When Qwest's buyout of US West was finalized last week, the new company agreed to give up long-distance service customers in the 14 states formerly served by US West. The federal government will not allow so-called baby bells, such as US West, to offer long distance service until they have competition to provide local service. The buyout gives Qwest a monopoly on local service in the 14 US West states, but the company wants to surrender that advantage so it can re-enter the long distance market. Lew Wilks, President of Internet and Multi-media markets at Qwest, says moving into the extremely competitive long distance market makes business sense.