Om Malik says Senators Mike DeWine (R) and Herb Kohl (D) want AT&T/BellSouth combo to divest some of their WiMAX spectrum. The $67 billion BellSouth/AT&T merger is under review and needs to be approved by the Department of Justice and the FCC.
DeWine, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, and Kohl, the panel’s top Democrat, noted in their letter that a merged AT&T-BellSouth would control substantial spectrum in the 2.3-gigahertz and 2.5-GHz bands. As a result, fewer frequencies would be available for competitors to offer high-speed, wireless Internet service with the WiMAX technology, they said.
The FCC’s Kevin Martin is pushing for an Oct. 12 vote on the proposed AT&T-BellSouth merger. The two companies are also 60 percent and 40 percent owners, respectively, of Cingular Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile carrier, notes RCR News. BellSouth has considerable WiMAX spectrum, especially at 2.3 GHz.
DeWine and Kohl want the combined companies to divest their 2.5GHz spectrum so it’s not horded.
Malik adds:
Given that DeWine is one of the biggest recipients of AT&T’s campaign dollars, one wonders how serious he is about the divesture, or is just making political hay and giving the matter lip-service.
.gif)
