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Title: Charter Gets FCC Permission To Buy Cox, Become Largest ISP In the US

Link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/02/18562...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Charter
Communications, operator of the Spectrum cable brand, has obtained Federal
Communications Commission permission to buy Cox and surpass Comcast as the
country's largest home Internet service provider. Charter has 29.7 million
residential and business Internet customers compared to Comcast's 31.26
million. Buying Cox will give Charter another 5.9 million Internet customers.
The FCC approved the deal on Friday, but the companies still need Justice
Department approval and sign-offs from states including California and New
York. Opponents of Charter's $34.5 billion acquisition told the FCC that
eliminating Cox as an independent entity will make it easier for Charter and
Comcast to raise prices. But the FCC dismissed those concerns on the grounds
that Charter and Cox don't compete directly against each other in the vast
majority of their territories. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's primary demand
from companies seeking to merge has been to eliminate diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI) programs and policies. In a press release (PDF), the Carr-led
FCC said that "Charter has committed to new safeguards to protect against DEI
discrimination," and that Charter's network-expansion plans will bring
"faster broadband and lower prices" to rural areas. The merger was approved
one day after Charter sent a letter to Carr outlining its actions to end DEI.
Charter offers broadband and cable service in 41 states, while Cox does so in
18 states.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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