Free Press Files Petition to Deny Comcast Takeover of Time Warner Cable

Free Press filed a “Petition to Deny” the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

The Petition, submitted to the Federal Communications Commission, presents a definitive account of how the merger fails both the public interest and the antitrust tests required for regulatory approval. The merger would create a telecommunications and pay-TV entity of unprecedented size and scope, reaching into six out of every 10 US homes and controlling nearly half of the current advanced broadband service subscribers. Its control over high-speed Internet services would eclipse the power once held by the monopoly Bell system.

Comcast’s resulting nationwide market reach and power would lead to direct consumer harms such as higher prices and fewer choices among competitors. The merged entity "would immediately control half of the nation’s bundled Internet access and pay-TV customers, a share that would quickly grow as DSL continues its now-accelerated decline into irrelevancy" according to the Free Press Petition. Moreover, mobile, fixed LTE and satellite broadband should not be considered competitive alternatives to Comcast's wired services -- at a time when more and more consumers are seeking higher bandwidth options.