Dear Chairman Wheeler: The State of Broadband Is Hurting Vulnerable Communities

[Commentary] Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will soon decide whether to approve or deny Charter’s proposed $90 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. We believe the decision is an easy one. If the chairman is concerned with the state of the cable and broadband industry, then the choice is simple: Block the merger. But if the current reality for broadband and cable customers isn’t enough to motivate Wheeler, we urge the chairman to listen to the canary in the coal mine to hear a larger truth.

The broadband marketplace isn’t just broken; it’s harming millions of our society’s most vulnerable members, who are unable to afford at-home broadband service. The digital divide has contributed to the growing inequity within society. This social inequality would be passed on to future generations. We urge Chairman Wheeler to turn his words into action and to listen to the canaries in the coal mines in cities across the country — the millions of households that have never adopted home broadband, or had to give it up because they could no longer afford it. The decline in broadband adoption should serve as a major warning sign that the structural integrity of the broadband market is compromised — and that structural change is needed. That starts with blocking bad mergers rather than ignoring the harms they cause.

[Torres is the senior external affairs director for Free Press. Renderos is the senior campaign manager for the Center for Media Justice.]