Chairman Wheeler and FCC should reject the takeover, which represents an enormous threat to competition and efforts to close the digital divide
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press contact: Mark Stanley, 202.681.7582
Email: [email protected]
WASHINGTON — Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler could circulate a draft order as early as this week approving Charter’s takeover of Time Warner Cable. If the order were approved by the FCC—which would place Charter and Comcast in control of two-thirds of the country’s high-speed broadband customers—it would be a devastating blow to consumer choice and it would exacerbate the digital divide, leading to higher prices, including for those already struggling to afford Internet access. The following can be attributed to Demand Progress Executive Director David Segal:
“If this merger goes through, Big Cable will see even bigger profits, while American consumers will be stuck with higher prices and fewer options. And weak, unworkable and unenforceable conditions on the merger won’t change that. That’s why more than 130,000 of our members have spoken out against the Charter takeover. Chairman Wheeler has talked a good game about supporting competition in the broadband market, and whether he rejects the Charter merger will put his words to the test. We call on Chairman Wheeler and the other FCC commissioners to stand up for American consumers by rejecting the Charter takeover.”
###