Charter/Cox Deal Sees Opposition Petition and Call for Conditions
Charter Communications' proposed acquisition of Cox Communications would mean more gatekeeper power over internet distribution, less competition, higher prices and unequal treatment of underserved communities, according to a petition to deny filed Tuesday (docket 25-233) with the FCC. Petitioners Public Knowledge, the Communications Workers of America, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and the Center for Accessible Technology laid out an array of criticisms of the deal, including over plans to cut Cox employees and their prediction of price hikes on consumers enabled by market concentration.
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The deal would result in "significant bottleneck control over internet distribution," incentivizing the charging of interconnection payments from content providers and edge services, the petitioners said. Without the affordable connectivity program, a Charter/Cox combination "would eliminate competitive pressure that might encourage improved low-income offerings."
The petitioners also called for the FCC to put conditions on any Charter/Cox approval, including a permanent prohibition from charging content providers, edge services or transit providers for interconnection and a requirement that the new company provide settlement-free peering to any qualified network. In addition, it should be permanently barred from usage-based pricing, data caps or traffic allowances for residential broadband, and it should have to commit to no cuts in employment for at least seven years.
The $34.5 billion deal was announced in May (see 2505160060).