CONSUMERS UNION STATEMENT ON FCC APPROVAL OF
AT&T-COMCAST MERGER

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today announced its approval of the merger of the cable television providers AT&T Broadband and Comcast.

Gene Kimmelman, Senior Director for Public Policy and Advocacy for Consumers Union, made the following statement today regarding the decision:

"This is a dangerous merger that allows one company to control video programming and high-speed Internet services for more than 40 percent of cable households in America. It is mind-boggling how federal officials have let the largest cable companies consolidate and thereby dictate the choices of cable channels and high-speed Internet services for consumers nationwide.

"The merger creates a cable giant with complete or partial ownership of cable systems serving more than 30 million subscribers, which is more than 40 percent of the nation's cable subscribers. This merger will dramatically increase concentration in video distribution markets in violation of antitrust merger guidelines, and it is inconsistent with a meaningful cable ownership limit that Congress called for in the 1992 Cable Act.

"Cable rates have shot up 45 percent in the six years since Congress approved the Telecommunications Act, which initiated deregulation. The approval of this merger means that many consumers are likely to see more price hikes, and it's going to be harder than ever for competitors to break into the cable and high-speed Internet markets served by AT&T and Comcast.

"The Bush Administration has closed its eyes to the price gouging of cable monopolies. It is doing nothing to put a lid on cable rates or boost competition that would drive down prices. This Administration is so caught up in its deregulatory zeal and its tunnel-vision approach to antitrust and communication policy that the problems of consumers are being ignored. The Bush Administration's antitrust and FCC appointees won't block the merger of two of America's biggest cable providers, and they are doing nothing to make satellite a more serious competitor, so consumers are left beholden to the cable monopolies.

"Cable's persistent monopolistic practices have been a black eye for regulators and antitrust officials in the Bush and Clinton Administrations. Cable companies will continue to gouge consumers until the federal government changes antitrust and regulatory enforcement practices."

***

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, is an independent nonprofit testing, educational and information organization serving only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public and protect consumers

View Files Sorted By Office: Consumers Union OPI, New York - Washington DC Office
West Coast Regional Office - Southwest Regional Office - Consumer Policy Institute

  
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