Getty images | Andrzej Wojcicki
Charter Communications withdrew a petition seeking government permission to impose data limits on broadband users this year.
Unlike other ISPs, the Charter is subject to a ban on data limits and surplus rates until May 2023 due to the seven-year conditions applied to the purchase of Time Warner Cable in 2016. In June 2020, the Charter filed a petition to the Federal Communications Commission to allow the condition to expire two years earlier, on May 18, 2021.
FCC President Ajit Pai sought public comment on the petition, but never took final action, although he opposed the terms of the merger when they were imposed by the Obama-era FCC. With Pai leaving the FCC after President-elect Joe Biden took office tomorrow, Charter has submitted a petition declaring that he “respectfully withdraws his petition.”
“VICTORY”
“Hey, hey! Charter just withdrew its petty petition to start implementing data limits in the middle of a pandemic! This is what we call VICTORY”, tweeted Dana Floberg, policy manager for the consumer group Free Press. The group had previously urged the FCC to reject the petition, writing:
The COVID-19 pandemic made it very clear that unlimited domestic broadband connections are a necessary utility service. The evidence from April to June, when most ISPs lifted their limits, shows that ISPs’ data limits and overuse rates are completely unnecessary abuses of market power. All networks performed well, while their operators continued to earn high profit margins as usage skyrocketed.
Charter is the second largest home Internet provider in the United States, after Comcast, and sells broadband services under the Spectrum brand.
FCC shifting to democratic control
The Charter’s last request to the FCC did not say why it withdrew the petition, but its request would have faced greater difficulties in the Biden government with Democrats controlling the FCC. Pai’s departure will leave the FCC with a 2-2 split between Republicans and Democrats until a new commissioner is appointed by Biden and approved by the Senate. In the meantime, Biden must promote one of the two current Democrats – Jessica Rosenworcel or Geoffrey Starks – to the post of president at least provisionally.
In addition to banning data limits, the merger conditions imposed by the FCC also prohibited Charter from charging large online video streaming services for network interconnection. The conditions were imposed by then-FCC President Tom Wheeler to prevent Charter from using its enhanced market power against online video providers offering services over Charter’s broadband network.
But the requirement for free interconnection was lifted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in August. The FCC led by Pai did not defend the merits of the condition of the merger in court, paving the way for that decision. The decision did not affect the data limit ban.
Despite imposing conditions for seven years, Wheeler FCC’s 2016 merger order said the Charter could require conditions to be suspended after five years.
Claimed users of charts as plans with data limits
After filing his petition with the FCC last year, Charter said he had no intention of imposing data limits. “As soon as conditions expire, Charter will weigh the options as we would with any business decision, but currently it is not even considering implementing data limits or charging for the interconnection and has no plans to do so,” the company said. Ars at the time. “What Charter seeks is a level playing field so that we can continue to grow and provide superior services to our customers across the country.”
But as the process progressed, Charter said in an FCC document that broadband users like to have data-limited Internet plans. “[T]The market today shows that broadband service plans that incorporate data limits or other usage-based pricing mechanisms are generally popular when the limits are high enough to satisfy the vast majority of users, “Charter told the FCC, months before withdraw the petition.
When asked why he withdrew the petition today, a Charter spokesman noted that the terms of the merger have already been partially nullified in court. Charter also told Ars that he wants to assure customers that their unlimited data will not disappear:
In light of the continuing seriousness of the global pandemic and its effects on our customers, we want to offer them the assurance that they will continue to benefit from the unlimited access to broadband and the financial security it offers during these difficult times, and therefore removed our petition.
Charter did not take advantage of the court’s decision to impose interconnection fees. “We have no plans at this time to charge interconnection fees,” the Letter spokesman told Ars.
The FCC today issued a public notice acknowledging Charter’s withdrawal of the petition. “According to the terms of the Merger Approval Request, all conditions that remain in effect will expire on May 18, 2023, seven years from the closing date of the transaction,” said the FCC.
Disclosure: The Advance / Newhouse Partnership, which owns 13 percent of Charter, is part of Advance Publications. Advance Publications owns Condé Nast, which owns Ars Technica.