Sprint Chats Up BellSouth

On Tuesday, in the latest legal salvo, AT&T charged MCI with racketeering, saying the company cheated its way out of millions in handling fees by disguising many of its phone traffic routes.

The prospect of a resurgent MCI appears to be just a blip on the horizon for now, though. And if AT&T's confident enough to thumb its nose at a $25-per-share buyout price, as BusinessWeek reported last week, it seems clear that executives see some upside to their newly lean businesses.

"There's been an enormous amount of time and money spent on this merger issue," says independent industry consultant Marty Hyman, who sees the deal door closing. "The timing for mergers was best midyear. But as time goes on, there's more weight against it."