The Time Warner merger with Charter Communications will destroy competition

From Open Media:

Big Telecom is trying to get even bigger… and customers will pay the price. Charter Communications, America’s third-biggest cable company, wants to take over Time Warner Cable, the second-largest.

If this $90 billion deal is approved by the FCC, "Mega Charter" and Comcast together would control the telecom connections to nearly 8 out of every 10 U.S. homes.

Let that sink in: two cable companies, wielding monopolistic control over your Internet service.

If they succeed, they’ll be able to raise your cable bill even higher, because you’ll have nowhere else to turn. We can't let this happen. To fight back, your OpenMedia team has joined forces with our friends at Demand Progress (and others!) to stop this.

You probably haven't heard a lot of talk of this deal, which pleases Charter.

Charter saw how spectacularly Comcast failed at their attempt to takeover Time Warner, and so they're pulling out all the stops to sell a pretty picture to decision-makers at the FCC.1

That's all well and good until you look a little closer. Existing Time Warner Cable customers would have to shell out more for the kind of broadband plans that Charter provides.

And the staggering debt that Mega Charter would take on to acquire Time Warner Cable is troubling if they're really committed to the high costs of building more broadband in rural areas.

Big Cable has repeatedly shown they can't be trusted, because they don't have to win your trust when they corner the market in your community. Tell the FCC to stand with Internet customers and oppose this deal. (We'll also forward your comment to the Senate.)

The truth is that in the long run, this merger will leave people like you with the cost — making our bills go up, flattening the quality of service, and fattening the pockets of people like Charter's Thomas Rutledge and Time Warner Cable's Robert D. Marcus — both of whom would receive more than $100 million in golden parachutes and payouts.2

Malone knows how to close a cable company merger, and he has the influence and money to do it.3

We've got to show the FCC that they must oppose this merger if they want to cement a legacy of broadband access and competition. Will you send a comment to the FCC today?

Together, we can stop Big Cable from getting even bigger.

Thanks.

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