(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Top executives from Lucent Technologies and Alcatel are set to testify behind closed doors before a US House panel chaired by a lawmaker who questions the national security impact of the French company's acquisition of the former technology arm of AT&T.
Calling the session sensitive, the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives said that since classified and confidential business information would be discussed, the briefing would be closed to the public. It was originally scheduled to be an open hearing.
Lucent CEO Patricia Russo and Mike Quigley, COO of Paris-based Alcatel SA, are scheduled to appear before the committee, headed by Duncan Hunter, the outgoing Republican chairman.
Hunter, whose California district includes many workers of Qualcomm, a key competitor of Lucent and Alcatel, says he is worried about whether classified work Lucent's Bell Labs performs for the Defense Department will be kept secret when Alcatel completes its takeover of Lucent.
'I am concerned about potential transfers of technology or sensitive information to other countries with which Alcatel has business dealings, which have included Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria,' Hunter wrote in an October 26 letter to President George W. Bush.
The hearing is not expected to derail the deal, which has cleared antitrust review in the US and EU and been approved by shareholders of both companies.
© 2006 The Associated Press
© 2006 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved