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Technology Stocks : AT&T -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark H. who wrote (1960)	2/18/1999 5:30:00 AM
From: Ed Stines	Respond to of 4298

AT&T-TCI merger gets FCC nod WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday approved AT&T's plan to acquire cable giant Tele-Communications Inc., a deal that could provide consumers a new choice for local phone service. The deal was valued at nearly $32 billion when it was announced in June. Details weren't available, but FCC officials said no major conditions were imposed on the merger. The FCC did not force AT&T and TCI to provide other companies with access to TCI's high-speed cable TV lines, said FCC sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Consumer groups, America Online and others had pressed the agency to require AT&T to give other companies access to those lines to offer competing services. Shareholders of AT&T and TCI also approved the deal in separate meetings Wednesday. The merger plan must also be approved by local cable franchising authorities. Some local authorities want to provide rivals access to TCI's high-speed lines, but it's unclear if they would have the authority to force changes. For consumers, the merger holds the promise of providing a new choice for local phone service - a prospect appealing to regulators, who want to crack open local phone monopolies to competition. And it offers one-stop shopping for local calling, Internet access and long-distance service. AT&T is the nation's largest telecommunications company and biggest provider of mobile phone services. TCI is the nation's second-largest cable TV company, with lines that reach one-third of U.S. homes. Many of TCI's lines have been upgraded to permit cable TV customers to connect their computers to the Internet and gain access to online data at speeds up to 100 times faster than conventional telephone lines. Eventually, AT&T intends to make TCI's lines capable of providing customers with local phone service, too. AT&T has a separate agreement with cable company Time Warner to provide local phone service over its high-speed cable TV lines. More cable agreements are expected. The cable agreements would give AT&T a way to get into homes without having to rely on phone lines controlled by the regional Bell companies, which dominate the local phone market. Through the merger, AT&T also will control TCI's stake in AtHome, a leading provider of high-speed Internet access. Consumer groups have said AT&T could charge extra if customers got Internet service over the merged companies' lines and wanted another Internet service provider, such as AOL. But federal regulators are not expected to set any conditions on that part of the deal. The Justice Department approved the merger in December on condition that TCI sell its interest in a rival mobile phone company, Sprint PCS. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to Moneyline Go to Money front page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Front page, News, Sports, Money, Life, Weather, Marketplace ©COPYRIGHT 1999 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.