Next Step in Phone Deal: P.R.

[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz@wsj.com and Anne Marie Squeo annemarie.squeo@wsj.com]
As AT&T and BellSouth make the case for their $67 billion merger, they'll be counting on their vaunted lobbying clout to win over skeptical lawmakers and regulators. Their efforts could be complicated by two factors: The changing makeup of the Federal Communications Commission and a push to rewrite the landmark 1996 telecommunications law. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin may support the deal, but the Commission's two Democrats likely will cast a skeptical eye toward such a transaction, especially given talk by phone companies to charge technology companies extra to guarantee speedy delivery on their networks. Chairman Martin will probably soon have a Republican majority on the 5-seat Commission, but newly-confirmed Commission Deborah Taylor Tate remains largely an unknown figure in Washington. Ms. Tate, whose term expires in June 2007, has kept her home in Tennessee and is expected to return there and possibly run for office, so she may not want to adopt a position that is perceived as anticonsumer. The other Republican seat is vacant. President Bush has nominated veteran telecommunications attorney Robert McDowell to fill that slot. Mr. McDowell is assistant general counsel for Comptel, a group that represents small phone companies that have fought pitched battles with the Bells over access rates and interconnection issues.
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