- Jul 20, 2016
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Yeah, I know, big surprise. Although I've worked for a few corporations, I'm not much of a corporate person. I like the freedom and agility of a smaller company. Also, the bigger the company, the longer the list of rules. The term "category killer" was coined several years ago to reference big box stores that drove family-owned companies out of business. Now we have the big mergers of big companies rolling over us like a train. Supposedly, a larger company will be more efficient and better able to provide services at lower rates. Seems like we've been down that road before - what was it - oh yeah, the too big to fail banks.
Here, it was Spectrum and Time-Warner, and in other places, Spectrum and Charter. In getting permission to merge, Spectrum agreed to certain items, including no rate caps for 7 years and no tax on streaming services such as Netflix. The following article describes what is going on with this request to change the agreement.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-07-22/spectrum-merger-promises
Here, it was Spectrum and Time-Warner, and in other places, Spectrum and Charter. In getting permission to merge, Spectrum agreed to certain items, including no rate caps for 7 years and no tax on streaming services such as Netflix. The following article describes what is going on with this request to change the agreement.
Charter’s petition has a couple of curious aspects. One is that it swears that it actually has no current plans to impose data caps on customers and has “no plan to do so” in the future, according to spokesman Justin Venech.
I’d be skeptical,” says Matt Wood, general counsel of the consumer advocacy group Free Press. “Why would any rational business take the time to get permission to do something they don’t intend to do?”
Another aspect is that Charter says, in a public statement about its request, that it merely “seeks a level playing field so that we can continue to grow and provide superior service to our customers across the country.” Such major competitors as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, you see, impose data caps or data allowances at various levels of usage.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-07-22/spectrum-merger-promises