In August, as part of the merger oversight process, the FCC asked Comcast and Time Warner Cable for more information about their operations and their plans. In answer, Comcast has submitted 735 pages of documentation. That’s a lot of information, but Comcast’s responses have one key theme: the Comcast/TWC merger will not harm competition, because broadband competition is plentiful… no matter what the rest of us, including the FCC, seem to think. [More]
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Comcast Keeps Claiming Competition Abounds, Despite Mountains Of Evidence From Planet Reality
By 9.23.14
Comcast CEO “Cautiously Optimistic” He Can Shove TWC Merger Down Regulators’ Throats
By 9.17.14
We’re still months away from the FCC and the Justice Dept. completing their reviews (and hopefully putting the brakes on) the merger between the nation’s two largest cable companies. And even though the initial questions being asked by regulators show that the deal is not inevitable, Comcast’s CEO is counting on being able to convince the folks in D.C. that this alliance isn’t entirely unholy. [More]
![[Update] Comcast Denies Threatening To Disconnect Users Of Ultra-Private Browser](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/comcasticday.jpg?w=680)
[Update] Comcast Denies Threatening To Disconnect Users Of Ultra-Private Browser
By 9.15.14
Tor is a specialized web browser: its target audience is the very security-minded user, someone who wants to stay private and anonymous. That includes all kinds of folks, from tech writers to, well, some people who have a strong and vested interest in law enforcement not knowing what they’re up to. The browser boasts over a million users now, but Comcast seems to be of the opinion that it knows what every one of those people are up to, that they are up to no good, and that Comcast has the right to cut off their web service for using it. [More]
Netflix Speeds Finally Rebound For FiOS, U-Verse Customers
By 9.9.14
For years, Verizon has bragged about the fast data speeds available to subscribers of its FiOS broadband service. Meanwhile, the company was allowing Netflix streams to bottleneck, resulting in real downstream speeds that were slower than some DSL providers. And even months after Netflix agreed to pay Verizon for better access to its network, the speeds didn’t improve — until now. [More]
Discovery Not Afraid of Sharks Or Comcast; Comes Out Against Merger
By 9.8.14
We told you last week that even though the initial public commenting period for the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger has ended, the FCC is still talking to various media companies — including Discovery, operator of seemingly countless cable channels — to get their insights on the deal. Now the details of Discovery’s anti-merger arguments are being made public. [More]
Comcast: Approve TWC Merger Because Broadband Will Still Suck Just As Much
By 9.5.14
Yesterday, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler surprised a lot of people by publicly discussing the woeful state of broadband competition in the U.S. Some viewed his remarks as an indicator that the commission is leaning toward blocking the pending Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, but the ever-optimistic (read: delusional) Comcast argue that Wheeler’s words actually support the deal. [More]
Why Isn’t America Freaking Out About AT&T/DirecTV Merger — And Should We Be?
By 9.5.14
While pretty much everyone is scrutinizing the pending mega-merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, not much attention is being paid to the possible marriage of the country’s second-largest wireless and pay-TV companies. And that leaves us with two big questions: What, if anything, makes these two mergers so different? And should we be more worried about a unified AT&T and DirecTV than we are? [More]
FCC Chair Admits There Is Nowhere Near Enough Broadband Competition
By 9.4.14
In spite of what Comcast would have you believe, there is very little actual competition among broadband providers in the U.S. And this morning, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler publicly explained the woeful state of competition for America’s Internet users. [More]
The Bastard Child Of Comcast/TWC Merger Gets A Name: GreatLand Connections
By 9.3.14
While plenty of us are still banging on the church window, trying to break up the impending nuptials of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the couple, along with their “close friend” (ahem) Charter Communications, have already given a name to the company that will be spun off and left to fend for itself in the wild because there just isn’t enough room for everyone’s kids. That company, which will instantly become the fifth-largest cable operator in the U.S., will have the craptastic name of GreatLand Connections Inc. [More]
Media Companies Afraid To Leave Public Comments Privately Tell FCC Why The Comcast/TWC Merger Stinks
By 9.2.14
