Consumers Union: 65 groups to FCC: Stop TWC/Comcast merger

Comcast and Time Warner Cable want to merge - giving the new company a virtual monopoly over the U.S. cable & Internet market. Those Comcast customer service nightmares you've been hearing so much about? Expect them to get a lot worse. That's why these 65 groups are coming together to tell the FCC to prevent Time Warner Cable and Comcast from merging. Article by Consumers Union Sixty-five organizations representing consumers, content producers, and social justice and democracy-reform advocates called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today to reject the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The FCC is currently reviewing the deal to determine whether it serves the public interest.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable want to merge - giving the new company a virtual monopoly over the U.S. cable & Internet market. Those Comcast customer service nightmares you've been hearing so much about? Expect them to get a lot worse. That's why these 65 groups are coming together to tell the FCC to prevent Time Warner Cable and Comcast from merging.

Article by Consumers Union

Sixty-five organizations representing consumers, content producers, and social justice and democracy-reform advocates called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today to reject the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The FCC is currently reviewing the deal to determine whether it serves the public interest.

In a letter to the FCC, the groups warned that the merger would give Comcast “unprecedented gatekeeper control” over the nation’s telecommunications and media landscape and lead to higher prices and fewer choices for broadband and cable customers. The merger would give Comcast too much control over the future of the Internet and communications infrastructure and undermine the diversity of ownership and content in media, according to the groups.

The letter highlights Comcast’s history of failing to meet commitments made to gain approval for its previous merger with NBCUniversal. “Given this history, no amount of promises or conditions would be good enough to assuage concerns about this merger….The deal needs to be rejected outright.”

- Read more at Consumer's Union