On Monday, September 25 at 11 AM Eastern, representatives from national consumer and public interest groups and state consumer officials will hold a press conference call to respond to reports that the FCC is considering approving the merger of BellSouth and AT&T with no conditions and before review by the Department of Justice is complete.

Published reports this morning indicate that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has circulated a draft order approving the AT&T/BellSouth merger without any protection for competition or consumers. The merger is slated for the FCC’s October 12 agenda meeting, whereas the Department of Justice is still undergoing federal judicial review of its prior Bell merger approvals. On this press call, parties will update their recent merger opposition activities, and highlight new concerns regarding AT&T’s involvement in NSA’s domestic spying program, recent price hikes and job cuts, and related merger issues.

Who: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), Media Access Project.

What: Press Conference Call

When: Monday, September 25, 2006 Time: 11:00 a.m. Eastern

Call In Number: 702-835-5000

Pass Code: 76868

Note: For accredited members of the media only.