The Verge - Verizon, Comcast, and Time Warner partnering up: the story so far

FCC approves Verizon's controversial spectrum purchase from cable companies

2012-08-23T19:56:40Z

Following the Department of Justice's lead last week, the FCC has now approved Verizon's acquisition of a large swath of AWS spectrum from a consortium of cable companies operating as SpectrumCo that includes Comcast and Time Warner. As with the DoJ, the FCC's approval specifies "a number of binding commitments and conditions" including a spectrum swap of certain licenses between Verizon and Leap (better known in the market as Cricket) and a transfer of certain AWS holdings to T-Mobile upon completion of the purchase. In fact, the Commission says in its final report that the approval was based largely on "unprecedented divestiture of spectrum to a competitor, T-Mobile."

Details of the approval also reveal that the FCC is requiring...

US Justice Department approves spectrum deal between Verizon and cable companies

2012-08-16T14:52:49Z

The US Department of Justice has signed off on a major $3.6 billion deal between Verizon Wireless and several cable companies that will see America's largest carrier gain valuable new spectrum, according to Bloomberg. Final approval of the controversial agreement will rest with the FCC, which is expected to give the go-ahead in the near future. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowksi issued a statement in support of the agreement today, revealing that his agency is currently circulating a draft order that will make things official.

FCC approval expected in near future

The original proposal faced heavy scrutiny from regulators who raised competition concerns over aspects of the sale that would enable Verizon and cable heavyweights like Comcast...

Verizon's deal with cable companies may be approved in 'next few weeks'

2012-08-14T13:12:05Z

The US Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission are set to approve a spectrum deal between Verizon and several cable companies, The Wall Street Journal reports, but a few compromises were made in the negotiations. Anonymous agency officials say that the deal could be approved in the next few weeks, allowing Verizon to purchase spectrum from companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable and collaborate for limited cross-selling, a controversial provision that would allow one company to sell services from another.

As we've heard before, federal agencies are trying to limit the impact this could have on competition and total coverage. The companies are expected to only cross-sell in areas where one offers services another...

Regulators expected to approve spectrum deal between Verizon and cable companies, demand significant concessions

2012-08-03T15:41:06Z

According to Reuters, the FCC and Department of Justice are poised to approve Verizon's purchase of spectrum from a variety of cable companies including Comcast and Time Warner Cable. However, the government is expected to heavily modify the cross marketing portions of the original proposal due to mounting antitrust concerns. Verizon and Comcast will be forbidden from pushing the other's services in all FiOS markets, and will only be permitted to do so for a limited timeframe in other regions.

Citing three unnamed sources, Reuters describes the ongoing negotiations as "bruising," though it seems Verizon should ultimately come away rather pleased with the rumored terms. Regulators are expected to approve the spectrum aspect of the deal...

Verizon spectrum deal stalled by Justice Department's concerns about competition

2012-07-13T01:41:11Z

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that while the FCC is "essentially prepared to sign off" on Verizon Wireless’s $3.9 billion deal to acquire AWS spectrum for LTE devices from a consortium of cable companies, Justice Department officials are still worried about the deal’s antitrust implications. The office’s major concern is cross-selling — Verizon’s re-selling of cable service from Comcast or Time Warner, and vice versa — which it thinks could inhibit competition in the broadband internet market, and leave many customers without coverage.

So far, the cross-selling is only happening where Verizon’s own FiOS service is unavailable, and the concern is that there’s an implicit agreement between the companies not to move...

Verizon's controversial spectrum purchase from cable companies nearing FCC approval, Reuters reports

2012-07-09T21:56:57Z

Reuters is reporting this afternoon that the FCC is close to approving Verizon's planned acquisition of AWS spectrum from a consortium of cable companies — most notably Comcast and Time Warner — that it would use to deploy additional LTE coverage beyond the 700MHz footprint that it uses today. The deal has been under intense scrutiny by Congress and from other wireless providers over the last several months, arguing that other carriers like T-Mobile would be able to make better use of the spectrum in question and that related deals that allow the cable companies to sell cable service in Verizon stores and vice versa put an unhealthy cap on competition in affected markets.

T-Mobile has backed off in recent days on news that it would...

AT&T says it's interested in Verizon's unused 700MHz spectrum

2012-06-12T19:15:38Z

Speaking at a conference this week, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson indicated strong interest in the 700MHz spectrum that Verizon has offered to sell on the condition that it be allowed to buy SpectrumCo's AWS holdings — a controversial purchase that's been questioned by the FCC, Congress, and other carriers in recent weeks. He said that the offering "pairs perfectly" with AT&T's own spectrum and that it could "be up and running and hot" inside of 60 days of sale, which is just about as close to a stamp of approval on a competitor's strategic move as you're going to get. Of course, it stands to reason that a lack of government intervention on Verizon's part sets an important precedent for AT&T's strategic maneuvers and vice versa, which...

Senator Herb Kohl expresses 'serious concerns' about Verizon's spectrum proposal

2012-05-25T17:11:04Z

The US Federal Communications Commission is still quizzing Verizon on its recent proposal to buy spectrum from cable companies, and now at least one member of Congress has raised concerns as well. Senator Herb Kohl has written to both the FCC and the Department of Justice, urging them to examine the "serious competition concerns" implicit in the deal, which would allow Verizon to purchase $3.6 billion worth of spectrum from the Comcast / Time Warner / Bright House partnership known as SpectrumCo.

Although Kohl is not unconditionally against approving the deal, he urges regulators to make Verizon sell off spectrum in order to reduce its dominance in some locations. He also worries that Verizon's agreement with cable companies will reduce...