Reuter’s Jeremy Pelofsky kicked up a dust storm yesterday with this report on AT&T’s submission of voluntary conditions it will accept to break the stalemate at the FCC over approval of its purchase of BellSouth.
Although the FCC had been expected to approve the merger yesterday with no conditions, the recusal of one Republican commissioner has pitted the FCC’s Chairman Kevin Martin and Republican commissioner Deborah Tate against the two Democratic commissioners, Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps — the latter two are holding out for a tougher ruling than Martin’s no-conditions decision.
AT&T stepped into the picture yesterday and offered a compromise.
“We have put a full set of conditions on the table that are reasonable and protect consumers,” Robert Quinn, AT&T’s senior regulatory lawyer, told Reuters. “I want a deal with these guys; we want a 4-0 vote.”
That statement sent foes of the deal through the roof. Two competitive telcos, NuVox and XO, filed an emergency petition to require disclosure of these conditions, which the carriers contend are prohibited ex parte communications. AT&T didn’t file these conditions in the public docket, as Commission and Government in the Sunshine laws require.
The FCC’s special meeting to vote on the AT&T-BellSouth deal is slated to begin today at 11 a.m.
Cynthia Brumfield at 10:32 AM|Comments(0)
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