If SBC and Chicago-based Ameritech have their way, the two soon will combine forces in another telecommunications megamerger, putting the Baby Bells at the top of the endangered species list (Business, May 11).
A heavy onus has been placed on state regulatory commissions to ensure the public interest is served in implementing the Telecommunications Act. SBC and Ameritech still are required to meet the rules of the 14-point checklist and open their local markets to competitors. While the merger locks up the Bells’ hold on a major share of U.S. local telephone markets, it locks the Bells out of offering long-distance service in each others’ territories until the combined company has complied in full with the act.
Ameritech’s customers in the Midwest cannot expect this merger to foster competition. On the contrary, it simply takes another player out of the game. Consumers may be the real losers if a national telecommunication monopoly emerges in the survival of the fittest.
