SBC-AT&T Marriage?

Will SBC spend US$15-billion to buy AT&T? Now, that would be a mega-telecom deal. If the deal is consummated, it would combine AT&T's 30 million long-distance customers with SBC's 50 million local customers, and mark the end of AT&T's 120-year history.
SBC would not be buying AT&T for its LD business, which has been under competitive pressure for years. The real prize would be AT&T's extensive data network, which has been the focal point of CEO Dan Dorfman's plan to re-invent the company. The data network's potential let Dorfman justify AT&T's decision to leave the local [circuit-switch] telephony business. Instead, AT&T is jumping on the IP bandwagon by offering VOIP service to consumers and a variety of value-add services to corporate customers.
An SBC-AT&T marriage would be a blockbuster and a real test for the FCC's new chair, who will replace Michael Powell.