That company will also control AT&T's consumer unit, which is dominated by its shrinking long-distance business.
AT&T's business-services unit is showing some positive signs, but it too is struggling with a shrinking long-distance phone operation.
Besides expressing little interest in buying into Ma Bell's shrinking long-distance business, he also said he would like to sell off many of his local phone lines.
First up is "A balanced approach to a responsible budget... that grows the economy and shrinks long-term deficits".
Economic growth does not matter, it contends, if the population is shrinking, as long as GDP per person is sufficient for a comfortable life.
But the incremental impact of more quantitative easing is shrinking as long-term bond yields hit record lows.
If the shrinking consumer long-distance unit were made separate, the remainder of the company would show faster growth.
In addition to the potential deals with British Telecommunications, that menu has included a spinoff, the issuing of a new tracking stock, or a combination with AT&T's cable operation for AT&T's shrinking consumer long-distance telephone unit as well as an acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc., the wireless carrier.
In many more countries (for example Italy), the total dependency ratio is increasing as the working age population is shrinking, and long-standing social conventions, such as designated pension age and poor acceptance of women in the workforce, present obstacles to adaptive change.
Not everyone is looking to shrink from long odds.
That proportion will only continue to shrink as long as emerging markets such as China and India continue to develop at a rapid pace and account for a large slice of the pie.
