All regulators approve AT&T deal

AT&T is a meaningful name, some experts say

US regulators have cleared the planned acquisition by phone company SBC Communications of its former parent AT&T for about $16bn (£9.3bn).

The last regulator to approve the merger was the California Public Utility Commission.

The deal can now be completed, 10 months after it was first announced.

The new company said it "will adopt AT&T as its name", as it is "inextricably linked to the birth and growth of the communications industry".

Meaningful name

Support for the decision to ditch the SBC name in favour of The American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation - AT&T for short - comes from a string of analysts quoted on the SBC website.

"AT&T is a much stronger brand domestically and internationally," according to Forrester Research analyst Lisa Pierce.

"AT&T is one of those rare companies where the letters actually mean something and have some equity," said Denis Riney of brand consulting agency Siegel & Gale.

Two US federal agencies, 36 states and 14 international bodies have previously approved the merger.