FCC Reviewing Proposed Charter, Bright House, Time Warner Merger

[Guest]

FCC is reviewing the Charter-Time Warner-Bright House merger proposal.

FCC Reviewing Proposed Charter, Bright House, Time Warner Merger : Read more

 

[velocityg4]

I can't really see where this would provide competition. I've never known anyplace where you can choose between two cable companies. You're just stuck with a government sanctioned monopoly. Which can then nail you on data usage and expensive TV packages. The only time there is really any competition is if you are lucky enough to have a competing fiber optic provider (except U-Verse they are fake fiber optic as they don't run it to your house). Then magically the cable company can offer greater bandwidth and no caps for the same price.

While I don't like government intervention. If they are being given defacto monopolies. They should have there pricing regulated to a 5% profit margin, user selectable programming packages and be tasked with constantly improving their infrastructure for more data bandwidth and new technologies. Technologies such as adding 4K, dropping SD and transition all SD channels to HD.

For user selectable channels have those same 40+, 100+, &c deals but you choose which channels those are.

 

[MasterMace]

The antitrust is still there, whether it's a 3 companies (Comcast, Verizon, Chartwarnerhouse) or 10.

 

[alidan]

if there is a god this wont happen... i like charter but if they merge with time warner it will probably kill my internet horrible.

 

[stevenrix]

American institutions are only managed by political entities (US supreme court, and so on and so on). When the gov will transition to a new President, all those anti-trust measures will be gone with the wind.

 

[knowom]

Why would this be any better than Time Warner/Comcast merger wouldn't it be just as bad for the same reasons.

 

[falchard]

Really doesn't matter. The companies only have competitors in a couple markets anyways, and not with Comcast. Once merged, they will probably end up with how Time Warner is now. A hodge podge of different systems bandaged together into an unmanageable mess. I remember working for Time Warner and the experience is very different than Cox. You can tell that different regions used to be different cable providers that merged. The equipment is different, and how you work with equipment has you wasting a lot of time dealing with the different bandages that made it the same network. At least 30 minutes every job is wasted because of this.

 

[jasonelmore]

The only way i'd approve the merger is if they agree'd to compete with comcast in the same areas, and not just in a dozen or so cities.

getting cable companies to lay cable to new areas is like asking congress to do the right thing.

 

[lilcinw]

As a current Charter customer this sounds terrible.

 

[dark_lord69]

"It could potentially result in some measure of competition"
How?

Have you EVER been able to pick your cable company? Infact I've never even heard of such a thing... Because it seems to me, they all seem to have local monopolies AND the government doesn't do anything about it...

 

[falchard]

In San Diego, you can choose between Cox, Time Warner and New Horizon in a few areas. However, its not much of a choice since Cox provides a far superior service for less. Also its not the companies enforcing these monopolies. Its the municipal governments. They simply deny new entrants due to the disturbance new construction would cause, or price them out of profitability to use pole space.