FCC approves AT&T, DirecTV merger

telecom | 07/24/2015 7:11 pm EDT

The FCC announced Friday it has approved the merger of AT&T and cable- and satellite-TV provider DirecTV. FCC said in a press release that the terms of the merger between the largest U.S. telephone and Internet service provider and the largest U.S. satellite video provider will require the merged company to expand and deploy its services to 12.5 million customer locations, schools, and libraries. It also noted in the release that the companies are “prohibited from using discriminatory practices to disadvantage online video distribution services and will submit its Internet...

Dish tells FCC to block mergers on ‘serious competitive concerns’

telecom | 07/10/2014 4:14 pm EDT

On Wednesday Dish Network Corp. expressed its opposition to two major mergers in the U.S. telecom market in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission. In the letter, Dish urged the American regulator to put a stop to the deals between Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable Inc., valued at $45.2 billion US, and AT&T and DirecTV, valued at $48.5 billion US, not including assumed debt. The first deal would reportedly create the largest cable and Internet provider in the country, and Dish said the merger creates “serious competitive concerns for the broadband and video marketplaces.” “The ability for DISH and other non-dominant players to compete in the broadband and...