IP Democracy: FCC Green Lights Telco Mergers

As expected, the FCC today gave its approval to the mergers of SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI. While the FCC found that the mergers can limit competition in some circumstances where only one provider might be left, it concluded that the consent decrees the telcos entered into with the Department of Justice on October 27, requiring some spin-offs of certain properties, are sufficient to protect consumers.

The Commission did, however, require certain enforceable but voluntary (huh?) conditions on the new companies. Among these are agreements by the companies

*not to raise rates for certain services,

*not to provide special access services to themselves that are not available to similarly situated customers,

*to maintain for three years settlement-free peering arrangements with at least as many providers of Internet backbone services as they did in combination on the merger closing dates, and

*to provide “naked” DSL (DSL service on a standalone basis with no requirement that phone service also be purchased) service within their regions within twelve months.

State reviews are pending for SBC in Arizona, California and Ohio.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on October 31, 2005 3:21 PM to IP Democracy