PITTSBURGH, April 3, 2017 – American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to act on the ACA’s Petition for Reconsideration and modify the Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable and Advance/Newhouse Partnership merger order by no longer requiring Charter to overbuild 1 million homes already receiving broadband service:
“ACA is very pleased the FCC eliminated the requirement for Charter to offer broadband service to 1 million homes that are already receiving broadband service from another provider. In all likelihood, these overbuilds would have occurred where smaller operators are serving areas that might not support two providers.
“The FCC’s decision is compelling because the agency is simultaneously advancing the goal of affordable and universal broadband by requiring Charter to venture into unserved areas and by eliminating the threat of government-mandated uneconomic entry into smaller operators’ markets. This overbuild threat, added by then-FCC Chairman Wheeler at the eleventh hour of the merger approval, undermined these operators’ ability to make investments that would benefit their existing subscribers or expand their networks to reach unserved households. For smaller operators, this threat was real as evidenced by the 38 ACA members who recently urged the FCC to eliminate the overbuild condition.
“ACA is pleased that the FCC is getting rid of this overbuild condition by acting on ACA’s Petition for Reconsideration that was filed a month after the merger order was released.”
About the American Cable Association: Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing nearly 750 smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for nearly 7 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA’s members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visithttps://acaconnects.org/