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California Floats Conditional Approval For Comcast/TWC Merger
New submitter Lord Flipper writes: The California Public Utilities Commission decision on the Comcast/Time-Warner proposed merger has just been released. It's not an exciting read, but the 25-bullet-point Appendix to the decision is interesting (PDF, starts on page 75). For example: "19. Comcast shall for a period of five years following the effective date of the parent company merger neither oppose, directly or indirectly, nor fund opposition to, any municipal broadband development plan in California, nor any CASF or CTF application within its service territory that otherwise meets the requirements of CASF or CTF."
Whoa! Comcast was not expecting this at all, and they're not happy about it. Here's one more, as an example: "8. Comcast shall offer Time Warner's Carrier Ethernet Last Mile Access product to interested [Competitive Local Exchange Carriers] throughout the combined service territories of the merging companies for a period of five years from the effective date of the parent company at the same prices, terms and conditions as offered by Time Warner prior to the merger."
The ruling by the CPUC covers all customers, present or in the future of the merged company, in California. What they're talking about is opening up Last Mile Access. This could be a step in the right direction, but the ruling today is definitely a surprise. It could nix the merger in California, or it could light a fire under the FCC's butts, or it could bring real competition to Internet access in California.
The CPUC is basing their entire decision on Common Carrier law (Setion 706, as opposed to Title II), and, unlike the projected FCC decision (coming around the 26th of the month) the CPUC's decision has all kinds of "teeth" as opposed to the FCC's "Title II, with forbearance" approach. It could get very interesting, very soon.
Whoa! Comcast was not expecting this at all, and they're not happy about it. Here's one more, as an example: "8. Comcast shall offer Time Warner's Carrier Ethernet Last Mile Access product to interested [Competitive Local Exchange Carriers] throughout the combined service territories of the merging companies for a period of five years from the effective date of the parent company at the same prices, terms and conditions as offered by Time Warner prior to the merger."
The ruling by the CPUC covers all customers, present or in the future of the merged company, in California. What they're talking about is opening up Last Mile Access. This could be a step in the right direction, but the ruling today is definitely a surprise. It could nix the merger in California, or it could light a fire under the FCC's butts, or it could bring real competition to Internet access in California.
The CPUC is basing their entire decision on Common Carrier law (Setion 706, as opposed to Title II), and, unlike the projected FCC decision (coming around the 26th of the month) the CPUC's decision has all kinds of "teeth" as opposed to the FCC's "Title II, with forbearance" approach. It could get very interesting, very soon.
5 years sounds like discouragement pricing. Long enough that they might turn the entire deal down.
But it's also long enough that if they DID take the deal they couldn't drag their feet so long that it never was effectively available.
And it may be long enough that the investment required on their part might be financially unpalatable to just walk away from at the 5 year mark, plus there's the chance that as the five year mark approached there might be all kinds of difficulty in actually stopping it, either from a disentangling networks perspective or from all kinds of protests and lawsuits that prevent them from stopping.
And who knows, maybe after five years of doing it their genius MBAs might just figure out that even though the margin on it is small, the revenue is like an annuity and has some kind of balance sheet value that they WANT to keep it going.
So it's illegal abuse of their monopoly...but only for 5 years then it's a free for all. That makes sense. What a load of crap. The next president should run his entire platform on crushing ISPs and replacing them with companies that actually give a crap about service and fair pricing. I use my internet a lot more than I use healthcare so guess which one I want reformed.
"8 is related to a pre-existing requirement from awhile ago, they just want it extended for 5 years and to apply to the merged area, but even so, then what, whos going to use it or build a business around it knowing it will killed off after 5 years?"
Who? An organization who just wants to provide broadband, instead of a corporation which wants infinitely increasing revenue. For instance, a municipal government, or a companied chartered by that government. Who can also simply say "It will be so!" and lay the lines whereever they are needed.
I really don't care about the motive to make infinite profits. Water and electric and gas were provided for over a hundred years at a reasonable cost. People got paid to run and maintain the systems, and it worked. They're selling our municipal utilities off while we're speaking. Result: prices are doubling and will redouble, and service goes down or practically disapears, the systems disintegrate, and a few billionaires get rich.
BS Comcast is not happy about this. They have the cash and power to out compete any last mile startup on municipal network in that five years. this gives the public the feeling that something is being done about these ISPs, while giving them more of a stranglehold on the market in a short time. They may act affronted all they like but in reality, behind the mask they are rejoicing because they know what it would mean for them. Whoever architected this, be it lawmakers or some behind the scenes lobbyist or industryman, they are very smart. Well played there bro. I hope you karma is to be ass-fucked my syphilis ridden camels from here to eternity.
Data connections should be a public utility. period.
Silence is a state of mime.