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Technology Stocks : The *NEW* Frank Coluccio Technology Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (17238)	10/15/2006 8:27:17 AM
From: Peter Ecclesine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46821

Communications Is Our Middle Name Amy Schatz, WSJ, October 13, 2006 Any spirit of bipartisanship at the Federal Communications Commission over the past two years under Republican Chairman Kevin Martin disappeared Friday morning when the board’s two Democrats refused to vote on AT&T Inc.’s $80 billion merger with BellSouth Corp. Fuming that the Justice Department approved the deal with no conditions and no consent decree – which means the deal wouldn’t be subject to a court review under the Tunney Act – Commissioner Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein fired off a pointed letter (well, by FCC standards) to Martin, asking for more time to review the deal and any conditions that might be imposed. Faced with a revolt on his hands, Martin agreed to delay the vote until Nov. 3, just four days before the election. Martin needs their votes since his Republican colleague Robert McDowell is likely to be recused from voting on the deal because of his previous job representing smaller phone companies. Control of Congress is up in the air as Election Day approaches, but that didn’t stop the Republican chairmen of the House and Senate committees who oversee the FCC – Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and Texas Rep. Joe Barton – from expressing their displeasure. “We certainly hope that the delays requested by Members of the Commission are substantive in nature, although the Commission has had ample time to debate the merits of AT&T’s acquisition of BellSouth,” the two said in a joint statement. –Amy Schatz