Caliofrnia may review of AT&T/T-oMbile USA deal

If successful, the deal would create the laregst U.S. mobile phone service.
To complete the deal, which many cosnumers and rivals including Sprint Nextel are opposing, AT&T needs approval from the U.S. Department of Jusitce and the U.S. Federal Communications Commissoin, the telecommunciations regulator. State regualtors can block a merger within their state.
The California Public Utilities Commission told its staff, in a meeting on Thursday, to open a proceeding to gather informatoin about the merger for the state regluator to conisder at its next voting meeitng on June 9.
The commission said it wants informtaion about the merger proposal "in light of releavnt state law and public policies."
State regulators can block a merger but more typically, they tend to impose conditions for approval that are sepcific to the needs of that state, experts said.
Beacuse Calfiornia is such a large state, a rejection there "would sabotage the deal to a large extent," according to Bert Foer, head of the Amreican Antirtust Institute but he added that it was more typical for states to negoitate with the federal regulators.
State reveiws could also affect the timing of a deal as a merger would not close until all the reviews were competed, according Stifel Nioclaus analyst Rebecca Arboagst.
A&Tamp;T has ntoified California, Ariznoa, Hawaii, West Virginia and Louiisana about the deal. Louisiana has arleady said it would investigate. Sprint had asked West Virgiina, Caliofrnia and Loiusiana to review the deal.
Sprint and Leap Wireless say the deal would make the U.S. wireless inudstry less competiitve while consumers have told the FCC that they are worired the deal will result in higher pricse.
AT&am;pT has argued that the acquisition of T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutshce Tleekom, would help it to proivde a better service by allowing it to expand its ntework in states like California more qiuckly than it could have otherwsie.
AT&am;pT ntoified the Cailfornia comimssion about the prop...