Collapse of Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger is a ‘Tremendous Victory’ for Consumers and Broadband Competition

WASHINGTON, DC — Comcast announced this morning that it is abandoning its acquisition of Time Warner Cable. The merger, which was announced in February 2014, faced significant headwinds at the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. The Open Technology Institute repeatedly urged both agencies to block the deal.

The following statement can be attributed to Joshua Stager, Policy Counsel for New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“Today is a tremendous victory for consumers, innovators, and the future of the Internet. This merger would have given Comcast the power to stifle small businesses, raise consumer prices, and undermine the Internet economy. Americans don’t need a gatekeeper who decides who wins and loses on the Internet — they need affordable, fast broadband and a competitive market. That’s why nearly 1 million Americans, a record-breaking number, have asked the FCC to block this deal.

“Comcast has demonstrated how its size can lead to bad outcomes for consumers. Shortly after announcing the merger — precisely when the company should have been on its best behavior — Comcast allowed its own network to congest until Netflix agreed to pay an access charge. For months, many Comcast customers frequently saw their broadband connections fail entirely. Comcast's willingness to use its own customers as pawns in a business dispute was dangerous for the Internet and an abuse of market power.

“We applaud the FCC and DOJ for conducting a rigorous examination of this merger and are grateful for the time and energy that both agencies have invested in this process.”