Black Caucus a player in merger

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Updated: March 28, 2012 12:25AM

What do the Congressional Black Caucus and AT&T have in common? And I don’t mean Common, Chicago’s hometown rapper. They share an “interest” in expanding broadband access and diminishing the nation’s digital divide.

Last week, AT&T and T-Mobile announced a proposed $39 billion merger that would create a telecommunications company with nearly 130 million subscribers. If the new combine passes muster with federal regulators, it will become the nation’s No. 1 service provider.

No! howled Free Press, a non-profit that lobbies for a more democratic media. The group argues that the merger would erode competition, punish consumers and kill jobs. Yes! cheered the Wall Street Journal, claiming the deal would inspire innovation and fertilize America’s communications landscape with an explosion of new options.

Is it a devil of a deal, or a deal with the devil? Either way, if the omnivorous AT&T wants to gobble up T-Mobile, it should include a little healthy altruism in its diet. Universal and cheap broadband would help.

The nation’s inner cities suffer from countless festering maladies — joblessness, troubled schools, wealth inequalities, just off the top. Securing digital connectivity among low-income and minority communities is a solvable problem. A 2009 study by the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Iowa found that 40 percent of all Chicagoans have little or no Internet access. Surveys showed that one in four Chicagoans are completely offline and another 15 percent have limited access.

Chicago mayoral wannabe Gery Chico proposed providing every Chicago public high school student a free, state-of-the-art laptop computer, a farfetched plan in this age of austerity. And AT&T may not bite on dumping millions into computer hardware. But how about free Internet access for our kids?

The FCC and U.S. Justice Department will get the final say on whether AT&T gets to swallow T-Mobile, but the proposal first must get by Congress. (Disclosure: I own shares in AT&T.)

Enter the Congressional Black Caucus. Its 43 members represent urban and minority constituents in dire need of an economic lifeline across the digital divide. It can deploy its brand to provide cover for long-maligned corporate behemoths like AT&T.

The caucus’ clout could be crucial to congressional approval. African-American political leadership is well-positioned to extract a pound of flesh in return for a helping hand.

The merger partners want this one. Badly. They are eager to plow massive cash into winning congressional and government approval. This deal is a no-brainer for congressional Republicans, but a strange-bedfellow partnership between AT&T and black congressional leaders could help sway the U.S. Senate’s Democratic majority and build momentum for regulatory approval.

It’s a historic opportunity for the CBC to reach out and touch the constituents it purports to serve. Free or reduced-rate Internet access can level the playing field for the digitally disadvantaged. AT&T is salivating over this pact because it would vastly expand its wireless capacity.

Wireless communications and technology is the future, no matter where you live. The company could commit to major initiatives for low-cost universal wireless access in inner-city schools and community centers. But someone has to make it happen.

Hello, U.S. Representatives Bobby Rush, Danny K. Davis and Jesse Jackson Jr.?

For decades, black congressional “leaders” have been shaking the corporate money trees and reaping millions in campaign contributions. It’s time they leveraged their political muscle for digital equity.