Business Notes MERGERS

Some of the busiest telephone lines these days are those between phone-company executives putting together mergers. Last week the circuits were jammed, as giant GTE announced plans to acquire Atlanta-based Contel for $6 billion and form the nation's largest provider of local service and second-largest cellular-phone company. A shadow was cast over the agreement, however, when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit, charging that insiders had bought Contel stock before the accord was announced.

Last December McCaw Cellular Communications agreed to acquire New York City- based LIN Broadcasting for $3.4 billion. Then in February Contel vaulted from 13th to sixth among cellular companies by acquiring McCaw's Southeastern operations for $1.3 billion. After the GTE announcement, investors snapped up stocks of other likely merger candidates, including Southern New England Telecommunications, Lincoln Telecommunications and Rochester Telephone.