FCC chair proposes approval of AT&T-DirecTV merger -sources

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WASHINGTON U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on Tuesday circulated an order to approve, with conditions, AT&T Inc's bid to buy DirecTV for $48.5 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The merger, which has been under the FCC's review for months, would combine the country's No. 2 wireless carrier with the largest satellite-TV provider.

The FCC is expected to impose conditions on the merger related to Internet access by both middle-class and low-income Americans, data use, web traffic delivery and a monitoring process to ensure that conditions are properly enforced.

The sources spoke anonymously because the order is not public.

FCC's four other commissioners would need to vote in coming days to formally approve the deal. The Justice Department must also approve it for the transaction to go forward.

The FCC reviews proposed mergers to ensure that they are in the public interest while the Justice Department ensures that they comply with antitrust law.

"Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on Tuesday circulated an order to approve, with conditions, AT&T Inc's bid to buy DirecTV for $48.5 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.The merger, which has been under the FCC's review for months, would combine the country's No"

AT&T's merger with DirecTV, announced in May 2014, would create the country's largest pay-TV company, giving DirecTV a broadband product and AT&T new avenues of growth beyond the maturing wireless service.

The success of the merger in passing regulatory muster is in sharp contrast to the recently derailed rival mega-merger between cable and Internet providers Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable Inc. That deal was rejected in April largely over the combined companies' reach into the broadband market.