FCC To Take Up Verizon, Rural Merger at Aug. 1 Meeting

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Federal Communications Commission will consider at its Aug. 1 meeting a pending merger between Verizon Communications and Rural Cellular, which does business as Unicel.

Antitrust officials at the Justice Department already have indicated their approval of the deal if Verizon gets rid of some of its airwaves in six markets.

DOJ currently is collecting comment on its proposed settlement, which would require Verizon to divest spectrum in Vermont, New York, and Washington.

The FCC meeting agenda, released Wednesday, was marked "tentative," signaling that the Verizon/Rural item could be dropped before the meeting.

At that meeting, commissioners also will mull FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's recommended punishment of Comcast for slowing Internet users' access to certain video applications.

- By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263; fawn.johnson@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 16th July 2008