Charter/TWC/BHN Deal Needs NYSPSC Conditions, Some Officials Say
New York City officials' comment asked the New York State Public Service Commission to examine Charter Communications' commitment to closing the digital divide and furthering the principles of net neutrality when considering approval of its purchases of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable. Public interest groups said they don't believe the deal is in the public interest and the PSC should deny it. Others said the deal aligns well with the state's commitment to broadband and should be approved. The comments were filed in Case 15-M-0388, Petition of Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable. Comments were due Sept. 16 and reply comments are due Sept. 30.
The Department of Public Service's staff recommended that Charter face increased commitments from what the company proposed before the PSC considers approving the deal. DPS staff recommended that Charter-TWC-BH make commitments on service quality, job retention, universal service, network deployment to unserved/underserved areas and broad infrastructure investment and improvement.
For the deals to be in the public interest, Charter must not only have a detailed plan to further close the digital divide that leaves so many low-income New Yorkers cut off from the Internet, but should also commit to upholding the principles of net neutrality, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) said. While many of Charter’s offerings provide faster speeds at lower prices than existing TWC offerings in New York City, provision must be made to extend quality service to low-income New Yorkers, he said. For the PSC to approve the deal, he said Charter should commit to providing a low-cost option year-round for all customers below a certain income threshold. He said Charter should commit to eliminating the two-year time limit on the low-cost option, ensuring that the low-cost option provides service of at least 10 Mbps -- which will still be six times slower than the slowest option Charter plans to offer to the general public -- advertising the low-cost option on the company’s website, allowing individuals to both determine eligibility and sign up for the low-cost option online, and disclosing data related to use of the low-income option by New Yorkers to the PSC.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) agreed with many of Stringer's points, especially what Charter should be required to commit to, should the PSC approve the deal. de Blasio said that Charter and TWC must demonstrate to the commission that the transfer would -- in addition to comporting with existing law, regulations and standards -- be in the public interest. He said Charter should make commitments to make available affordable access for low-income and other underserved residents, including the elderly and persons with disabilities. He also said there should be a commitment to timely upgrading of infrastructure to fiber optic cable, expansion of broadband footprint, and transparent accounting of rate changes. "The commission should compel Charter to make the aforementioned commitments publicly and in writing and to commit to a process of regular reporting, before the PSC and the broader public, in order to guarantee accountability," he said. "If Charter doesn’t do so, the mayor’s office urges the commission to find that the corporation has failed to demonstrate that the proposed transaction is in the public interest."
The transaction aligns well with the state’s focus on bolstering broadband connectivity, emailed Michael Santorelli, director of the Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute. New investment will help to bring advanced networks to more areas, and a focus on broadband adoption via a low-income program will be a huge boon to those who might otherwise remain unconnected, he said Tuesday. These kinds of benefits certainly further the public interest and are in line with many state goals for broadband and other advanced technologies, Santorelli said. The institute's comments said the merged entity will have greater capacity to invest in advanced networks and services across the state. It said that widespread availability of broadband connections at discounted prices, along with low-cost access devices and digital literacy training, have proven to be enormously successful in raising adoption rates among low-income households.
The PSC should deny the deals as inimical to the public interest, said Common Cause. Charter, TWC and BHN's commitments aren't deal-specific and fail to satisfy the commission’s public interest standard, Common Cause said. The merged entity would also pose significant danger to the public interest by threatening media localism and diversity, it said. The companies make much of the alleged benefits of increased scale, which will result in lower per-customer costs, but don't say how those savings will be passed on to consumers in the form of lower bills, or even less-frequent cost increases, it said. "If those savings were being passed on to consumers, petitioners might theoretically argue that the merger would advance the public interest."