DoJ clears BellSouth-SBC joint venture

The U.S. Department of Justice gave the go-ahead to the wireless joint venture of SBC Communications Inc. (San Antonio, TX) and BellSouth Corporation (Atlanta, GA). The Department's consent decree calls for the resolution of overlapping wireless properties, a process the companies have already begun. No other conditions were imposed on the joint venture.

In April, BellSouth and SBC announced plans to merge their domestic wireless operations to create the nation's second-largest wireless company, which would be jointly controlled and poised to compete nationwide in the exploding wireless voice and data businesses. The new company will serve more than 18 million customers and 175 million potential customers in 34 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories.

The companies committed to address the competitive overlap issues when they announced the joint venture on April 5, 2000. The overlaps exist primarily in the Indianapolis, IN; New Orleans, LA; and Los Angeles, CA, markets. SBC previously announced plans to sell Indianapolis to AT&T and New Orleans to Alltel, and a decision on Los Angeles will be announced by December 18. The companies do not expect any problems in completing these divestitures within the time frames specified in the consent decree.

The joint venture will allow SBC and BellSouth to achieve the scale and scope to compete aggressively by offering customers everything from wireless Internet access and interactive messaging to attractive national rate plans and bundles of other services. In addition, the joint venture will pursue opportunities to grow the business through further expansion of its national wireless network.

The proposed joint venture currently is under review by the FCC. The European Union has approved the proposed venture. It's anticipated the new company will receive all necessary approvals and begin operations later this year.

Edited by Ellen Jensen
Managing Editor, Wireless Networks Online