Mayor de Blasio Urges Comcast to Demonstrate Public Interest Benefits of Merger with Time Warner Cable

August 8, 2014

Comments to Public Service Commission reiterate Mayor’s commitment to universal, affordable broadband access as a strategy for reducing inequality

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio submitted comments this week to the state Public Service Commission outlining the impact of the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger on the City’s efforts to guarantee affordable broadband access for all New Yorkers. The commission oversees and regulates utility services including telecommunications, electricity, gas, and water and is reviewing the union to determine whether it will advance the public interest. The comments also include a series of recommendations for Comcast if the merger moves forward.

“The potential merger will have a tremendous impact on all New Yorkers, but it has the potential to have a particularly powerful impact on those who are currently least likely to have access to high-speed Internet—among them the City’s low-income, elderly and disabled residents and residents of color,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Comcast must demonstrate that this merger with Time Warner Cable is in the public interest and make commitments to continue their efforts to maintain an open Internet that is accessible to all.”

Commitments recommended for Comcast by the City include:

• Affordable access for low-income and other underserved residents, including the elderly and persons with disabilities;
• Transparent accounting of rate changes;
• Improved customer service and notification;
• Timely upgrading of infrastructure to fiber optic cable;
• Expansion of affordable broadband infrastructure and services to geographic locations where they are lacking;
• Support for municipal access and resiliency initiatives;
• Meaningful and stable support for public, educational and government channels; and
• Protection and promotion of an open Internet, through Net Neutrality commitments.

Read the full letter here: http://on.nyc.gov/V1IoFx