Spirit of St. Louis haunts SBC-Ameritech merger plan; regulators' approval may hinge on duel that was about to occur in city

Article Abstract:

Regulatory approval of the $56 billion merger between SBC Communications and Ameritech could depend on how the Justice Department views the giant Bell telephone companies's earlier plans to compete in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Ameritech in 1997 planned to attack SBC's residential business by bundling its own selling local and cellular-phone services. By comparison, terms of the merger may result in Ameritech's divestiture of its cellular property in Missouri as well as its planned local-service. A key question centers on the breadth and depth of Ameritech's original plans. The Justice Department will have difficulty proving that customers would receive lower prices and better service by keeping the Bells separate in areas of 'potential competition.' Ameritech and SBC hold around 90% of the St. Louis area cellular-phone market, according to analysts.

Mergers, acquisitions and divestments, Company acquisition/merger, AT&T Inc., SBC, Saint Louis, Missouri, AIT, Ameritech Corp.

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Europe's phone giants skirt deregulation; new entrants to market complain of high fees

Article Abstract:

Western Europe's $130 billion telecommunications market will be officially opened to international competition in Jan 1998, but interconnection fees, the charges national monopolies charge rival carriers for usage of their phone lines, remain a major barrier to free trade. The old national monopolies own virtually all telecommunications networks in Europe, and charge rivals high rates. US carriers AT&T, MCI, and Sprint are all hoping to compete for European market share, as are many smaller companies. Omnitel-Pronto Italia, a cellular phone carrier, pays 30% of its revenue to Telecom Italia. In Germany, where the telecommunications market is worth $44 billion annually, the issue has proved very contentious. The US telecommunications market is also seeing a raging debate over access fees.

Forecasts and trends, Industry trend, International aspects, Telecommunications Industry

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