With the U.S. Senate's confirmation of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to a five-year term last week, the FCC planets are nearly aligned for approval of AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth without the requirement of any onerous concessions.
The final link to be closed is represented by Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell, who had recused himself from deliberations and voting on the issue because he was formerly employed by the Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel), a telecom industry lobbying organization.
AT&T senior VP Chris Rooney expressed confidence over the weekend that the acquisition would be consummated without the firms having to give up additional concessions. Traveling in a business entourage with President Bush in Vietnam, Rooney expressed confidence the deal would be completed this calendar year, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.
"We have great optimism in what we are doing with the FCC," he said.
The FCC has been divided along political lines on the merger with Martin and another Republican commissioner, Deborah Taylor Tate, favoring approval. Democratic Party appointees Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have balked on approving the deal, leaving the commission split 2-2.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
