Charter To Buy Cox For $21.9 Billion Amid Escalating War With Wireless (reuters.com) 27
Charter Communications announced a $21.9 billion deal Friday to acquire Cox Communications, combining two major cable providers as they face mounting competition from wireless carriers offering 5G home internet. The transaction merges Charter's 31.4 million customers with Cox's 6.3 million, creating a larger entity to defend against aggressive expansion from Verizon and T-Mobile.
Charter lost 60,000 internet customers in the March quarter, underscoring the industry's vulnerability as traditional cable broadband growth stalls. Wireless carriers have successfully marketed their fixed wireless access services at lower price points while delivering competitive speeds, turning what was once cable's most profitable segment into contested territory. The combined company, which will be headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, plans to adopt the Cox Communications name within a year of closing while retaining Spectrum as its consumer-facing brand.
Charter lost 60,000 internet customers in the March quarter, underscoring the industry's vulnerability as traditional cable broadband growth stalls. Wireless carriers have successfully marketed their fixed wireless access services at lower price points while delivering competitive speeds, turning what was once cable's most profitable segment into contested territory. The combined company, which will be headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, plans to adopt the Cox Communications name within a year of closing while retaining Spectrum as its consumer-facing brand.
They have a solution: compete on speed (Score:5, Insightful)
Why can't I get symmetric 1Gbps speeds from Spectrum (Charter) cable? They have fiber to the box on my street.
The should compete against the wireless carriers on technical capability (speed), instead, they thin they can lock in a monopoly, but they are really just the two drunks hanging onto each other for support.
It's just a BS excuse (Score:3)
They always say something along the lines of how the merged entity will be better positioned to provide more competitive offerings. The reality is prices go up and the service will continue to stagnate. But honesty makes for a bad press release.
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Nonsense. With the larger company, they'll be better positioned to provide more competitive offerings to their executives. Sure, prices will go up and quality of service will go into the crapper, but the important thing is that they'll be able to pay the staff in the executive suites more. Lear jets don't buy themselves, you know.
Re: They have a solution: compete on speed (Score:1)
Re: They have a solution: compete on speed (Score:2)
I switched from Crapcast to att gigabit fiber last fall. Didn't even have to use their gateway thanks to the 8311 firmware. The difference in service is beyond belief. I had no idea how bad it was. I regularly achieve just over 125 MB/s transfers, which is essentially "saturation" for a gigabit link. The price is the same as Comcast with no data caps, and I'll never have to buy another cable modem just to get a fraction of the promised speeds.
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Before moving to my current house, I had symmetric 1Gbps from Frontier. Verizon was also a possibility at that location. They offered speeds up to 5Gbps, but I figured that I could not use that.
However, every evening, around 10pm, the connection would drop for a couple of minutes. The exact time wasn't consistent, but the daily event was.
Now, with Verizon buying Frontier, that will probably get more expensive and more crap.
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Wait what? How did I miss this news about Verizon buying Frontier?
Holy crap. So Frontier begs the govt for a huge handout with the "promise" of rolling out higher speeds, only to turn around and wave the white flag?
Frontier wanders through our neighborhood once every few months trying to get us to switch (I'm sticking with my local, because small business and they've never given me problems). My wife *hates* Frontier because of the crap service and run-around they gave her parents, plus the rep tried to l
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Why can't I get symmetric 1Gbps speeds from Spectrum (Charter) cable?
You probably can. Just not at residential pricing (their enterprise services offerings will do fiber up to (at least) 100Gbps).
The good news (for you) may be that in order for the merge to be approved every location in which Cox or Charter operates will need approval from the jurisdictions (usually state) public utilities commission. And that almost always means some sort of concessions. Be sure to submit your comments on what concessions you want (like universal FTTH roll-outs across the entire Cox/Ch
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Where are you seeing this? Generally speaking, an FCC approval is the end of the line.
Because that is the way it works (look to the Charter/TWC/Brighhouse merger process, or talk to your business lawyer for the excruciating details). In the fed space, the FCC, FTC, and main Justice all need to approve (some will look closer than others, but their sign off is still required). On the state level, various PUCs will need to approve (again, some states will just approve, others will ask for concessions). This time, the smart states will include MFN clauses in their approvals to get the best of
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They do not want to invest neither in DOCSSIS 3, nor into 10GPON + the fiber install from the box to your house.
