Articles Posted in FCC Antitrust Highlights

On July 13, the FCC approved the sale of substantially all of the cable systems and assets of Adelphia Communications Corporation (“Adelphia”) to Time Warner Inc. (“Time Warner”) and Comcast Corporation (“Comcast”), the exchange of certain cable systems and assets between affiliates or subsidiaries of Time Warner and Comcast, and the redemption of Comcast's interests…

On June 21, Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said that the agency would likely act on the acquisition of Adelphia Communications Corp. (“Adelphia”) by Time Warner Inc. (“Time Warner”) and Comcast Corp. (“Comcast”) in mid-July. Martin indicated the mid-July action in comments to reporters following the agency's public meeting, stating “I think the commission…

On June 20, the FCC approved without conditions Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (“Sprint Nextel”) acquisition of affiliate Nextel Partners, Inc., which sells Nextel services in 58 mid-sized and rural markets, in a deal worth $6.5 billion. The transaction gives Sprint Nextel the two-thirds stake in Nextel Partners it didn't already own. It is one of seven…

On June 19, the FCC approved Intelsat Ltd. (“Intelsat”) and PanAmSat Holding Corp.'s (“PanAmSat”) $6.4 billion cash-and-debt deal, concluding the transaction is unlikely to have an adverse effect on Fixed Satellite Services (“FSS”) price, quantity or transponder availability for customers from broadcasters to the U.S. government. The FCC's five commissioners approved the deal unanimously. According…

On June 16, a U.S. appeals court affirmed the FCC's most recent stab at spelling out local phone monopolies' obligation to lease their networks to startup competitors at discounted prices. “The FCC is pleased that the court has upheld its pro-competitive rules governing network unbundling,” an FCC spokesman said in a statement. “The court's decision…

The Federal Trade Commission today told the Senate Judiciary Committee that as the Committee considers legislation to amend the Communications Act, it should preserve the FTC's existing authority to protect consumers and maintain competition in the broadband services industry. Delivering the FTC testimony, Commissioner William E. Kovacic said the agency believes it has jurisdiction over…

On May 26, the Senate approved by unanimous consent Robert McDowell's appointment as an FCC commissioner. The vote came after a tussle over a series of holds placed on his nomination in the past couple of months. McDowell's arrival will bring the Commission to a full slate of 5 members for the first time in…

On May 17, the DOJ's Antitrust Division granted early termination to Sprint Nextel's acquisition of UbiquiTel, the exclusive provider of Sprint digital wireless mobility communications network products and services under the Sprint brand name to midsize markets in the Western and Midwestern United States. UbiquiTel and Sprint Nextel announced on April 20th that Sprint Nextel…

On May 9, a judge with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit raised questions about EarthLink, Inc.'s (“EarthLink”) assertion that the FCC erred when it stopped requiring the Bell operating companies (“BOCs”) to make available unbundled network elements for the broadband market because there isn't any competition in the sector. The judge…

Speaking to the Tennessee Telecommunications Association on May 2, FCC Commissioner Deborah T. Tate said that any revamping of the 1996 Telecommunications Act should include language that permits the government to play a limited role in creating fair rules, while allowing the marketplace to drive industry development and innovation in such areas as broadband and…