FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has recommended to his fellow commissioners that the agency approve AT&T’s proposed acquisition of DirecTV.
The Chairman said AT&T will have to meet several net neutrality-based conditions in order to garner final approval.
For example, AT&T will not be allowed to exclude affiliated video services from data caps on its fixed broadband connections. This is meant to prevent discrimination against competing video providers. Further, AT&T will have to submit all completed interconnection agreements to the FCC, along with regular reports about the performance of its network. The FCC said an independent officer will be appointed to assure AT&T lives by the conditions.
“The proposed order outlines a number of conditions that will directly benefit consumers by bringing more competition to the broadband marketplace,” said Wheeler. “If the conditions are approved by my colleagues, 12.5 million customer locations will have access to a competitive high-speed fiber connection. This additional build-out is about 10 times the size of AT&T’s current fiber-to-the-premise deployment, increases the entire nation’s residential fiber build by more than 40%, and more than triples the number of metropolitan areas AT&T has announced plans to serve.”
Wheeler did not say how the other commissioners intend to vote on the matter.
