Senators bristle at FCC chief's enforcement of AT& T–BellSouth merger

USA TODAY, February, 2007 by Paul Davidson

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission faced tough questions from a Senate panel Thursday over his comments that he would not enforce a key condition the FCC imposed before approving of the AT&T-BellSouth merger.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, suggested FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, did not intend to "stand by the deal" and that he was obliged to withhold his vote and negotiate further if he had concerns about any of the conditions.

The $86 billion merger -- the largest in telecom history -- was approved in December by a 4-0 vote after weeks of negotiations between the commission's two Democrats and two Republicans.

The condition in question would require the combined company to slash the rates it charges competitors and big businesses to lease private, high-speed data lines in deregulated markets.

It was among a ...