The Fastest Merger in the West?

In what could be the fastest telecom merger in history, the FCC on Tuesday blessed Verizon Communications Inc.’s buyout of Alltel Corp., whose territory covers much of the western United States.

Verizon only announced in June that it would acquire Alltel, whose technologies complement its own and whose network fills out its reach. Previous telecom mergers — Verizon-MCI, AT&T-BellSouth — have taken nearly a year or more.

To move the process along, Verizon recently said it would divest assets in 100 markets.