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Comcast: Merger Approval Taking Longer Than We Expected
When Comcast originally announced its planned $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable in February of last year, the company predicted that they'd see DOJ and FCC approval sometime before the end of 2014. With early 2015 now quickly headed for mid 2015 and opposition to the deal causing doubts about approval, Comcast has been forced to shift their planned approval date to mid year. In a blog post, Comcast's top lobbyist David Cohen has acknowledged the delay while visiting North Carolina to sell the deal:
quote:
The FCC and the DOJ are continuing their regulatory reviews of the TWC transaction. Given the FCC's recent decision to pause the shot clock, we have recently reassessed the time frame when we expect the government's regulatory review to be completed and now expect that the review should be concluded in the middle of the year. During this period, we are continuing to describe the public interest benefits that will come to North Carolina and other TWC areas.
While deal critics say a large Comcast could harm competition in everything from Internet video to advertising, Cohen continues to insist that the deal will bring vast, immeasurable benefits to consumers in the Tar Heel state --and everywhere else. Comcast then proceeds to try and quantify those benefits, claiming Time Warner Cable users will see $1.1 billion in "consumer benefits" each year:
quote:
An economic analysis has determined that if Comcast were to accelerate TWC subscribers' speeds by even 5 Megabits per second for one year that alone would be worth approximately $324 million in consumer value. In fact, if the transaction results in raising the average TWC customer’s broadband speed to the level of Comcast's, as we plan, that would deliver approximately $1.1 billion in consumer benefits annually.
Analysts remain torn over whether the FCC and DOJ will reject the deal. Given the FCC's recent more consumer friendly shift, you can imagine that any conditions applied to the deal may be a bit more stringent than the relatively weak, loosely enforced type of conditions Comcast has enjoyed in the past.
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mikesco8
join:2006-02-17
Southwick, MA

mikesco8

Member

I assume...

This so called economic analyst is employed by Comcast. What a joke!!!
Where I live Charter is offering double the speed of Comcast in neighboring cities at a much lower price. Unfortunately if this goes through we become Comcast customers. Is he spouting the economic losses we face?
shmerl
join:2013-10-21

shmerl

Member

Let it die already, let it die

No one needs a bigger Comcast.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

I dunno, I will get flogged for saying this but TW service quality outside of their gem markets is pretty bad. Those people not getting spun off to Spinco or divested to Frontier stand to gain quite a bit if you ignore the horrible support part - which happens to be a common trait of both.
shmerl
join:2013-10-21

shmerl

Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

Do you think Comcast will improve quality of TWC networks if they acquire them?

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

Re: Let it die already, let it die

said by shmerl:

Do you think Comcast will improve quality of TWC networks if they acquire them?

I think the chances are somewhat better than even that this merger will be eventually approved, albeit with a bunch of conditions/restrictions.

The TWC networks will then be gradually assimilated into the Comcast "collective," as has happened with all the other cable networks that Comcast has purchased over the years.

Ultimately, "resistance is futile."

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

6 recommendations

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die




"We are the Comcast. Give us your plant and surrender your accounts. We will add your subscriber count and regional territory to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

Shangsta
@verizonbusiness.com

1 recommendation

Shangsta

Anon

Re: Let it die already, let it die

All your bases will (are) belong to us.

Not they're not currently anyway....

why60loss
Premium Member
join:2012-09-20

1 edit

why60loss to Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

to Zenit_IIfx
said by Zenit_IIfx:

I dunno, I will get flogged for saying this but TW service quality outside of their gem markets is pretty bad. Those people not getting spun off to Spinco or divested to Frontier stand to gain quite a bit if you ignore the horrible support part - which happens to be a common trait of both.

I know I have gotten some interesting comments for saying that.

I know very well what happens to customers not in a Time warner cable "gem" market and it is anything but good to say the lest. Comcast even out in the sticks is 100x better with no choices for internet than TWC outside "gem markets" or as I like to call them golden markets.

With Comcast you get sub par phone support, With time warner cable in non "gem" markets you get that poor value on internet service, worse TV service, poor rotting copper that the sub contractors "fix" with duct tape.

Samual
@myvzw.com

Samual

Anon

Re: Let it die already, let it die

My TWC market (Binghamton, NY) didn't even get D3 until 18 months ago. I recall fighting with them over one apartment that dropped to sub 1mbit/s speeds during peak hours.

They're basically a monopoly here, ILECs are Verizon and Frontier. Frontier has rural DSLAMs and covers their entire footprint with DSL, they also offer pair bonding in a few COs, don't require POTS, and easily outcompete TWC on price. If Frontier was the big ILEC TWC wouldn't take our market for granted, unfortunately though Verizon has most of the footprint here and they've crippled their DSL product:

1. POTS now required.
2. Can't get speeds higher than 3mbit/s even if your loop supports it, even though they previously offered the 15mbit/s tier here, which I used to have.
3. No rural DSLAMs.

