FCC close to approving $22bn Qwest, CenturyLink merger

Federal regulators appear close to approving the $22 billion merger of telecommunications companies Qwest Communications International Inc. and CenturyLink Inc., according to a notice posted Tuesday on the Federal Communications Commission's website.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski presented other FCC commissioners with proposed merger approval with limited conditions, mostly voluntary commitments offered by the companies. The Justice Department and most states have already signed off on the deal.

The companies announced the merger in April 2010 in a stock and debt transaction. To gain FCC approval the companies recently offered a variety of voluntary commitments, including a timetable for upgrading subscriber broadband speeds and availability, discounted service to low-income customers and limiting the funding the combined company would receive from a federal phone subsidy program.

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