“Charter has committed to new safeguards to protect against DEI discrimination.”
The FCC approved Charter’s $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox, creating a 36-million-subscriber ISP that surpasses Comcast. The FCC dismissed concerns about price increases because Charter and Cox mostly serve different territories. That is technically true and completely misses the point. Less competition in broadband means less pressure to compete on price anywhere. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s big condition for the merger was that Charter eliminate DEI programs. Not lower prices. Not better service. Not rural buildout commitments with teeth. The regulator’s priority tells you everything about what this FCC is actually for.