Back in April CenturyLink (aka CenturyTel) announced that their plans to acquire Qwest in a stock swap worth $10.6 billion. Now they have put together a CenturyLink/Qwest Merger web site for more info. (The starts will a big disclaimer that the plans presented are just that – plans, not set in stone.)

It seems as if the merger is at a point of waiting to get permission from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to approve the indirect transfer of control of Qwest and its operating subsidiaries to CenturyLink. In fact, now is the time to contact the Minnesota PUC if you have any comments you’d like to submit; the PUC’s first round of testimony is due August 19, rebuttal Sept. 13 and surrebuttal Sept. 27 (though surrebuttal isn’t the time to raise new issues).

If you are a customer of CenturyLink or Qwest you may have already received a postcard informing you of your opportunity to provide comment (or you may hear from them soon). Here are some of the details for providing comment, as stated on the postcard…

You may provide comments on the proposed merger to the Minnesota PUC:

By Mail: 121 Seventh Place East, Suite 350
St. Paul, MN 55101-2147
By Phone: 651-296-7124 or 1-800-657-3782 (toll free)
[Citizens with hearing or speech disabilities may call through Minnesota Relay by dialing 711 or 1-800-627-3529]
By Fax: 651-297-7073
By Web: www.puc.state.mn.us — Click on “Comment on An Issue”
[Please reference MPUC Docket No. P421, et al./PA-10-456 on all correspondence.]
Written comments are most effective when they include:
1. The issue in the merger request you are addressing.
2. Your specific recommendations.
3. The reasons for your recommendation.

If you are looking for reasons to support the merger, I think there isn’t a better place to start than the site the companies developed themselves. For a glimpse at the other side you could start with DSL Reports – especially the comments.