ACA, NTCA Ask FCC to Scrap Charter Overbuild Condition

The American Cable Association and the NTCA: The Rural Broadband Association, which represent smaller telcos, filed petitions at the Federal Communications Commission asking the FCC to repeal the broadband overbuild condition in the Charter/Time Warner Cable merger.

ACA said the condition was illegal. "[T]he FCC failed to identify a merger-specific harm or benefit to justify the overbuild condition," ACA said. "[A]s a result, ACA believes the overbuild condition is unlawful in that FCC precedent precludes the agency from imposing conditions - "voluntary" or otherwise - except to address merger-related harms or confirm merger-related benefits. " In addition, said ACA, the condition "will exacerbate the merger harms the Order identifies, damage economic efficiency, injure small providers, and harm consumers," concluding: "The condition should be stricken."

NCTA told the FCC that it had failed to provide sufficient notice that it would impose such a residential build-out condition. "Mandating competition where none would otherwise exist imposes the risk of undermining, rather than furthering, broadband availability and affordability," NTCA said.