California PUC Releases Draft Comcast/TWC Approval Conditions

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer recommended the commission approve Comcast’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable (TWC) with significant conditions. Proposed conditions released Friday include a requirement that Comcast expand the eligibility requirements for its Internet Essentials service to include all households in its service area in the state that have a household income equal to 150 percent of the federal poverty level and provide free Wi-Fi to Internet Essentials enrollees in the state. Comcast would also have to sign up 45 percent of eligible households in its service area in the state within two years unless it can show that penetration rates of eligible customers in those areas is less than 45 percent. Comcast would also need to offer stand-alone broadband service for five years after the deal closes, with that service having a specific price cap, the CPUC said. The commission will be able to consider the proposed decision as early as its March 26 meeting.