AT&T-BellSouth deal called 'Breakthrough' for Consumers

AT&T-BELLSOUTH DEAL CALLED 'BREAKTHROUGH' FOR CONSUMERS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
The Federal Communications Commission's handling of the $85 billion AT&T-BellSouth merger sets a "new baseline" for protecting the interests of consumers, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said in an interview over the weekend. The FCC's approval of the merger on Friday allowed the deal to close immediately. To secure the FCC's blessing, AT&T agreed to a list of consumer-friendly concessions. Among them: For the next 30 months, AT&T agreed to sell "naked" DSL -- meaning consumers don't have to buy any other service from AT&T to get the DSL service — for just $19.95 a month. That's less than half the $44.95 that AT&T now charges. AT&T also agreed to a "net neutrality" provision that will require the company to treat all broadband services, its own as well as rivals', equally for the next two years. That means AT&T can't favor its own traffic, in terms of transmission speed and quality. In addition, AT&T agreed to sell some unused wireless spectrum. That could enable a new rival to enter the market, creating more options for consumers. Commissioner Adelstein called the settlement a "breakthrough" for consumers in that it establishes a new standard of behavior for the USA's communications giants. Big companies such as AT&T and Comcast "have told the FCC that they can't live with a net neutrality provision in place," Adelstein said. "They can." The fact that AT&T agreed to such an aggressive net neutrality clause proves that, he said. Though the settlement applies only to AT&T, other companies will be hard-pressed to ignore it, says Gene Kimmelman, public policy director of Consumers Union. "There will be enormous scrutiny of any company that does not live by these standards." The concession on naked DSL is significant, Kimmelman says, because it will permit consumers to buy DSL and phone services from different companies without being financially penalized. Right now, he notes, AT&T charges as much for naked DSL as it does for DSL and phone combined.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070102/fcc02.art.htm