Why the government is about to approve the AT&T and DirecTV mega-deal -- and the one thing that remains a big concern

A decision on AT&T's merger with DirecTV is expected any day now, and suddenly federal officials are being swarmed with visits and calls by the companies who are arguing over details of the conditions attached to any approval. Public filings show that top AT&T and DirecTV executives have met with antitrust officials and commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission to answer a slew of last-minute, detailed questions in recent weeks -- a major sign that regulators are likely to approve the $45 billion merger that would create a mobile video powerhouse. The companies elaborated on plans to deploy their top-speed Internet service to an additional 2 million homes -- a promise made to sweeten their merger pitch. They discussed AT&T's pricing schemes for wireless data, and how the merger would affect consumers' wireless bills.

In several calls and meetings, they replied to questions about so-called "interconnection fees" -- the money a company such as Netflix is paying AT&T to make sure its streaming videos move across the backbone of AT&T's networks in a high-quality manner. In meetings with the FCC's top antitrust official, Jonathan Sallet, company executives including AT&T's top regulatory and legal officials, Wayne Watts and Robert Quinn, reiterated their pitch for "voluntary commitments...which will provide the Commission with further assurance that the transaction will serve the public interest and deliver benefits to consumers," one of the filings say. Of course the FCC and Justice Department could still reject the deal, especially given the controversy over interconnection fees.