Fergie's Tech Blog

Is the AT&T-BellSouth Merger in Trouble?

Mark Del Bianco writes on C|Net News:

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that regulatory approval of the proposed AT&T-BellSouth merger is a done deal. The consensus is that this deal will sail through with flying colors--and a few not very onerous merger conditions.

The conventional wisdom may be wrong. There is a twist that ought to give the regulators pause. Both BellSouth and AT&T own considerable chunks of prime wireless spectrum that is unused and that could quickly and relatively cheaply be used to provide broadband services that would compete with telecom and cable wireline broadband services--in other words, the long-sought "third pipe" to the home or business.

posted by Fergie @ 4/04/2006 06:51:00 AM