SBC in Talks to Acquire AT&T -- Sources
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SBC Communications Inc. SBC.N is  in talks to acquire AT&T Corp. T.N for more than $15 billion  to bolster its business among large corporations, sources  familiar with the talks said on Thursday.
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Kevin Martin, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is trying to get the ball rolling toward a decision on AT&T Inc.'s proposed acquisition of BellSouth Corp.
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The head of the Federal  Communications Commission is pressing for the agency to quickly  approve plans by AT&T Inc to purchase $2.5 billion worth of  wireless airwaves from a privately held partnership, sources  said on Friday.
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SBC Communications SBC.N will pay  Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O at least $400 million over 10 years  for technology to help SBC sell video services over its  upgraded broadband lines, the companies said Wednesday.
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AT&T Inc , the biggest U.S.  phone company, wants to buy an unspecified stake in the mobile  arm of state-controlled phone firm Telekom Malaysia ,  a Malaysian newspaper reported on Wednesday.
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Last week, AT&T, better known as Ma Bell, agreed to be eaten by one of its progeny, the Baby Bell named SBC. The Oedipal irony is more than just another story about mergers and acquisitions. It is an epic saga -- some might say a tragedy -- about Washington and its fickle relations with the world of commerce.
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SBC Communications Inc. has agreed to acquire AT&T Corp. in a $16 billion deal that would create the nation's largest communications company, the companies said early Monday.
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ATLANTA - BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. again are joining forces in an effort to lead the way in Internet-based phone directories, with a planned purchase of www.
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SBC Communications SBC.N on  Wednesday said it reached a 10-year, $400 million deal with  Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O to provide next-generation television  services.
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By Sanford Nowlin, San Antonio Express-News  Dec. 14--The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday it won't  vote on AT&T Inc.'s merger with BellSouth Corp. at its Dec. 20 meeting, making  it unlikely the telecommunications mega-merger can be approved by the end of  the year.
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SBC Communications today became the second major local phone carrier to unveil plans to offer cable-like television services. Earlier, the company said it agreed to use new technology by Microsoft for delivering
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The upcoming 700MHz spectrum auctions by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)&#160;have drawn bid applications from giant companies including Google and AT&amp;T. But a number of small companies and individuals have submitted bid applications as well.
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So far talks between the two revolve around technology and potential business models such as advertising-sponsored services, one of the sources said.
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SBC Communications  will pay Microsoft Corp.  at least &#36;400 million over 10 years for technology to help SBC sell video services over its upgraded broadband lines, the companies said Wednesday.
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SBC Communications SBC.N on Wednesday said it reached a 10-year, $400 million deal with Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O to provide next-generation television services.
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AT&amp;T hasn&#39;t decided whether it will bid for the highly desirable 700MHz band because it doesn&#39;t know if it can build a profitable business, given the open-access rules set for the wireless spectrum by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in July.Calling the rules &quot;interesting,&quot; AT&amp;T&#39;s CEO Randall Stephenson said the company is hard at work crunching numbers and analyzing business scenarios, but hasn&#39;t reached a conclusion yet.&quot;Is there a business model there? I&#39;m not sure if there is or not,&quot; he said Friday at the&#160;Web 2.0 Summit, where he answered questions from conference chair John Battelle and from audience members.The FCC conditions, which include&#160;open-access rules on a third of the spectrum, have been a major source of controversy.The winner of 22MHz of spectrum must allow any wireless devices to connect to the network, permitting wireless telephone customers to use handset devices from other carriers. The winning bidder also can&#39;t block or slow down wireless and Web content from competitors.Some telecom carriers wanted no conditions, while some consumer advocacy groups and Google wanted the FCC to require that winning bidders also resell the spectrum at wholesale rates to competitors, something the FCC didn&#39;t adopt.The FCC is scheduled to auction 62MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz band beginning in January. The spectrum is ideal for long-range wireless telephone and broadband services, with signals that travel up to four times farther than in higher spectrum bands.&quot;It&#39;s a huge opportunity. It&#39;s beachfront property. When it comes to buying spectrum, it&#39;s the best you&#39;re going to find for a long time,&quot; Stephenson said.Data consumption on wireless networks is growing fourfold year over year, so a company&#160;such as&#160;AT&amp;T needs to bulk up on spectrum to keep up with the demand, he said.&quot;It&#39;s very obvious we&#39;re going to have to add to our spectrum holdings,&quot; he said.That&#39;s why AT&amp;T earlier this month reached an agreement to&#160;buy 12MHz of high-speed wireless spectrum&#160;in the 700MHz band from Aloha Partners for $2.5 billion.&quot;It&#39;s the first time, I think, that we&#39;ve ever paid $2.5 billion for a company that had no revenue,&quot; Stephenson said.The Aloha spectrum covers 196 million U.S. residents, including 72 of the 100 largest markets in the United States.In other matters, Stephenson said he was very satisfied with the&#160;iPhone deal between his company and Apple.&quot;I&#39;m not sure I could have asked for much more out of it than what we got,&quot; he said.Asked to comment on the decision to use the slower EDGE network for the iPhone, Stephenson said it was a request from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.&quot;He wanted a broad ubiquitous data network. The EDGE network is the only data network that covers the entire United States,&quot; he said. The situation will improve as AT&amp;T upgrades markets to 3G, he said.Stephenson acknowledged that AT&amp;T&#39;s directory assistance business is being challenged by ad-supported options from Internet companies&#160;such as&#160;Google.&quot;We better get our advertising-supported [directory assistance] model up fast,&quot; he said, adding that AT&amp;T is building such a service internally.On a lighter note, he said he&#39;s &quot;envious&quot; of Google and the success it has had with its business model. &quot;It&#39;s a great gig if you can get it,&quot; he said.(Grant Gross in Washington, D.C. contributed with this story.)
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U.S. Federal Communications   Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has proposed the agency   approve AT&T Inc.'s T.N acquisition of BellSouth Corp.   BLS.N without any conditions, sources familiar with the   matter said on Friday.