The FCC’s Notice of Inquiry on increasing the benchmarks...
The FCC’s Notice of Inquiry on increasing the benchmarks to assess broadband deployment could enhance the FCC’s case for new regulations on cable broadband speeds, Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant said in a Wednesday research note. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler…
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in April implied cable operators could potentially face broadband regulation if they failed to continue increasing speeds (CD May 1 p1), Gallant said. But new regulations of cable broadband are unlikely given announcements by companies about providing gigabit speeds, he said. Broadband redefinition could potentially be a concern for CenturyLink, Frontier and Windstream if it dissuades them from accepting the FCC’s future Connect America Fund (CAF) payments, the note said, but Gallant believes the agency is “sensitive to this risk and is likely to explore adjustments to other buildout factors that should make it economically attractive for telcos to accept the CAF amounts offered.” Redefining broadband as 10 Mbps or higher could increase the percentage of homes where Comcast/Time Warner Cable would be the sole provider of “true ‘broadband,'” Gallant said, adding it’s unlikely to affect the deal because it would affect only a small percentage of the Comcast/TWC footprint and likely wouldn’t occur until January, after the FCC has already gathered much of the key data for assessing the deal.