IP Democracy: AT&T-BellSouth Merger Nears Final Approval

As expected, no news here, but the Justice Department plans to approve with no conditions the merger of AT&T-BellSouth as early as today, according to USA Today’s Paul Davidson. The green light from the antitrust agency could be the prelude to an FCC approval of the big telco combination tomorrow.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has recommended approving the deal, also with no conditions attached. But new commissioner Republican Robert McDowell is recusing himself from the vote due to past work fighting the large incumbent telcos, leaving Martin and fellow Republican Deborah Tate to a dead-even fight with the two Democratic commissioners, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.

So, the item could be pulled from the Commission’s agenda tomorrow. But really, no suspense here either. The Democrats could ask for some concessions, but they probably won’t be terrible and the deal will be approved by the FCC soon.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on October 11, 2006 9:23 AM to IP Democracy