Press Release
FCC Asks More Questions in Verizon’s Spectrum Deal with Cable
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would require Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks to submit more detailed materials into the record about their proposed spectrum deal and joint marketing agreements. The Commission also issued detailed requests for further information from the parties, and indicated that a separate inquiry would be opened up into the competitive implications of Verizon and the cable providers' joint operating and marketing ventures.
Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner made the following statement:
“We are grateful that the Commission recognizes the serious implications of these transactions to the future of wireless, video and broadband competition, and that it has requested more information from these companies. By extending the comment deadlines and ordering Verizon and the cable companies to disclose some of the information that was previously and unnecessarily redacted, the FCC is helping to ensure the public has the opportunity to voice its concerns about these competition-killing deals.
“As we learned in the AT&T/T-Mobile merger review, parties seeking regulatory favors are prone to hiding the truth about the harms of these transactions. We are confident that a full record will conclusively demonstrate that Verizon and the cable cartel’s plans to divide and conquer the communications markets are nothing but bad news for competition and innovation. The air of inevitability is quickly dissipating, leaving the FCC and the Justice Department no choice but to reject these deals."
Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner made the following statement:
“We are grateful that the Commission recognizes the serious implications of these transactions to the future of wireless, video and broadband competition, and that it has requested more information from these companies. By extending the comment deadlines and ordering Verizon and the cable companies to disclose some of the information that was previously and unnecessarily redacted, the FCC is helping to ensure the public has the opportunity to voice its concerns about these competition-killing deals.
“As we learned in the AT&T/T-Mobile merger review, parties seeking regulatory favors are prone to hiding the truth about the harms of these transactions. We are confident that a full record will conclusively demonstrate that Verizon and the cable cartel’s plans to divide and conquer the communications markets are nothing but bad news for competition and innovation. The air of inevitability is quickly dissipating, leaving the FCC and the Justice Department no choice but to reject these deals."
