Trade Law Daily is a Warren News publication.

Verizon/XO Deal Clears New Jersey Regulator

Verizon got the green light in New Jersey for its buy of XO Communications and its wireline assets. The state's Board of Public Utilities OK’d the $1.8 billion sale, the BPU said in a news release Friday. “The Board found…

Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article

Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.

that the merger will strengthen the company’s product offerings, while improving its business customers’ quality of service under the same current rates, terms and conditions,” BPU President Richard Mroz said in a statement. The BPU required Verizon to report over the next four years and to explain any net loss of XO customer-facing jobs exceeding 15 percent, the Board said. Verizon is pleased with the decision, a company spokesman said. The Verizon/XO deal still needs approval from regulators in New York, Pennsylvania and Hawaii, plus the FCC and DOJ (see 1606270062). The FCC Wireline Bureau recently paused its nonbinding 180-day review clock on Day 86 as it awaits further documents from the companies (see 1607200079). Last week, the FCC approved Verizon's de facto spectrum leasing arrangement with Nextlink, a subsidiary of XO Holdings (see 1607250045).