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11/21/2024 11:14:36 pm

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FCC Pauses Comcast, Time Warner Cable Merger Review Until Jan. 12

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(Photo : Reuters) Comcast's Gigabit Pro service is heading to California.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced another pause to the Comcast-Time Warner Cable review until Jan. 12.

It is not the first time the FCC has paused the review, this time due to Time Warner Cable withholding 7,000 documents the FCC requested by regulators. In the investigation, the FCC also learned 31,000 documents had went missing, leading to more delays.

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The FCC has an 180-day informal countdown for the review, currently on 108 days. Comcast is still confident the FCC will reach a decision by spring 2015, although leaked documents show Time Warner Cable is less optimistic.

Time Warner Cable has already filed 5 million documents to the FCC for viewing, and it looks like the review will need a few more thousand before making a decision on whether the merger will be a good move for the customer.

Hundreds of thousands of comments have been collected by the FCC on the merger, from both sides of the debate. Currently, not too many are in favor of the two biggest U.S. broadband providers merging.

Time Warner Cable and Comcast both argue because the two companies do not compete in most states, it is wrong to say the merger will affect competition. Opposition claim the merger will strengthen Comcast's power in the broadband market, slowing growth and development.

This isn't the only high profile merger the FCC is currently reviewing, the $48.5 billion deal between AT&T and DirecTV is also under review, merging the number one satellite TV provider with one of the largest cellular networks in the world.

All of this is happening at the same time as the FCC makes a decision on the future of the internet, potentially reclassifying broadband companies under Title II common carrier, or allowing the broadband companies more leeway.

It is a tough few months for the FCC, and no matter the decision, it is not going to please everyone.

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