FCC agrees to changed AT&T/BellSouth condition

FCC AGREES TO CHANGED AT&T/BELLSOUTH CONDITION
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Releasing its approval of AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth, the Federal Communications Commission made a merger condition revision that benefits rivals Verizon and Qwest. AT&T is required to offer a reduced rate to other phone companies that use its networks to connect calls. That means former Bell phone companies Verizon and Qwest, which use AT&T networks in some U.S. regions, would also pay the lower rate. AT&T had previously agreed to cut the rate on the condition that Verizon and Qwest do the same, incurring the wrath of Verizon and Qwest and raising questions among some lawmakers. Since then, AT&T offered to modify the condition, even though it believes the original is "lawful and fully justified by market conditions." As part of the order, the FCC said AT&T will only have to offer the reduced rate for 39 months instead of 48 months. Stifel Nicolaus analysts noted the order "is modest good news for Verizon and Qwest, as they will no longer be subjected to the reciprocity requirement in order to benefit from the AT&T commitment to cut certain special-access rates."
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2720792220070327

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