It's Too Soon to Unleash Comcast

[Commentary] Just seven years after the $30 billion mega-merger between Comcast and NBCUniversal, the behemoth company has been freed from the temporary rules the Federal Communications Commission imposed to prevent it from discriminating against its competitors. Whether you’re a TV consumer, another cable company or a content provider, there’s good reason to be concerned. Comcast-NBCU has found ways to leverage its assets in ways that harm consumers and competition, and some of these moves have violated the FCC's conditions. Just 17 months after the merger, the FCC took enforcement action against Comcast for failing to provide consumers with stand-alone, affordable broadband internet service. That same year, the FCC stepped in to prevent the company from discriminating against rival Bloomberg Television.

The FCC should extend the Comcast-NBCU merger conditions, or impose new rules suited to the present marketplace. At a minimum, the agency must strengthen the program access rule, a regulation established by Congress to prevent unfair practices by cable operators that own programming – companies such as Comcast-NBCU or AT&T-Time Warner. It would also be appropriate for the Justice Department to investigate the anticompetitive threat consumers will face if Comcast-NBCU is allowed operate without basic rules of the road. But Americans should be able to count on the FCC to ensure that competition flourishes.