tinyurl.com/bkdbn -> news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051007/bs_usatoday/atampttoliveonaftermerger&printer=1;_ylt=Aj.hUEb2PEnuFcWzHSAL3pvrB2YD;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
AT&T to live on after merger By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAYFri Oct 7, 7:25 AM ET SBC plans to dump its corporate moniker and adopt the fabled AT&T name on ce federal regulators bless the two companies' merger, people with direc t knowledge of the matter say. Those people caution that it's possible SBC's plan could still change. Th e company might also choose to keep the SBC name in a limited way, perha ps only in the 13 states where it now provides traditional phone service . But barring a reversal, the 130-year-old AT&T brand is poised to endur e The Federal Communications Commission, whose approval is needed, is set t o discuss the SBC-AT&T deal at its Oct. Sources would not speak on the record because the deal has yet to be approved. At the same meeting, the FCC plans to consider the Verizon-MCI merger. Th at deal won overwhelming support Thursday from MCI shareholders. The Justice Department, whose backing both mergers also need, is likely t o give them a light touch, people with direct knowledge say. Justice is considering forcing SBC and Verizon to lease out to rivals "special acce ss" lines - high-capacity lines that big businesses use - in 400 to 500 office buildings. That's a small portion of the thousands of buildings t hose two carriers serve. The deals also need approval from some individual states, which can impos e conditions. But no major conditions have been attached by the states s o far. The AT&T-SBC merger has the blessing it needs from 33 of 36 states. Penns ylvania, considered a tough regulatory state, gave its approval Thursday - with no conditions. MCI and Verizon, which announced their deal about two weeks after SBC and AT&T revealed theirs, is further behind. As of Thursday, those carriers had approvals from 19 states, with 12 to go. SBC says it's on track to seal its merger with AT&T by the end of November. Verizon says it expect s to close its MCI deal by early next year. One of the last lingering questions was what would happen to the storied AT&T name. SBC CEO Ed Whitacre, a veteran of the Bell System, had made c lear he favored adopting AT&T's name, one of the world's most recognized brands. The current plan calls for SBC to adopt the AT&T logo, with a slight twis t: The blue-and-white AT&T sphere is being tweaked, one person says;
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