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October 2, 2006  |  Email This Article   |  Print This Article

Merger may be forced to divest WiMAX spectrum

WASHINGTON DC (WiMAX Day). Last week, two US Senators suggested that before the $67 billion merger of AT&T Inc and BellSouth Corp is completed, each company should divest of its WiMAX spectrum to prevent “anticompetitive warehousing.” According to RCRNews, the Senators Mike DeWine and Herb Kohl argued that the merged company may not use its 2.3 GHz or 2.5 GHz spectrum because it “likely would cannibalise their current consumer base.” In a letter written to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the two Senators wrote “Nonetheless, our concern is that the deployment of WiMAX is not artificially limited, and that it continues to have the potential to be a crucial competitive alternative in the future.” RCRNews reported that both AT&T and BellSouth rejected the Senators’ claim.