I've never understood why the editorial page here hates Frontier so much, they've done right around here. I wish Verizon would sell them the whole market. As for Comcast, well, at least they SPEND MONEY. Seeing TWC go will be no great loss for us, they've neglected our plant and essentially shit-canned all the local employees (they used to employ over 300 people, now it is less than 50) while consolidating our market into Syracuse, so who cares who those out-of-towners report to?

wiggie116
Premium Member
join:2013-10-31
Pittsfield, MA

wiggie116

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

Time Warner covers parts of Western MA. Major congestion on my street. 2000MS pings are common. Can't get any worse »i.imgur.com/RjGUFKU.png

why60loss
Premium Member
join:2012-09-20

why60loss

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

said by Samual :

My TWC market (Binghamton, NY) didn't even get D3 until 18 months ago. I recall fighting with them over one apartment that dropped to sub 1mbit/s speeds during peak hours.

They're basically a monopoly here, ILECs are Verizon and Frontier. Frontier has rural DSLAMs and covers their entire footprint with DSL, they also offer pair bonding in a few COs, don't require POTS, and easily outcompete TWC on price. If Frontier was the big ILEC TWC wouldn't take our market for granted, unfortunately though Verizon has most of the footprint here and they've crippled their DSL product:

1. POTS now required.
2. Can't get speeds higher than 3mbit/s even if your loop supports it, even though they previously offered the 15mbit/s tier here, which I used to have.
3. No rural DSLAMs.

I've never understood why the editorial page here hates Frontier so much, they've done right around here. I wish Verizon would sell them the whole market. As for Comcast, well, at least they SPEND MONEY. Seeing TWC go will be no great loss for us, they've neglected our plant and essentially shit-canned all the local employees (they used to employ over 300 people, now it is less than 50) while consolidating our market into Syracuse, so who cares who those out-of-towners report to?

When I lived in a market with only Century link and Time warner cable they both sucked really bad with TWC being just slightly better than Century link who allowed the service to %100 not work for weeks to then ask for the bill to be paid in full for less than a week of service than even maybe kind of worked.

Time warner cable tech support has claimed more than once that my usage in the 50-100GB area on what was a 10/1 plan that later was marketed as 15/1 as "too much to be supported". The pile of BS I would hear when talking to there tech support made anything I heard about Comcast seem better than a wet dream. $100 tech visit charges for non fixed %60 packet loss, being suddenly "upgraded" to the turbo plan with the added $10 more for speeds I was unable to get was just messed up. (They upsold really, really insanely hard on the turbo upgrade when ever you complained about internet service. Oh your internet is down, how about you pay for turbo and then that will make a non working connection work. Yes it was the mob and I bent over so many times just to try to get it to "Stay up" in some kind of way. You don't want to know what happened when you wanted to "downgrade" back to standard because it still sucks and you still don't get close to the speed you are paying for. )

I had TWC from 2004 to 2009 when they jacked the bill up into the sky and the talk of the 40GB did it so then my hope of it being greener over at Century link died in less than a month.

I have been %100 in support of this merger and TWC fans in those gem markets like LA and NYC can moan and complain all they want but they aren't the ones dealing with the true horror of TWC and there total BS in markets they don't care about like OH.
said by wiggie116:

Time Warner covers parts of Western MA. Major congestion on my street. 2000MS pings are common. Can't get any worse »i.imgur.com/RjGUFKU.png

Oh yes sir it can, try dealing with month long outages from Century link that still wants payment for a service they didn't provide or time warner cable that allows %60 packet loss that makes most web pages unable to ping you and they claim it's all good because after a million try's there own web page loads on a i7 desktop the tech said must have been an old POS box from the year 2000. No sir that is called it loads in less than 1 second tethered over 3G and takes forever if at all over your total POS copper you dumb sub contractor making $7 an hour with no idea how internet service works at all. Oh and no computer of there own when a laptop is like $500 or less so well it is your desktop, laptop, other laptop, friends laptop that all don't work right when hardwired to the modem one at a time to test with.

Glad to have been on Comcast for the past year, so much better deal for the price and it works with out calling a tech every other day to put duct tape over the cable outside the home running to the street because those cheap MBA's won't pay for a new cable to be run.

Sorry your service sucks though, I know the feel very well and get angry when people say pay for better internet. Sometimes you just can't get good service out of cable no matter how much you bend over for them. And leaving doesn't matter because they can just pass that bill right to the guy next door who is willing to pay for the price hike.

wiggie116
Premium Member
join:2013-10-31
Pittsfield, MA

wiggie116

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

Basically the service is worthless during primetime and weekends.

But I will say that speed/latency was solid for 6 years with TWC.

Camaro
Question everything
Premium Member
join:2008-04-05
Westfield, MA

Camaro to wiggie116

Premium Member

to wiggie116
Didn't think Time Warner was at this end of the state. Did a quick check for a coverage map and found this one. Puts things in perspective.

»mashable.com/2014/02/13/ ··· age-map/

wiggie116
Premium Member
join:2013-10-31
Pittsfield, MA
D-Link DSL-2750B
Actiontec GT784WN

wiggie116

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

Pittsfield has always had Time Warner. Most of Berkshire County was Aldelphia. Some other small towns like Hinsdale, and Lanesboro have Charter. Charter never upgraded the plant to offer HD, and HSI in these towns. Charter offers basic cable in far western ma.

