Coalition for Broadband Equity's initial comments on Charter/TWC merger

Here are the Coalition for Broadband Equity (CBE) "Initial Comments" on the proposed Charter Communications takeover of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, filed October 13.

Short version: FCC should insist on $10 per month Internet option for all Lifeline-eligible households and $50 millon a year in marketing, most of it spent on community outreach and training.

CBE now includes groups in Winston-Salem and Kansas City as well as Cleveland, Milwaukee, Akron, Dayton, Lorain and Youngstown.

Charts included with the comments:

Percent of households with cable Internet vs. other kinds of fixed broadband and no fixed broadband, CBE cities, 2014 (American Community Survey) 

25 worst-connected large U.S. cities in terms of fixed household broadband subscriptions, 2014 (ACS)

Percent of households below $20,000 with no home Internet connections (including mobile) compared to higher income cohorts, CBE cities, 2014 (ACS)

Concentration of households without fixed Internet connections in high-poverty Census tracts, CBE cities, December 2013 (FCC Form 477 data)