If the FCC (officially) gives the nod this week...do you know when the deal will close?
How about today <g>...
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U.S. FCC approves AT&T, TCI deal
February 17, 1999 04:30 PM
WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday approved AT&T Corp.'s T $48 billion acquisition of cable giant Tele-Communications Inc. TCOMA , removing the final major hurdle holding up the deal.
The approval, which was widely expected, allows AT&T to offer high-speed Internet services over TCI's cable facilities without making the network equally available to other Internet service providers.
The merger "is likely to result in benefits for consumers, including a local telephony alternative for many residential customers now served only by incumbent local exchange companies, without creating competitive harm with respect to other services," the FCC said in a statement.
The deal also jump starts AT&T's efforts to break into the market for local telephone service and offer customers a bundle of local, long-distance and Internet services. FCC officials hope the deal will finally create substantial competition to the regional Bell companies that so far have had a stranglehold on the residential local phone market.
FCC approval followed a similar move by the Justice Department, which approved the transaction as long as the companies sold off TCI's wireless telephone investment.
Earlier on Wednesday, shareholders of New York-based AT&T and Englewood, Colorado-based TCI approved the merger by wide margins.
((Aaron Pressman, Washington newsroom, 202-898-8312)) REUTERS |
