Well, it has been approved today, after the removal of a key hurdle yesterday with AT&T making some major concessions, says a WSJ alert. The agency approved the deal, the largest ever in U.S. telecom history, by a unanimous 4-0 vote. The merger creates a behemoth that will have a market capitalization of over $220 billion — more than double that of nearest rival Verizon Communications — and will serve over 70 million local phone customers in 22 states, as well as 10 million broadband users.
AT&T will also take full control of cellphone operator Cingular Wireless, which has been a joint venture with BellSouth. AT&T is expected to begin phasing out the Cingular brand beginning early next year, replacing it with the AT&T moniker.
Subscriber content
?
Subscriber content comes from Gigaom Research, bridging the gap between breaking news and long-tail research. Visit any of our reports to learn more and subscribe.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Comments have been disabled for this post