Phillip “Comcast isn’t the answer to the problem, it is the problem” Dampier

Just a quick note to alert readers that we haven’t lost interest in keeping you informed about what is going on in the broadband industry. We are taking some time out to do more than just write about what we’re seeing around the country. We’re actually getting involved to try to change things.

The Comcast Time Warner Cable merger proposal is before New York regulators and this week is the deadline for the first round of comments on the proposal. More than 2,700 New York residents have added their two cents, most strongly opposed to the merger. We’re also seeing out-of-state Comcast-backed non-profit groups sending in comments praising Comcast (chapters of the Boys and Girls Club are by far the biggest offenders — something to remember when they ask you for money).

It is also highly unethical for public officials to lobby out-of-state regulators for a private, for-profit business deal, yet that is exactly what North Beach, Md. Mayor Mark Frazer did. So did Barbara A. Miller on the Board of Selectmen for the town of Peterborough, N.H.  And you thought they represented you and your interests and not those of a giant multi-billion dollar cable company. Your vote can make all the difference, especially with Mayor Frazer who is up for re-election.

We will publish our full submission on Stop the Cap! when finished and appreciate your patience as we spend time documenting our arguments in opposition to this merger deal.

You have to live in a warmer climate to be on the list of the next eight cities to get Time Warner Cable’s massive Maxx upgrade.

This afternoon, Time Warner announced it would more than triple the broadband speeds of customers in Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Hawaii, Kansas City, Raleigh, San Antonio and San Diego at no extra charge.

“We are committed to reinventing the TWC service experience market-by-market,” said Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus. “We want our customers to know a new experience is coming that brings them super-fast Internet speeds and a more advanced TV product.”

Most of the cities on the upgrade list either have or are at least facing the threat of fiber-based competition from AT&T or Hawaiian Telcom. With Verizon’s long-suspended FiOS project and Frontier’s ‘DSL or Die’-philosophy, Time Warner Cable has so far avoided spending money on upgrades where its only significant competition comes from DSL. Outside of New York City, Time Warner has yet to announce any upgrades within its northeast division, which dominates cable service in Maine, western Massachusetts, New York, and parts of Ohio.

With both Google and AT&T promising fiber service in Austin, Time Warner wasted no time beginning upgrades in the capital city of Texas, which have already delivered faster Internet speeds across large sections of the city. By the end of this week, more than half of Time Warner’s broadband customers in Austin will have access to free upgraded speeds.

TWC customers in these communities who subscribe to the Standard Internet plan, formerly up to 15Mbps, will now receive up to 50Mbps, and customers who subscribe to the Ultimate plan, formerly up to 100Mbps, will receive up to 300Mbps – more than three times their current speeds, at no extra charge. In non-upgraded areas, Time Warner’s maximum speed remains 50/5Mbps.

If your non-profit or civil rights group feels that part of its core mission is writing letters in favor of a giant cable company’s plans to upsize, we’d like to welcome you to Stop the Cap’s new Alert Your Donor Base program, a free public service from a group that does not accept contributions from corporate donors, big or small. All too often, your love letters have gone unnoticed by your contributors who believed their money was being used to help the needy and downtrodden, not rich corporate executives, shareholders and Wall Street investment banks.

No worries, those days are over. We’re thrilled to share your all-too-often unpublicized excitement for all-things-Comcast with your donors and supporters on your group’s social media pages, discussion forums, and even with the local media in your area.

As we see it, non-profits and civil rights groups serve important functions in society and we encourage all to redouble those efforts and get out of the corporate shill business. Comcast really doesn’t need your help to consummate their $45 billion dollar deal. But if you insist, we think it’s only fair the public understands where their contributions are going.

Dear Boys and Girls Club of Cape Cod,

We’re excited to learn that the challenges faced by the youth of Cape Cod have evidently been entirely resolved, freeing up your organization’s valuable time and resources to promote a $45 billion dollar merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable on your group’s letterhead.

Your Massachusetts donors must share my excitement, knowing your organization now has an enormous surplus of resources in the bank. Why else would the Boys and Girls Club spend valuable time and money churning out letters for a multi-billion dollar corporation that customers across Massachusetts know and loathe.

