Nick Russo

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission announced the team that will be reviewing the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, signifying the agency’s readiness to begin the formal review process of the merger.

There is a lot going on at the FCC these days, and this merger is but one point in an array of important policy decisions before the Commission. Communications policy is at a moment of transition in the United States. A successful merger between Comcast and TWC would give one company nearly half the national market of truly high-speed broadband connections, threatening to move us away from the broadband ecosystem we need. As part of the merger review process, the companies must demonstrate that the transaction will not produce competitive harms and will affirmatively be in the public interest.

The first question with which the FCC must contend is the potential for competitive harms evident in the transaction. Competition in the broadband marketplace is notably limited. The merger may also have effects on the issue of network neutrality, the idea that ISPs should not be able to block or discriminate based on the content or type of traffic online. These potential harms to competition and the open Internet lead us in the wrong direction for the communications policy we need.

In front of the FCC right now are two momentous decisions that will have a significant effect on the future of the Internet. The FCC should do the right thing for the public’s interest and reject the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The FCC must also enact strong net neutrality rules to encourage innovation in the broadband market and ensure a robust, free, and open Internet.