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Article: Charter gets FCC permission to buy Cox and become largest ISP in the US

Impact Score

6 / 10

AI Summary (Processed Content)

The FCC has approved Charter Communications' acquisition of Cox, a deal that would make Charter the largest U.S. home Internet provider by surpassing Comcast. Regulators dismissed concerns about reduced competition and higher prices, arguing the two companies largely operate in separate territories.

A key condition for the approval involved Charter committing to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, aligning with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's demands. The merger still requires approval from the Justice Department and several states before it can be finalized.

The main topics covered are the regulatory approval of a major telecom merger, the resulting market consolidation, and the role of DEI policy commitments in the FCC's decision.

Original URL

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/fcc-lets-charter-buy-cox-says-no-reason-to-worry-about-higher-internet-prices/

Source Feed

Ars Technica

Published Date

2026-03-02 18:19

Fetched Date

2026-03-04 14:27

Processed Date

2026-03-04 15:36

Embedding Status

Present

Cluster ID

Not Clustered

Raw Extracted Content

Charter Communications, operator of the Spectrum cable brand, has obtained Federal Communications Commission permission to buy Cox and surpass Comcast as the country’s largest home Internet service provider.
Charter has 29.7 million residential and business Internet customers compared to Comcast’s 31.26 million. Buying Cox will give Charter another 5.9 million Internet customers. The FCC approved the deal on Friday, but the companies still need Justice Department approval and sign-offs from states including California and New York.
Opponents of Charter’s $34.5 billion acquisition told the FCC that eliminating Cox as an independent entity will make it easier for Charter and Comcast to raise prices. But the FCC dismissed those concerns on the grounds that Charter and Cox don’t compete directly against each other in the vast majority of their territories.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s primary demand from companies seeking to merge has been to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies. In a press release, the Carr-led FCC said that “Charter has committed to new safeguards to protect against DEI discrimination,” and that Charter’s network-expansion plans will bring “faster broadband and lower prices” to rural areas.
The merger was approved one day after Charter sent a letter to Carr outlining its actions to end DEI. Charter offers broadband and cable service in 41 states, while Cox does so in 18 states.
FCC: No reason to worry about higher prices
The FCC’s Charter/Cox decision dismissed competition concerns raised in a November 2025 petition to deny filed by Public Knowledge, the Communications Workers of America, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and the Center for Accessible Technology. The FCC said: