Charter Seeks End to FCC's Interconnection Condition

Charter Communications is asking the Federal Communications Commission to terminate the interconnection condition of its deal to acquire Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks on May 18, 2021 —  two years early — in light of the ”dramatic“ changes in the online video marketplace. The 2016 conditions were to last seven years, but the FCC allowed for the possibility of an early termination. Currently, Charter must ”offer to interconnect its IP network to any qualifying entity free of charge and on standardized terms.“ The company provided pages of statistics and examples to buttress its argument that over-the-top video will do just fine if Charter is given control of its interconnection deals. Charter also wants a similar early exit from its ”no data caps or usage-based pricing“ conditions. The company points out the FCC had said at the time it would entertain such early exits if the marketplace had changed sufficiently.