A regulatory shakeup may mean that cities across California are likely to see more and more new telephone service providers - like Santa Barbara's Blue Casa Communications - sprout up and challenge Verizon's local service monopoly.

A mid-March decision by the state Public Utilities Commission ordering Verizon to lower its wholesale prices subsequently allowed companies like Blue Casa to buy local service from the telecom giant and resell it, but with different pricing structures and options.

The reselling scheme is one of the few options for phone service newcomers because "the nation is going to allow 44 different companies to string lines on every telephone pole or every house in every neighborhood," said Blue Casa CEO Don Oas, whose company is only a few weeks old.

"And frankly, Santa Barbara has paid for all its telephone lines - they're very much public domain - and that's why the Public Utilities Commission opened it up to competition."

Verizon spokesman John Davies said California already has about 100 small startups offering local service and that his company welcomes any new competition.

Still, according to Oas, the PUC's decision came late; he said California has lagged several years behind other states in creating a competitive climate in the local service industry.

Although Oas refused to disclose how many customers he has, he said he knows the exact number and updates it throughout the day.

"I check (the customer base) first thing in the morning and then pretty much all day long ...," he said. "A month ago we were working to be the first to introduce choice into Verizon territory, and we made it. It's been an extremely thrilling ride."