How much do ISPs hate competition? They’ll sue the FCC to prevent it

Two lobby groups representing small and medium-sized Internet service providers have taken the first step toward suing the Federal Communications Commission over a ruling designed to boost competition. The groups are trying to overturn a condition imposed on Charter's purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.

In exchange for approval to buy the cable companies, Charter agreed to compete against other Internet service providers by building new networks in cities and towns already served by high-speed Internet providers. The American Cable Association (ACA), which represents smaller cable companies in mostly rural and suburban areas, and NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association, which represents small telecommunication companies, each filed petitions to overturn the condition with the FCC recently. This is basically a formality to demonstrate to a court that the groups have exhausted all available options before suing. Assuming the FCC rejects the petitions, the groups will likely file a lawsuit. The "overbuilding" condition "will have devastating effects on the smaller broadband providers Charter will overbuild," the ACA said in a press release. The ACA's petition to the FCC claims that the condition is unlawful because, "It is not tailored to mitigate a merger-specific harm or confirm a merger-specific benefit."