Judge Looks Into Modifying Terms of 2 Phone Mergers

WASHINGTON, July 7 — A federal district judge in Washington is considering the imposition of major modifications to the two largest telephone mergers in history: SBC Communication's acquisition of AT&T and Verizon's purchase of MCI.
In a surprising order issued Friday afternoon, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan raised a series of questions about the Bush administration's review of the two deals that he said should be answered by the Justice Department and the phone companies at a hearing next week.