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Regulators Taking Careful Look at Sprint Merger
The proposed merger of Sprint Corp. and MCI WorldCom is getting tough scrutiny from regulators, with some indicating that the merger might not gain approval from the U.S. Department of Justice or the Federal Communications Commission.
The Justice Dept. has hired an outside antitrust attorney to review the merger, a move usually limited to such high profile cases as the Microsoft review, according to industry observers. The investigation will focus on the impact the merger would have on Internet and residential long-distance service.
The FCC also must review the merger, and Chairman William Kennard has said the companies "bear a heavy burden to show that consumers will be better off."
CWA strongly opposes MCI WorldCom's takeover as anti-competitive and harmful to consumers, especially those customers of Sprint's local telephone operations. It also would result in substantial job loss, as MCI WorldCom failed to create the 10,000 jobs that it promised regulators would result from the merger of those two companies. Instead it cut more than 3,000 jobs.
A policy briefing last month by CWA's Research Department, the Consumer Project on Technology and the National Consumers League outlined the negative impact this mega-merger would have on consumers, workers and communities to a growing audience of consumer groups and policy analysts.
The Justice Dept. has hired an outside antitrust attorney to review the merger, a move usually limited to such high profile cases as the Microsoft review, according to industry observers. The investigation will focus on the impact the merger would have on Internet and residential long-distance service.
The FCC also must review the merger, and Chairman William Kennard has said the companies "bear a heavy burden to show that consumers will be better off."
CWA strongly opposes MCI WorldCom's takeover as anti-competitive and harmful to consumers, especially those customers of Sprint's local telephone operations. It also would result in substantial job loss, as MCI WorldCom failed to create the 10,000 jobs that it promised regulators would result from the merger of those two companies. Instead it cut more than 3,000 jobs.
A policy briefing last month by CWA's Research Department, the Consumer Project on Technology and the National Consumers League outlined the negative impact this mega-merger would have on consumers, workers and communities to a growing audience of consumer groups and policy analysts.