Monopoly Power and Market Rigging

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Facebook Page

26 April 16

ederal regulators today approved Charter Communications’ $65.5 billion acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, thereby allowing the creation of America’s second-largest broadband provider with 19.4 million users and the third-largest cable television provider with 17.4 million customers. In a handful of years, the cable industry has gone from hundreds of regional outfits to just three major players — Comcast, Charter, and Altice, (the European company that recently made a deal for Cablevision) — with huge power over the nation’s broadband and entertainment infrastructure.

And you wonder why the U.S. has some of the highest broadband prices among advanced nations and among the slowest speeds? It’s called monopoly power. Cable broadband might eventually face competitors such as upgraded DSL, next-generation wireless, and very-high-speed fiber. But none of these alternatives is likely to be available for some time -- and Comcast, Charter, and other cable corporations are spending millions each year to keep it that way, lobbying and contributing to political campaigns, and providing jobs to former public officials. The market is rigged.

What do you think?