We were especially impressed with how far your group was willing to reach beyond its core service area — sending letters gushing about Comcast to state regulators (excerpt below) like the New York State Public Service Commission:

Again and again over the past 17 years, Comcast has proven itself to be a good ¿corporate citizen¿ by providing numerous services to the Boys & Girls Club free of charge and always with a friendly helping hand. 

I do know that Comcast has also partnered with our national organization, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, since 2000, providing more than $68 million in cash and in-kind contributions and that they sponsor of Club Tech, a digital literacy initiative dedicated to providing youth with computer skills needed to success in the 21st century. 

The Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod serves 823 children on an annual basis providing individualized supplementary education at the elementary, middle and high school levels.  It is no exaggeration to say we would not be where we are today without the assistance of good neighbors like Comcast and I have every reason to believe that a stronger Comcast will only strengthen their ability to serve the community.

The Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod is grateful to Comcast for their support of our kids and families and fully expect that the same kind of “good neighbor attitude” will continue in support nonprofit organizations in NY and elsewhere.

68 million dollars. We let that dollar amount sit with us for a moment. $68,000,000. That sure is a lot of incentive to spread good cheer on behalf of a company that ordinary consumers voted (again), The Worst Company in America. And look at you — you want them to grow even larger!

We have no doubt that the Boys and Girls Club is indeed grateful to Comcast for numerous checks handed out to your organization. Unfortunately, this only convinces us of two things:

1. The Boys and Girls Club has too much free time on its hands, becoming intimately involved in giant corporate business deals that help executives and shareholders, and not too many boys and girls who face Comcast’s notoriously high rates and bad service when they get a little older;
2. Your organization really doesn’t need contributions because Comcast is available to cut you checks at every opportunity.

Yours very truly,

Stop the Cap!

If your non-profit or civil rights group has or is thinking of writing a glowing letter in favor of the merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, Stop the Cap! is delighted to announce our new Alert Your Donor Base service. Each time we discover a letter submitted to a state or federal regulator announcing your enthusiastic support for the Worst Company in America marrying the second worst, we’ll be sharing that exciting news, along with any contributions we discover Comcast has sent your way, to your members and supporters.

We were surprised to learn that so many non-profit and civil rights groups don’t seem to publicize their sudden fascination with Comcast’s growth agenda. Perhaps it is an oversight. But that’s no problem. We’ll make sure the news lands on your Facebook page, Twitter feed, and your local media outlets. You have nothing to be ashamed about, right?

If donors decide that Comcast has evidently given your group so much support you feel somehow obligated to divert your attention away from your core mission to write a Hallmark Card in favor of $45 billion corporate merger deals, that’s important news for them to know. Perhaps donors will decide it is safe to direct their contributions to the groups that are dedicated to helping real people, not multibillion dollar cable companies.

It’s the least we could do.

Here’s a sample:

Dear Carlisle Hope Station:

For the benefit of your donors, we’d like to share your exciting news that the Carlisle Hope Station of Carlisle, Pa. took valuable time out of its day to send a letter of support for Comcast’s $45 billion merger deal with Time Warner Cable. This merger will have no impact on your group or its constituency because Comcast is already your local cable company. You decided it was best for New Yorkers to also enjoy cable service from the 2014 winner of the Worst Company in America award.

We pondered why your charitable group would spend time, money, and resources on a letter writing campaign for multi-billion dollar corporation. Then we discovered Comcast is a Platinum Donor, contributing more than $10,000 in in-kind/real contributions to your organization. Since Comcast has so generously donated to your effort, perhaps there are other local needy organizations that could do with some donations — ones that don’t have time to write letters to out-of-state regulators about cable company mergers.

Yours very truly,

Stop the Cap!

Comcast and Time Warner Cable want New York State regulators to believe disclosing the locations of their customer care centers, revealing the prices they are charging, and describing exactly what Comcast will do to Time Warner Cable employees and customers post-merger are all protected trade secrets that cannot be disclosed to the general public.

New York Administrative Law Judge David L. Prestemon found scant evidence to support many of the claims made by the two cable companies to keep even publicly available information confidential, despite an argument that disclosure of the “trade secrets” would cause substantial competitive injury. His ruling came in response to a detailed Freedom of Information Law request from New York’s Utility Project which, like Stop the Cap!, is having major problems attempting to find any public interest benefits for the merger of the two cable companies.

