Saturday, October 29, 2005

FCC delays votes on telecom deals

A Reuters newswire article, via CNN/Money, reports that:

The Federal Communications Commission said it postponed until Monday a meeting to vote on Verizon Communications' $8.6 billion purchase of MCI Inc. and SBC Communications Inc.'s $16 billion acquisition of AT&T Corp.

The FCC had tried to schedule votes several times Friday, but sources close to the matter said the commissioners and staff were still reviewing and negotiating conditions the agency may require before clearing the deals.

The agency plans to take up the mergers at a public meeting that is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET Monday. An FCC spokesman declined to comment on the reason for the delay.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin had proposed approving the deals without any conditions. The agency is split with two Republicans and two Democrats so Martin must convince at least one Democrat to support his decision or reach a compromise.

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