AT&T Inc.’s buyout of BellSouth Corp. gets government approval

The US Justice Department has now given its unconditional approval to AT&T Inc.’s buyout of BellSouth Corp.

The company would now become the largest U.S. provider of telephone, wireless and broadband Internet services.

This decision was welcomed by the company executives but failed to excite consumer advocates who believe that this would create a monopoly in the market.

This announcement has also been criticized by the FCC member Jonathan S. Adelstein who called this deal a reckless abandonment of DoJ’s responsibility to protect competition and consumers.

If AT&T gets the final government approval, they would get control over the country’s largest cellular provider, Cingular Wireless.