Statement From DeWine and Kohl Regarding the Proposed SBC/AT&T Merger

STATEMENT FROM DEWINE AND KOHL REGARDING THE PROPOSED SBC/AT&T MERGER

U.S. Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, today issued the following statement regarding the SBC/AT&T merger:

"The proposed merger between SBC and AT&T will create the nation's largest telecommunications company and go a long way towards re-creating the old Ma Bell system. It will remove an important competitor in both national and local service for thousands of American businesses and millions of consumers, and perhaps more important, this merger takes place in an industry already witnessing the decline of independent local phone competition, and rapid consolidation in the wireless sector. It may not be 'unthinkable,' but we will need to scrutinize this deal very carefully," said Senators DeWine and Kohl, who plan to hold hearings on this deal at the Antitrust Subcommittee in the near future.

http://dewine.senate.gov/