參議員弗蘭克對康卡斯特收購時代華納有線電視公司的訊息表示了他的感受，這項交易一宣佈就已經被人們所熟知。上個月，他對擬議收購表示“嚴重保留”。今天，他又進一步向司法部發出一封信，要求聯邦監管機構在仔細審查收購時，仔細權衡網路中立性和網際網路的“權力平衡”。

“網際網路自成立以來一直是創新和經濟增長的平臺，”弗蘭肯說它還以前所未有的方式聯絡了美國人，促進了資訊和思想的自由交流。簡單地說，網際網路屬於人民，而不是大公司，“換句話說，網際網路是一種效用。弗蘭肯要求司法部在對這筆交易的未決分析中列入“對開放網際網路問題的徹底評估”。他的全部發言見下文。

最新訊息：康卡斯特向《邊緣》雜誌提供了一份宣告，強調了該公司在2018年之前將遵守的開放網際網路規則。此外，康卡斯特表示，預計FCC將在其當前交易（作為收購NBCUniversal的一部分）到期時實施適用於所有主要網際網路提供商的類似規定。我們把康卡斯特的宣告放在弗蘭肯參議員的宣告下麵。

I am concerned that Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable could compromise the open nature of the Internet, which is one of the reas*** I oppose the deal.  I am writing to request that you to take this important issue into account when you evaluate the proposal’s anticompetitive effects.

The Internet is an open marketplace where everyone can participate on equal footing, regardless of one’s wealth or influence – and I believe that’s the way it should be.  The Internet has been a platform for innovation and economic growth since its inception.  It also has connected Americans in unprecedented ways, facilitating the free exchange of information and ideas.  Simply put, the Internet belongs to the people, not to huge corporati***.  Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable could disrupt this balance of power, resulting in higher costs and fewer choices for c***umers.

Net neutrality protects c***umers by prohibiting broadband service providers, such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable, from picking and choosing which lawful Internet content will reach homes and offices across the country.  Settlement-free peering arrangements perform much the same purpose, allowing Internet traffic to flow freely among backbone and last-mile networks without interference from the corporati*** that control the infrastructure.

Because of net neutrality and settlement-free peering, the website for a **all hardware store in rural Minnesota loads as quickly as the website for a big, national chain; Vikings fans can read about their team on the website of their choice, whether that’s ESPN or a blog written by a local fan; and an email from a c***tituent in Duluth gets to me as quickly as an email from my bank.  Without open Internet protecti***, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and other broadband service providers could block, degrade, or charge extra fees to tran**it Internet traffic.  As I wrote in a 2010 letter to the Federal Communicati*** Commission (FCC), absent sufficient protecti***, "Comcast is free to use its control of its high speed Internet service to block or impede content that it finds in any way competitive with its own content."

When Comcast acquired NBC Universal in 2011, the FCC echoed my concerns, stating that "Comcast will have the incentive and ability to hinder competition from other [online video distributors] . . . through a variety of anticompetitive strategies," including "blocking, degrading, or otherwise violating open Internet principles with respect to the delivery of unaffiliated online video to Comcast broadband subscribers."  In fact, Comcast previously had been caught doing just that, resulting in an FCC order concluding that "Comcast’s conduct poses a substantial threat to both the open character and efficient operation of the Internet, and is not reasonable."  The FCC also questioned Comcast’s veracity during the proceedings, concluding that "Comcast’s claim that it has always disclosed its network management practices to its customers is simply untrue."  More recent reports indicate that Comcast has begun to change its relati***hips with backbone networks or popular content providers who need access to Comcast’s milli*** of customers.

While widespread practices of this nature might benefit Comcast’s bottom line, they could be very harmful to c***umers and **all businesses.  To address some of these concerns, the FCC required Comcast to abide by net neutrality rules as a condition of Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal.  Comcast now touts those net neutrality conditi*** as a reason to support the corporation’s bid to acquire Time Warner Cable.  For example, in a recent memorandum, Comcast’s Executive Vice President wrote that the "Open Internet protecti*** will be extended to milli*** of additional broadband customers" as a result of Comcast’s proposed acquisition and that "the new company’s broadband c***umers will enjoy the enforceable protecti*** of the no blocking and non-discrimination rules that were put in place by the FCC."  He reiterated this point in at least one recent interview with the media, and I expect Comcast to make a similar case to the Justice Department.

Comcast’s statements tell only part of the story, however.  First, Comcast’s net neutrality obligati*** expire in January 2018, which raises the question of what happens after that time.  Second, the FCC’s net neutrality conditi*** do not extend to peering arrangements.

I am very concerned that Comcast could use its clout in the broadband market to dictate the content c***umers receive and the prices they pay, and these concerns are only intensified by Comcast’s proposal to acquire Time Warner Cable.  With more than 20 million customers, Comcast already is the nation’s dominant Internet service provider, controlling about a quarter of the national broadband market and a much higher percentage of the market in many of the local areas in which it operates.  By acquiring Time Warner Cable, Comcast would extend its reach substantially, covering milli*** of additional customers.  This would give Comcast even more leverage to manipulate Internet traffic to serve its own corporate interests.

I therefore request that you include a thorough evaluation of open Internet issues in your ****ysis of Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable.  I look forward to working with you on this important issue.

康卡斯特宣告：

The Comcast Time Warner Cable transaction will bring milli*** more Americans under the Open Internet rules as soon as our deal closes. We fully expect that the FCC will have in place Open Internet rules that will apply to all companies by the time our current condition from the NBCUniversal deal expires in 2018. That condition was always meant as a bridge to enforceable rules that would be applicable to all companies in the industry. Comcast has supported the Open Internet rules since they were first proposed and is the only company that is currently required to abide by them