Plenty of big companies have left lengthy public comments explaining their opposition to Comcast buying Time Warner Cable. Still, though, not everyone who is afraid of the potential consequences of the merger is able to go air their grievances publicly. Media organizations that usually love announcing their opinions to anyone and everyone have been suspiciously silent on the matter, perhaps, as Sen. Al Franken suggested, due to fears of retaliation from their largest business partner. But just because those companies aren’t filing public comments doesn’t mean that they’re in love with the merger, and they may be telling a very different story behind closed doors. [More]
New York Not A Fan Of Comcast’s Plan To Take Over TWC Service In New York
By 8.29.14
We’ve known for months that the FCC and the Justice Department are hard at work combing through the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, but they aren’t the only ones. Although the deal will need approval from both federal agencies in order to move forward, it also has to get the states where Comcast, TWC, and Charter operate on board. And some states, New York in particular, aren’t making it easy for the cable giants to get their way. [More]
How ISPs “Compete” With Municipal Networks: Lobbying and Campaign Donations That Block Them
By 8.28.14
Say you’re mayor of a small city. Your city is small enough and far enough away from other cities that the big cable companies don’t want to spend what it would cost to run wires through your town, because the amount they will make in return isn’t worth it. That’s reasonable, from a business perspective. So you and the residents of your city get together and come up with a plan to make a public broadband utility instead. Makes sense, right? You’d happily pay someone else to do it for you, but since they don’t want to take your money you’ll do it yourself. Only — surprise! In come those self-same cable companies to block you from doing that, too, and they get your state’s legislature and governor to pass a law against you for good measure, so you can never try again. [More]
Comcast Locks Customers Out Of Accounts, Has Been “Working On It” Since 2012
By 8.25.14
Last month, we shared with you the sad story of Karen, who somehow got locked out of her Comcast account. This would have been easier to deal with if Comcast believed Karen when she described the problem, but they didn’t. Now more customers are reporting the same problem: they’re locked out of their accounts, and Comcast’s solutions range from “delete your browser cookies” to “clear your browser cache.” [More]
Initial Questions Offer Hope That FCC Isn’t Going Easy On Comcast/TWC Merger
By 8.22.14
While the FCC’s public comment period for the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger remain open through Monday, the commission has already sent off its first round of questions to the companies involved. And judging by both the quantity and quality of the things being asked, it looks like the FCC isn’t ready to rubber-stamp the deal. [More]
52 Ill-Informed Mayors Agree: The Comcast/TWC Merger Is Greatest Thing Ever
By 8.22.14
The gleaming USB drive that is Comcast HQ towers above the rest of the skyline here in Philadelphia, and the company is set to build another gleaming spire as a monument to its greatness right across the street. Just a few blocks away from the nation’s largest cable and Internet provider sits Mayor Michael “Why do people always laugh at my last name?” Nutter, who recently rounded up a bunch of other mayors to tell the FCC how awesome Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable would be. Of course, missing from that list of mayors were the leaders of New York City and Los Angeles, the two cities that would be most affected by the deal. [More]
4 Reasons Consumers Union Has Asked The FCC To Block The Comcast/TWC Merger
By 8.21.14
The full regulatory approval process for the Comcast/TWC merger has months left to go, but we’re getting down to the wire on one part of it: the deadline for public comments is Monday. Our colleagues down the hall at Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, have now officially asked the FCC to block this thing, and with good reason. [More]
Comcast Hoping Free Campus Cable Will Stop Cord-Cutters Before They Start
By 8.21.14
With their ever-changing schedules, yearly changes of living situation, it’s easy for a college student to realize there’s little value in a pricey pay-TV package they may rarely ever get to use. Throw in HD wireless devices and ready access to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu — hell, even Crackle — over public WiFi and you’ve got a petri dish for growing an entire generation of consumers who have no need for 13 Discovery Channels and 27 variations on Nickelodeon. That’s why, in the hopes of getting the hook into students before they learn they can live without MTV’s new Tuvan throat singing channel, Comcast has partnered with a handful of colleges to include a cable package in the cost of room and board for students. [More]
Here’s What Netflix, Dish & Others Said To The FCC About The Comcast/TWC Merger
The period for leaving a comment about the Comcast/TWC merger with the FCC closed on Monday. Roughly a zillion members of the public — individuals, nonprofits, state and federal politicians, telecom companies, tech trade groups, and consumer advocates — have weighed in, including several big names in pay TV who are staunchly against the deal. [More]