I never realized TWC was in New Hampshire or parts of Vermont either. That map definitely puts the merger in perspective. CC will be one giant beast!
soja
join:2014-01-21
Waterloo, NY

soja to wiggie116

Member

to wiggie116
Your screenshot shows perfectly performing TWC service. What is more disturbing is 20ms to your home router, but it is WiFi...

High latency to the first hop is fine, as long as it doesn't persist through the route.

wiggie116
Premium Member
join:2013-10-31
Pittsfield, MA

wiggie116

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

Hmm, what about the third Hop? Shows 2000ms through Pittsfield. Maybe I am reading the test wrong..

We also get "latency failed" on speed tests. Speed drops to 1-4Mbps down while the upload always stays at 5Mbps.
soja
join:2014-01-21
Waterloo, NY

soja

Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

Sorry, what I meant by "first hop" is the hop between your cable modem and TWC's CMTS.

I can't say you're not having issues, but from the screenshot provided, nothing is wrong there.

I would not consider what speed tests say to be reliable, most use flash or other plugins. Try the new speed test here, do you see any issues?

wiggie116
Premium Member
join:2013-10-31
Pittsfield, MA
D-Link DSL-2750B
Actiontec GT784WN

wiggie116

Premium Member

Re: Let it die already, let it die

Speed tests here seem fine. But I have only ran a few test so far.

I was just pinging 24.29.47.165 »i.imgur.com/haoSGFd.png. That seems like allot of packets loss. I'll
Wait and see what happens. They are deffintley doing some
Plant work. I see coils of fiber next to nodes. Possibly doing some splits.

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

Zenit_IIfx to why60loss

Premium Member

to why60loss
Why did I say Frontier. I meant Charter.

I guess its my mind just telling me Charter is the Frontier of cable? :P

TW definitely has issues in their non-gem markets...its bad when you make Comcast look good.
And well, Comcast's network engineering really is good...its not the highest bar but its a bar most MSOs should shoot to meet. Support is literally horrendous, and I doubt that will get better with the Comcast getting bigger...

KoRnGtL15
Premium Member
join:2007-01-04
Grants Pass, OR

KoRnGtL15

Premium Member

They continue to insist........

That they have it in the bag and its set. Arrogant assholes.

FureverFurry
RIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12
Premium Member
join:2012-02-20
49xxx
Zoom 5341J
ARRIS WBM760
Vonage VDV-21

FureverFurry

Premium Member

Re: They continue to insist........

said by KoRnGtL15:

That they have it in the bag and its set. Arrogant assholes.

"In the bag" is the operative phrase, I fear. All of that congressional payola (I mean, contributions) isn't going for naught. DOJ is political and Congress is VERY pro-business.

I'm in the spinco realm and having had one too many Comcast horrors requiring intervention by a public entity to fix, I wonder ..... how could Greatland Communications be any worse ?
Brim77
join:2012-03-16
Lansing, MI

Brim77

Member

"deliver approximately $1.1 billion in consumer benefits annually"

These two companies combined would rake in $500+ million per QUARTER in bullshit modem rental fees alone. And don't say "just buy your modem" because there are plenty of horror stories confirming that Comcast and TWC will charge you regardless.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 recommendation

telcodad

MVM

Re: "deliver approximately $1.1 billion in consumer benefits annually"

said by Brim77:

These two companies combined would rake in $500+ million per QUARTER in bullshit modem rental fees alone. And don't say "just buy your modem" because there are plenty of horror stories confirming that Comcast and TWC will charge you regardless.

Yeah: »Comcast is Still Charging Some Modem Owners a Rental Fee [66] comments

You must hang onto your purchased modem receipt/proof-of-purchase and check your bill carefully each month.

Purchasing a modem brand that is not one of those rented (e.g., Zoom) can also help in these cases.

Rom
@sbcglobal.net

Rom

Anon

TWC

Honestly, in NC, it can't get worse than TWC. Even Comcast has >50 speeds
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym

Premium Member

Re: TWC

said by Rom :

Honestly, in NC, it can't get worse than TWC. Even Comcast has >50 speeds

You must have never had the pleasure of using NorthLand Cable or AT&T....
XJakeX
join:2005-03-05
Coventry, RI

XJakeX

Member

wow a 5 MB raise - woopie doo

Cox raised all it's subscribers speeds by 5MB or more during the past year. Did they get a nice juicy competition killing merger in return for it. NOT.

What a crock.
ham3843
join:2015-01-15
USA

ham3843

Member

Comcast is in for a surprise.....

This deal with TWC is NOT going through, not tomorrow, not next quarter, not in ten years.

Deal with it Mr. Cohen.
soja
join:2014-01-21
Waterloo, NY

soja

Member

Cautiously Optimistic

Honestly, my TWC market(Rochester, NY) has had 100% solid speeds for years, and I subscribe to the highest tier available(50/5Mbps). I did have a service call with a tech about a year ago about why they route all traffic through Chicago, and he mentioned my node was ~20% load.

I would welcome Comcast bringing speed bumps into my area. TWC has always slacked on upgrades here, and they are my only option.