The proposed acquisition of Charter Communications with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks has been recommended for approval by a California administrative law judge. Significant conditions though were suggested in the said decision.
Charter Communications will now be considered the second biggest internet cable company in the US which follows Comcast Corp. California was the last state to approve the said acquisition. The cash and the stock deal between Charter and Time Warner involved a $56 billion deal while another $10.4 billion deal for Bright House Networks as per Reuters.
As reported by Bloomberg, Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer concluded that the merger is of the public interest. He recommended it for the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission which will cast its votes on May 12.
The 70-page decision was accompanied by terms and conditions that Time Warner should follow. The conditions requires Charter to convert all households in California to an all-digital platform with download speeds of not less than 60 Mbps. Charter must also let their consumers choose their own modems and digital cable boxes without any price increase. The decision also mandates Charter to comply with the FCC's open internet or net neutrality order.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Alex Dudley, Charter's spokesperson, said they are pleased with how the regulatory process moved forward. He added that they will continue their product engagement at the California Public Utilities Commission while working towards the final approval in order to provide service to more Californians.
The new decision, however, has a restrictive clause for Charter for the span of three years. The company cannot charge users when using third-party internet applications; and also, the company cannot engage in usage-based billing and data cap restriction.
A possible tie-up with FCC is on the horizon as Charter's Chief Executive met with the head of FCC for a meeting. Charter is now the third largest cable provider in the United States with nearly 17.3 million subscribers.
