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AT&T-BT venture gets nod
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June 29, 1999: 1:11 p.m. ET
Telcos win U.S. Justice approval for $10 billion venture; awaiting FCC
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. long distance company AT&T Corp. and British Telecommunications Plc have received Department of Justice approval to move forward with their $10 billion joint venture, the companies announced Tuesday.
The go-ahead puts the largest U.S. long distance company and the biggest U.K. telephone company one step closer to an alliance that would let them combine voice, data and Internet services for multinational businesses.
Their announcement to combine forces was unveiled almost a year ago. The one significant hurdle that remains is approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which among other things oversees competitive practices among telecommunications companies to ensure consumers and businesses get proper access to services at fair prices.
"Obviously today's announcement is a step in the right direction, but we're still waiting to hear from the FCC," said Jim Barron, a BT spokesman.
The companies submitted their proposal to the FCC last October with the expectation that a full review of their proposed agreement would take about a year.
Separately, AT&T (T) and British Telecom (BTY) said they appointed Lee Jobe, president of Citizens Utilities Co.'s communications unit, and John Polumbo, president and chief operating officer of Excite Inc., as division presidents of AT&T's and BT's planned joint venture.
Jobe will be president of networking and systems while Polumbo will oversee global markets, AT&T said.
AT&T shares were down 3/16 at 54-7/16 in midday trading Tuesday, while British Telecom's American depositary receipts, each representing four shares, were down 4-3/16 at 173. 
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AT&T
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