Comcast/Time Warner Cable Merger Would Be Devastating to American Internet, Netflix Says
From Ring of Fire:
Comcast is currently seeking to purchase Time Warner cable in a merger that would conglomerate internet service and create a monopoly through which it could hike prices ever-higher. Netflix, one of the internet’s largest data consumers, has now weighed in on the potential merger. Netflix says that the merger could have incredibly negative effects on internet service for Americans.
In a letter to its shareholders, Netflix expressed that, “If the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger is approved, the combined company’s footprint will pass over 60 percent of U.S. broadband households… .” The letter goes on discussing that “Comcast could control high-speed broadband to the majority of American homes.”
The concern is that such a grasp on American internet service would allow the company to extort rising fees from consumers without providing any corresponding improvement in service or increase in connection speeds. Further, as we see Congress continuing to avoid taking a strong stance on Net Neutrality, the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable will position Comcast to be a single company able to throttle and filter content on the web to a majority of American homes.
You can read the full article here at Ring of Fire.