CenturyLink, Qwest assuage Cox wholesale concerns

Cox Communications now agrees that the Qwest Communications-CenturyLink merger is in the public interest and should be approved.

Cox, a "significant interconnecting network customer of Qwest," according to Bill Cheek, president of CenturyLink wholesale operations, had been concerned about wholesale conditions that might arise when the two telcos combine.

The Cox agreement inserts a huge building block into the merger which has also recently received support from unions, affected public utilities in the combined serving areas, and state regulators. It is still awaiting approvals from nine more states and the FCC before it reaches its final stages during the first half of 2011.

For more:
- see this news release

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