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Friend, Ready to pay your cable company an additional $1,142? Well, you just might need to if the rumors that the FCC is moving toward approving Charter's takeover of Time Warner Cable are true — which could make you a future Charter customer.1 FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler still needs to put the deal to a vote — which means there's still time to influence the outcome IF you act fast. Call the FCC Now: Tell Wheeler and the other commissioners to block this disastrous deal. The price tag on this merger is about $90 billion. Unless the FCC blocks this deal, Charter’s going to get that money from people like you by raising your rates — meaning the already steep bill you’re stuck paying each month would go through the roof. Charter is taking on a huge debt load just to make this deal happen, and your share of the new debt amounts to $1,142.2 That’s more than the cost of deploying brand-new fiber-optic broadband to your house. In other words, Charter’s going to make YOU foot the bill while it takes out a competitor. Tell FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler that you won’t pay for Charter’s takeover of Time Warner Cable. If this merger goes through all Time Warner Cable customers in Beverly Hills will become Charter customers. In most communities there won't be any other options for high-speed broadband to choose from, so customers will have to pay whatever Charter demands. Most people can’t afford to shell out for higher rates on top of all their other bills and expenses, meaning this deal would push even more people over to the wrong side of the digital divide. This would impact low-income families and communities of color the most. You can still stop this merger if you act fast. Pick up the phone. Tell Wheeler to use his power to stop Charter before you get stuck with the tab. Now’s the time to speak out. Thanks — Mary Alice, Lucia, Candace and the rest of the Free Press team P.S. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is poised to make a critical decision about the future of the Internet any day now. Your voice is needed: Tell him to block the Charter-Time Warner Cable merger.
1. “FCC Drafting Order to Approve Charter-Time Warner Cable Deal,” Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2016: http://act.freepress.net/go/16459?t=10&akid=5569.10296224.jUu8tz 2. “Free Press Petition to Deny the Charter-Time Warner Cable Merger,” Oct. 13, 2015: http://act.freepress.net/go/16386?t=12&akid=5569.10296224.jUu8tz |
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