You probably already know that Congress is considering an overhaul to the '96 Telecom Act this year. But you might not know about the dirty tricks and underhanded tactics that telephone, cable and Internet companies are trying to use to sway Congress in their favor. The giant telecom companies are setting up Astroturf (fake grassroots) organizations and other front groups.

Common Cause plans to release a report next week exposing nine such groups. Here are a few excerpts from our findings:

• Keep It Local NJ says it is "a growing coalition of concerned Garden State citizens" that wants "to ensure equal access and fairness for all in the delivery of cable television service." Guess that's true if you consider Comcast, Time Warner and other cable providers to be part of the New Jersey citizenry.
• The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) is a Washington, DC think tank ...[with a] list of corporate donors [that] reads like a who's who list of the telecommunications industry.
• The Internet Innovation Alliance does not disclose how much its "members" contribute to the organization, but in the case of AT&T, it appears to be enough to have bought IIA's silence.

Stay tuned next week for the full report.