FCC says it will act "in the best interest of consumers" regarding AT&T/BellSouth union

Meanwhile key consumer groups have announced that they will call upon the U.S. Justice Department to block the union, which would restore AT&T to the status of the world's biggest telecom carrier. On Sunday, March 5th, the Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America charged that the merger will boost the cost of local and long distance service, particularly in the Southeastern U.S., where the firms will no longer compete with each other to provide telephone and DSL service.

Consumer Federation of America director Mark Cooper said that the merge will result in an "unregulated duopoly" consisting of two companies with "a long history of anti-competitive, anti-consumer behavior."

On the same day the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) warned that the proposal poses a threat to "net neutrality"—the practice of charging everyone the same rate for Internet service.

"AT&T wishes to be lord of the digital domain, able to impose a raft of tolls, fees and what they term 'monetization' strategies for the Internet—whether it comes to us via wires or wireless devices," explained Jeff Chester, the CDD's executive director.

Critics of the AT&T/BellSouth merger argue that it will encourage telecom discrimination against companies and consumers unwilling to pay extra fees for access.

But the Communications Workers of America has endorsed the AT&T/BellSouth union. CWA President Larry Cohen said the proposal "could not come at a more critical time." The union represents 700,000 workers, most in the telecom industry, 200,000 of them at BellSouth, AT&T, and Cingular wireless.

In a March 5th press statement, Burns said that he hoped the acquisition "would mean a new day" for telecommunications, citing decline in the quality of U.S. broadband services compared to other countries.