The information Comcast and Time Warner Cable want to keep off-limits is vast, including the prices the companies charge for service, their licensed franchise areas, the locations of their call centers and walk-in customer care locations, and what exactly Time Warner Cable is doing with New York taxpayer money as part of the state’s rural broadband expansion program:

“In general, the redacted trade secret information and the Exhibits identified below include, without limitation, information and details concerning (i) the current operations and future business plans of the Companies, (ii) strategic information concerning their products and services, (iii) strategic investment plans, (iv) customer and service location information, and (v) performance data. This highly sensitive information has not been publicly disclosed and is not expected to be known by others. Moreover, given the highly competitive nature of the industries in which Comcast and Time Warner Cable compete, disclosure of these trade secrets would cause substantial injury to the Companies’ competitive positions– particularly since the Companies do not possess reciprocal information about their competitors.”

That’s laughable, declares the Public Utility Law Project.

Norlander (Photo: Dan Barton)

“The ‘competition’ for TV, broadband, and phone business in New York generally boils down to a duopoly (phone company or cable ) or at best oligopoly (maybe phone and cable companies plus Dish or wireless), in which  providers are probably able to deduce who has the other customers and likely know, due to interconnection and traffic activity, what their ‘rivals’ are doing,” said Gerald Norlander, who is aggressively fighting the merger on behalf of the Public Utility Project.

Stop the Cap! wholeheartedly agrees and told regulators at the Public Service Commission’s informational meeting held last month in Buffalo that Comcast’s promised merger benefits are uniformly vague and lack specifics. Now we understand why. The public does not have a right to know what Comcast’s plans are.

“When it comes to divulging their actual performance and actual intentions regarding matters affecting the public interest, such as Internet service to schools, extension of rural broadband, service quality performance, jobs in the state, universal service, and so forth, well, that is all a ‘trade secret’ justified by nonexistent competition,” said Norlander. “Thus, the situation remains the same, there is insufficient available evidence to conclude that the putative incremental benefits of the merger outweigh its risks.”

Here is a list of what Comcast and Time Warner Cable believe is none of your business. Judge Prestemon’s rulings, announced this morning, follow. He obviously disagrees. But his decisions can be appealed by either company:

• “Details of Time Warner Cable’s current broadband deployment plans in New York. In particular, the information contains the specific details about such plans, including the franchise area, county, total miles of deployment, number of premises passed and the completion or planned completion date. Such information is kept confidential by Time Warner Cable” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
• “information regarding the Companies’ promotional rates for service in various locations within their respective footprints – as well as competitive intelligence concerning competitor offerings. This compilation and competitive analysis are not publicly available.” (ruled for Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “specific details of Time Warner Cable’s current build-out plans to rural areas of New York, as well as Comcast’s future business plans in this area. The information also contains anticipated financial expenditures for Time Warner Cable’s build-out plans. Such information has not been publicly disclosed.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning the New York schools and libraries served by Time Warner Cable, as well as information concerning Comcast’s future business plans to serve such entities. This information is kept confidential by Time Warner Cable and has not been disclosed to the public.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning the number of Comcast’s “Internet Essentials” customers in New York, as well as Comcast’s future business plans for the “Internet Essentials” program.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “the Companies’ detailed customer and service quality data.” (ruled for Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning the Companies’ current operations and staffing levels in New York, as well as Comcast’s future business plans concerning post-merger operations and employee levels.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information setting forth the number of subscribers to Time Warner Cable’s “Everyday Low Price” broadband service.” (ruled for Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “Comcast’s handling of customer requests for an unlisted service, and how Comcast handles customer inquiries related to this subject matter.” (ruled for Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “Comcast’s future business plans with respect to particular subject matters.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information and performance statistics relating to the Companies’ call centers in New York and the Northeast.” (ruled for Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning Time Warner Cable’s operations as they relate to projects funded by federal or state [energy efficiency or distributed energy resource] programs.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning Comcast’s operations and future business plans relating to avoidance of truck rolls and vehicle fleets.” (ruled for Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information relating to the number of Wi-Fi hotspots that Time Warner Cable has deployed in New York, as well as Comcast’s future business plans in this area.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning Comcast’s handling of cyber-security issues associated with its Xfinity Home service.” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning the Companies’ operations and customers in relation to cellular backhaul service.” (ruled for Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “information concerning Time Warner Cable’s projects funded by NYSERDA” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)
  
• “projects developed in conjunction with New York State” (ruled against Comcast/Time Warner Cable)