3. Procedural Background

On April 21, 2011, AT&T provided this Commission an initial notice of the proposed transfer. On May 3, 2011, AT&T vacated its initial notice and provided a revised notice pursuant to Rule 6.1 (information-only filings) of General Order (GO) 96-B. The Director of the Communications Division (CD) designated the notice as Advice Letter (AL) 160 for tracking purposes only. On May 19, 2011, Sprint filed a "protest" to the AL 160.⁶

At the May 26, 2011 Commission Meeting, the Commission directed CD staff to notify AT&T that AT&T's 30-day notice was suspended on the basis of staff's earlier requests for further information. The Commission also directed staff to draft and present to the Commission an OII into the merger, to gather facts and analyze data relevant to whether the proposal complies with applicable California law. In addition, the Commission directed staff to prepare comments to file at the FCC regarding the Commission's preliminary investigation of this merger and its OII process. On May 27, 2011, the Director of CD sent AT&T a letter informing AT&T that its information-only letter was suspended.

⁶ Since information-only filings do not seek relief, they are not subject to protest. (GO 96-B, Rule 6.2.)