Regulators in Maine, Vermont and New York have approved the proposed merger of two of the country's largest local exchange carriers, NYNEX and Bell Atlantic Corp.
All three states imposed similar conditions on their approval designed to protect the interests of ratepayers in the region. The conditions also address concern over how the merger might affect competition in the local exchange market, a high-profile regulatory effort already under way in each state.
Vermont and Maine. In approving the plan, the Maine Public Utilities Commission found that the likelihood of financial benefits to ratepayers from the merger should outweigh the "speculative detrimental effects that will be caused by the possible lessening of competition by the removal of one of the potential competitors to NYNEX."