FCC Chairman Circulates Proposal To Approve AT&T-DirecTV Deal

Looks like AT&T’s purchase of DirecTV is coming in for a landing at the FCC.

“An order recommending that the AT&T/DirecTV transaction be approved with conditions has circulated to the Commissioners,” Chairman Tom Wheeler says. The proposal includes conditions that “will directly benefit consumers by bringing more competition to the broadband marketplace.”

If approved by the five-member commission, it would provide a “competitive high-speed fiber connection” to 12.5 million customer locations. “This additional build-out is about 10 times the size of AT&T’s current fiber-to-the-premise deployment, increases the entire nation’s residential fiber build by more than 40%, and more than triples the number of metropolitan areas AT&T has announced plans to serve.”

Other conditions “build on” the FCC’s net neutrality rules. AT&T “will not be permitted to exclude affiliated video services and content from data caps on its fixed broadband connections.” In addition, AT&T must “submit all completed interconnection agreements to the Commission, along with regular reports on network performance.”

“Importantly, we will require an independent officer to help ensure compliance with these and other proposed conditions,” Wheeler adds. “These strong measures will protect consumers, expand high-speed broadband availability, and increase competition.”