Action On Telecom Mergers Said To Be Imminent

[SOURCE: National Journal's Insider Update, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Action by the Justice Department on the pending mergers of SBC Communications with AT&T and Verizon Communications with MCI could come today. The Justice Department is expected to require the companies to make hundreds of high capacity special access lines used by business customers accessible to competing telecom providers. But other sources predicted that the DoJ would require the companies to divest overlapping special access lines. Either way, the requirements to be imposed by the department’s Antitrust Division would not be substantial. FCC Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the mergers Friday. The FCC's review of the deals centers on protecting the public interest, while the Justice Department is focused on competitive issues. The FCC is expected to impose several conditions on the merger partners -- including the sale of stand-alone high-speed Internet service, reduced special access pricing and protections against discriminatory practices by the merged companies that might harm competitors.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-DICT1130365793774.html