What the Merger With Charter-Time Warner Will Mean for Consumers
Charter Communications intends to buy Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks , creating the second largest cable company in the United States known as New Charter. The merger comes with several clauses designed to protect consumers.
The FCC and the Department of Justice have approved conditions that will prevent New Charter from charging customers based on consumption for the next seven years. They are also prohibited from limiting the amount of data for broadband services such as Netflix. The goal is to stay competitive without penalizing users for using services like Netflix, HBO GO, Hulu, etc. The LA Times explains:
By prohibiting data caps and usage-based pricing, regulators are preventing the Charter from making it more expensive for its broadband customers to be active users of online video services, especially those offering data-eating HD movies. The downside is that the ban forces Charter to spread the costs of these users across its entire customer base, making it impossible for light users to pay lower monthly rates.
The ban also prohibits interconnection fees – a fee that some ISPs charge content providers to access customers. These are basic terms, but you can find out more about how the merger will affect customers in the link below.
Charter Buy Time Warner Could Be One Mega-Merger That Really Benefits Customers | Los angeles times