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FCC gives final approval
From staff and wire reports
to Bell Atlantic-GTE dealWASHINGTON -- Federal regulators gave their blessing today to the $80.8 billion merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., a union that transforms one of the offspring of the old Bell system into the nation's largest local phone company and wireless provider.
Today's Federal Communications Commission approval allows the companies to complete a deal announced almost two years ago and launch a combined business under the new name Verizon Communications. It also brings them closer to their vision of offering a bundle of telecommunications services -- local, long-distance, wireless and data -- from one source.
The new company, to be known as Verizon Communications, will replace SBC Communications Inc. as the largest U.S. local carrier, with revenue of $58.5 billion last year and service in 31 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The FCC action is the last regulatory hurdle.
GTE is the preeminent player in Hawaii's telecom industry with about 2,600 employees and owning Hawaiian Tel, GTE Directories, GTE Wireless, GTE Internet, GTE Americast.
Keith Kamisugi, a spokesman for GTE Hawaiian Tel, said the merger will bring new resources and capabilities to the island business, as did GTE Corp.'s 1967 acquisition of the old Hawaiian Telephone Co.
"We will also be the gateway for Verizon's initiatives in the expanding Asian and Pacific markets," Kamisugi said today.
GTE Wireless in Hawaii will become part of Bell Atlantic's new unit Verizon Wireless and will strengthen the local operations, with national coverage and reduced-rate nationwide "roaming," he said.
The FCC acted after Bell Atlantic-GTE agreed to sell 90.5 percent of GTE's nationwide Internet unit, called Genuity Inc., to the public while it seeks long-distance authority in 12 states from Maine to Virginia, which is required for Bell Atlantic to sell Internet services within its region. The complex plan limits Verizon's ability to gain from Genuity's operations in states where Verizon lacks long-distance authority.
Bell Atlantic said it plans to close the GTE deal this month, though such action can occur only after Genuity shares are sold to the public. Genuity, with roots dating to the first electronic-mail, expects to raise $2.6 billion from the initial sale, the largest ever for a U.S. Internet service provider.
Bloomberg News, the Associated Press, and
Star-Bulletin reporter contributed to this report.
