FCC Vote on the Deal for BellSouth Is Put Off

FCC VOTE ON THE DEAL FOR BELLSOUTH IS PUT OFF
[SOURCE: New York Times 11/3, AUTHOR: Ken Belson]
The Federal Communications Commission delayed voting on AT&T’s purchase of BellSouth for the third time as the Commissioners remained far apart on what, if any, terms to impose on the $80 billion deal. The Commissioners were supposed to vote at a regularly scheduled meeting Friday. Last month, they delayed votes twice on the deal, which was announced in March. No other meetings are scheduled this month, though the Commissioners could hold a vote at any time. But the Republican and Democratic Commissioners, as well as the companies, are not making much progress in reaching an agreement. The FCC is the only organization remaining that must endorse the deal. The companies have already won approval from their shareholders, state regulators and the Justice Department.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/business/03phone.html
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* Progress has slowed on AT&T/BellSouth
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said on Friday progress had slowed on reaching a compromise to approve AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth. "We have made progress," Chairman Martin told reporters after the FCC's public meeting. "I always try to work with my colleagues but I think we're still pretty far apart and I think the progress has slowed." Martin needs to either negotiate with fellow Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein or seek a ruling from the FCC's general counsel to permit Commissioner Robert McDowell to vote. McDowell has said he would not vote on the acquisition because he previously worked for a group that represented AT&T and BellSouth competitors. Chairman Martin left the door open to the latter option saying, "I've been focused up until now, up until today, on just trying to make sure that we work through all the different alternatives that any of the commissioners have proposed. We're going to continue to end up doing that, but we do have to take a step back and try to figure where we should end up going from here. "
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=governmentFilingsNews&storyID=2006-11-03T161600Z_01_N03364273_RTRIDST_0_TELECOMS-BELLSO...

* FCC Delays AT&T Merger Vote Again
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=19545&hed=FCC+Delays+AT%26amp%3BT+Merger+Vote+Again