It appears the waters surrounding the AT&T-Bellsouth merger became a bit more murky with the expected new head of U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, speaking out today. Mr Inouye stated he would welcome a delay to regulatory approval of AT&T Inc.'s proposed acquisition of BellSouth Corp. so the panel can review it. When asked whether a committee review meant delaying an FCC vote until next year, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii said: "That'd be nice."

The AT&T-Bellsouth merger has yet to win approval from the FCC (See AT&T-Bellsouth Merger Snags on FCC) and could now be influenced to hold tight on a decision based on the comments from the Commerce Committee.

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