Vote on BellSouth Deal Omitted From Next FCC Meeting
By Molly Peterson
Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Federal Communications Commission decided not to vote on AT&T Inc.'s $86 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. at its Dec. 20 meeting, lessening the prospects for approval this month.
The agenda for the meeting, released late today, does include a vote on rules making it easier for telephone companies to sell television service.
The FCC hasn't indicated when it will vote on the BellSouth sale. Two Republican commissioners and two Democrats have been deadlocked for months on what, if any, conditions to impose on the deal. They are waiting for the fifth member, Republican Robert McDowell, to decide whether to vote to break the tie.
McDowell sat out of the commission's negotiations because of his past work as a lobbyist for rivals of AT&T and BellSouth. FCC General Counsel Samuel Feder ruled on Dec. 8 that a vote by McDowell would serve the government's interest. McDowell, who has been reviewing Feder's opinion and related materials this week, hasn't decided whether he will vote.
Before today's announcement, AT&T Chief Financial Officer Richard Lindner said the company is still holding out for regulatory approval of the transaction this month.
"The merger's going to be approved," Lindner said in a telephone interview today. "I don't think it will be an extended approval process from this point."
Federal rules don't require the FCC to vote in public, so the commission could approve the deal later this month, in a secet session, if at least three members agree to support it.
Conditions Sought
The panel's Democrats, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, are demanding conditions such as price controls and airwave license sales, moves resisted by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, both Republicans.
Next week, the commission plans to vote on rules that would make it easier for companies including AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. to sell television service.
Martin said last week he circulated a proposal to the other four commissioners to require local franchise authorities to decide within
90 days on some phone-company applications to offer TV in competition with cable providers.FCC action may speed the companies' efforts to offer TV service and counter cable companies such as Comcast Corp. that have lured phone customers by packaging calling services with TV and high-speed Internet access. The phone companies say lengthy negotiations with hundreds of local agencies have hindered their attempts to offer TV service and raised costs.
Martin's plan would require local authorities to rule within 90 days on video-franchise applications from companies that already have a community's rights-of-way, such as a phone carrier with existing lines in the region, the chairman told reporters after giving a speech Dec. 6.
The proposal would also limit the fees local agencies can require new TV providers to pay as part of franchise deals, Martin said. The FCC also may curb local regulators' ability to impose ``build-out'' rules, which typically require a company to eventually offer service to all households in that region.
To contact the reporter on this story: Molly Peterson in Washington at snipped-for-privacy@bloomberg.net
NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at