwest has been struggling to find ways to grow sales as its industry shrinks. It offers local phone service in 14 Western states and customers have been siphoned off by competition from cable and cell phone providers.

This summer it fell behind CenturyLink into fourth place among U.S. phone companies by number of lines in service. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are the two largest.

Qwest Communications International Inc. is doubling its top Internet download speeds in some areas to keep up with the offerings of cable companies.

The phone company said Monday it is introducing a plan with download speeds of up to 40 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 20 mbps in parts of 15 cities, including Denver; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Salt Lake City; Seattle and Vancouver, Wash.; and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

It costs $110 per month for the first year when combined with home phone service.

Minnesota officials are trying a novel tactic to block online gambling sites -- using a federal law that enables restrictions on phone calls used for wagering.

The state's Department of Public Safety said Wednesday it had asked 11 Internet service providers to block access to 200 online gambling sites.

The state is citing a federal law that requires "common carriers," a term that mainly applies to phone companies, to comply with requests that they block telecommunications services used for gambling.

The initial stab by the U.S. government to promote high-speed Internet access has something to disappoint nearly everyone.

Most communications companies and consumer advocacy groups say the $6 billion in broadband stimulus measures contained in the House Democrats' $825 billion economic recovery package are a good first step. But they warn that the money won't be nearly sufficient to meet incoming President Barack Obama's objective of providing affordable high-speed Internet access to all U.S. households.

The lack of high-speed Internet access in some areas of the U.S. has been hotly debated, even as that digital divide has narrowed. But a new, wider gap is being created by technology that will make today's broadband feel as slow as a dial-up connection.

Much like broadband enabled downloads of music, video and work files that weren't practical over dial-up, the next generation of Internet connections will allow for vivid, lifelike video conferencing and new kinds of interactive games.