It is election season so this move is not wholly unexpected: The FCC has once again delayed the vote to greenlight the AT&T-BellSouth merger. This marks the third such delay from the FCC since the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice unequivacolly approved the merger last month. Just before the last scheduled vote on October 13, the two Democrat FCC commissioners asked for more time because the DOJ did not impose and conditions on the deal. Apparently, the three week delay did not change any of the commissioners' minds. Some industry pundits believe the fifth commissioner, Republican Robert McDowell, may be forced to come in as a tie-breaker, even though he recused himself because he had previously worked for Comptel, an organization that opposes the merger.
For more on AT&T-BellSouth merger:
- see this article from News.com