AT&T-Bellsouth merger in sight

ATT and Bellsouth are trying to get approval to their merger from March 06. Up to now, the five members of the FCC general counsel were split 2 pros and 2 cons, with the fifth, McDowell, refusing to vote for ethical reasons (employment by CLEC CompTel that has filed documents opposing this merger). The FCC has now cleared McDowell to vote on the merger. So everybody now expects the deal would finally be approved, and analysts forecast the deal will be approved with fewer concessions than ATT has already offered to give.