If they went from DOCSSIS 2.x to DOCSIS 3.x, they could give you the symetrical over the Coax.
Having said that: Why do you want symetrical?
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Having said that: Why do you want symetrical?
So I can backup my files, my wife's files, etc. to Backblaze.
So that I can upload files from my work laptop (at my house, because 100% WFH) to my company's network at a reasonable speed.
Etc..
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Having said that: Why do you want symetrical?
So I can backup my files, my wife's files, etc. to Backblaze.
So that I can upload files from my work laptop (at my house, because 100% WFH) to my company's network at a reasonable speed.
Etc..
Fair enough, if you can really use the 1Gbps up, that's grand.
Re: They have a solution: compete on speed (Score:2)
Comcast moved to DOCSIS 3.x in my area, but is still not offering anything symmetrical. Not sure if there is a technical reason related to legacy cable TV signals, or it's just their execs failing to understand the changing market needs. Sadly, the 5G internet wireless carriers are also offering asymmetrical here. The 100 Mbps DL that Verizon 5G achieves at my home was tolerable. The 10 Mbps UL, not so much. I canceled after trial.
Verizon + Frontier (Score:1)
In another step towards sector consolidation, the merger of Verizon and Frontier was approved today.
This should be effectively made illegal (Score:2)
And by that I mean at this point (in my view) that means the outlawing of pretty much any company buying another.
I've become blackpilled on both vertical and horizontal integration via buyout and I think there's a good case that it's one of the root causes of a lot of our economic and cultural issues. Maybe not a causative but there's a lot of correlatives there. In general the idea of starting a company with the goal of getting it purchased by a larger one is something cancerous to what we supposedly valu
Growth by acquisition... (Score:2)
If you marry someone, you didn't grow 67 inches taller because you now have a wife. In the era of cord-cutting, which has happened because cable companies are absolutely terrible across the board, they are on a downward trend, so they have to do something that looks like growth, but in the end, their customer base will continue to shrink. Can't say they will missed when they're gone.
This smells like an acquhire (Score:2)
Carter is the larger entity, both by # of subscribers and money, yet the new entity will be Cox. And yet, consumers do not know aboutt either name, because they only know "Spectrum", which is the name that reamins.
So, the name change is not to wash the face of charter/spectrum and dupe the mases.
This seems more that active investors in both companies recognized that the leadership of Cox will make a better job leading the combined entity that the leadership at Charter. Basically, they bought Cox to hire the
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Basically, they bought Cox to hire the C-Suite.The weird part is the HQ being in Conneticut and not Georgia....
Charter had to give the existing CEO (who is losing his chairmanship of the board) something? With three board seats (including the chairmanship) Cox will have substantial influence on the future direction of the company. If the merger looks to get approved, watch which C-level execs from which company start to find other opportunities (as that will tell you the story about who is actually going to actually be in charge).
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So Cox will start the enshittification of the decently reliable (where I am & better than the other 2 broadband offerings in my area) Charter operation.
God help all us legacy Charter customers.
Truly relieved.... (Score:2)
... that I ditched Cox back in January. They aren't the worst company, they aren't the best, but I always knew where I stood with them.
Now I have a fiber provider that's actually local (until they get bought out) who actually believes in customer service. How bizarre.
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>"... that I ditched Cox back in January. They aren't the worst company, they aren't the best, but I always knew where I stood with them."
Until a few months ago, where I live, there has been no choice at all. It is Cox or nothing. And it showed. I now pay $200/mo for basic cable and a lower-tier of 300/30 Mbs. For a one TiVo/TV, and one person household. And that is with "loyalty" discounts I have to complain about every year when they try to jack it up another 20%. It is insane.
Now Metrolink fiber
Is this DOCSIS cable? (Score:1)
These cable companies like Comcast and Cox, are they using DOCSIS cable for internet? Or is it optical fibre?
Here in Oz we pay about AU$85 a month for 50/20, it does not matter much in price terms whether it is copper DSL or optical, or even DOCSIS which is being phased out. Price is based on speed bands.
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Should have added, that's roughly US$55