Franken on AT&T/DirecTV: Stand-Alone Broadband a Must

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) says he is concerned that a combined AT&T/DirecTV could become a mobile Internet "gatekeeper" and wants government vetters of the deal—the FCC and DOJ—to hold the companies to a "thoroughly articulated" commitment to offer stand-alone broadband.

He says that without that stand-alone commitment, AT&T could force customers into bundled service they may not want, raising prices while at the same time limiting choices.

That came in a letter to both agencies asking for careful scrutiny of the proposed merger.

Franken also wants the agencies to hold AT&T to its pledge to abide by both the spirit and the letter of the FCC's 2010 Open Internet rules and to "thoroughly consider" the deal's impact on network neutrality.

He also has concerns about those rules limited application to wireless. "The Order has very limited application to the market that AT&T dominates: mobile broadband," he said. "Therefore, it is unclear whether AT&T’s proposed condition would be a significant benefit for consumers. As such, AT&T must make a more substantial commitment to net neutrality, particularly in the mobile space."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.