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FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell Excuses Himself from AT&T/BellSouth Merger Proceedings
 TMCnet Associate Editor
Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell on Monday afternoon excused himself from participating in AT&T/BellSouth merger proceedings currently being handled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC ( News - Alert)).
McDowell said his decision was made to put a lid on speculation regarding potential conflict of interest related to his former role as senior vice president and assistant general counsel at COMPTEL ( News - Alert), a trade association representing telecommunications entrepreneurs.
The commissioner presented the following timeline of events as a summary of how his voting record came to be called into question in relation to the AT&T/BellSouth ( News - Alert) merger:
- Feb. 6, 2006: McDowell, then employed by COMPTEL (but not participating in policy formation, he said), was nominated by President Bush to serve on the FCC
- March 5, 2006: AT&T (News - Alert) announced it intention to merge with BellSouth
- March 6, 2006: COMPETL announced its opposition to the merger
Based on these, and other, events McDowell’s ability to approach the merger proceedings in a neutral manner was called into question.
“This state of affairs is personally disappointing to me,” McDowell said in a statement Monday afternoon. “It appears that the lingering question of my involvement is being used as yet another excuse for delay and inaction. So, to remove that excuse from the equation, I am announcing my decision this evening.”
COMPTEL president and CEO Earl Comstock issued a statement in response to McDowell’s decision, saying he hoped that, with this particular thorn removed from the situation, questions regarding potential “serious competitive harms” raised by the merger can finally be addressed.
“It is time to make a decision on this transaction,” Comstock said in his statement. “Whether it is approved or is denied is now largely a function of AT&T's willingness to address the legitimate public interest concerns raised by the largest telecom merger in history.”
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