Charter and Cox to Merge

fmd

Man-of-Leisure And CableLabs is planning to merge FDX and ESD together anyway, and equipment is going to support both, if it doesn’t already.

It’s true that a 3rd option exists, Unified DOCSIS, but I think we can expect that two paths will continue to exist (cheaper?). Fx the 4.0 amplifiers that Charter is deploying now come with diplex filters, so no FDX/Unified support.

MaxLinear haven’t yet said that they will make a Unified modem chip.

We’ll see what happens.

CommunityMember

fmd MaxLinear haven’t yet said that they will make a Unified modem chip.

And they probably don’t yet have any such committed plans. FDX is much harder (engineering wise, and IP wise[0]) than ESD and Ultra-Split and unless they have a vendor willing to spend money funding the work (which Broadcom got with Comcast and/or Rogers), or commit to a specific volume, they probably won’t go there beyond some preliminary work[1]. While we all know Comcast (and others) like to have more than one vendor option (to be able to play them off against each other for the lowest cost), that goal (pay as little as possible) makes the ROI harder.

[0] There are a number of patents that MaxLinear would probably need to license which would impact potential profit.

[1] MaxLinear suing Comcast is not likely to result in a design win.

satch

Cox Communications , under the Spectrum brand, will be the biggest cable provider in the States. They will gain many more customers.

Satch

Man-of-Leisure

With Cox being mid-split, it will be interesting to see what they do with the speed tiers.

Charter says they won’t be immediately upgrading them to high-split or 4.0, but will convert Cox areas to Charter’s tiers and pricing.

Cox is very stingy with the mid-split upload speeds, only doing 10/25/50/100Mb upload on mid-split.

Comcast and Rogers are doing 100-300Mb upload on mid-split now.

I would imagine Charter (new Cox) will probably be increasing those upload speeds on mid-split.

telcodad

A detailed article on the Light Reading site today about this merger:

Unpacking the Charter-Cox deal
The proposed $34.5 billion Charter-Cox deal is rife with moving parts. Here we look at the regulatory risks, variances in network upgrade plans and how mobile (and even video) might contribute to the combined company.
By Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading - May 19, 2025
https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/unpacking-the-charter-cox-deal

Not_Sure

satch Spectrum is already the largest

smccloud

To everyone wondering if the FCC will approve this, the FCC has now said it will rubberstamp any mergers as long as they end DEI programs.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-is-letting-isps-merge-as-long-as-they-end-dei-programs/

satch

Not_Sure

I thought that was always Comcast with Spectrum close behind. What are the numbers now for Comcast and Spectrum for any type of services?

Satch

Not_Sure

satch

I thought that was always Comcast with Spectrum close behind. What are the numbers now for Comcast and Spectrum for any type of services?

As of Q1 2025
Comcast 12.1 million TV subs, Charter 12.7 mil
Comcast 8.15 mil mobile subs, Charter 10.4 mil
Comcast 31.6 mil internet subs, Charter 30 mil

Comcast is losing internet subs at a faster pace than Charter also( 199K vs 60K in Q1 2025 ) and this is not a new trend

telcodad

Not_Sure Spectrum is already the largest

Not_Sure As of Q1 2025
Comcast 12.1 million TV subs, Charter 12.7 mil
Comcast 8.15 mil mobile subs, Charter 10.4 mil
Comcast 31.6 mil internet subs, Charter 30 mil

OK, so in terms of internet service subscribers, Comcast is currently the largest provider, but in terms of TV subscribers, Charter is currently the largest.

However, I believe, in terms of total subscribers, Charter has the most right now.

CBusdude

telcodad However, I believe, in terms of total subscribers, Charter has the most right now.

Nope Comcast currently has Charter beat, excluding Comcast’s international broadband business Comcast has 33,582,000 total (residential + small business customers) source while Charter reported 31,369,000 customer relationships between residential and small business source.

HFB1217

This discussion has been edited to remove any and all topic postings that were OT to bring it back to the OP discussions choice.

Your Flagging all OT postings will still help

This was done to salvage this popular discussion’s continued postings.
Any return to the OT style and there is will be NO second chance.

Not_Sure

CBusdude your confusing “customer relationships” with customers. If I have TV, internet and 1 line of mobile I have 3 “customer relationships” even though I am ONE customer

CBusdude

Not_Sure Charter defines it as "Customer relationships include the number of customers that receive one or more levels of service, encompassing Internet, video and voice services, without regard to which service(s) such customers receive. Customers who reside in residential multiple dwelling units (“MDUs”) and that are billed under bulk contracts are counted based on the number of billed units within each bulk MDU. Total customer relationships exclude enterprise and mobile-only customer relationships. " Source

telcodad

A podcast on the Light Reading site today:

What’s the Story? Charter, Cox to combine
Light Reading’s Jeff Baumgartner joins the podcast to discuss the $34.5 billion Charter-Cox merger, what the deal means for the companies and sectors involved, and what risks and opportunities for the deal are on the horizon.
By Nicole Ferraro & Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading - May 27, 2025
https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/what-s-the-story-charter-cox-to-combine

At a Glance

Background on the $34.5 billion Charter-Cox deal (01:23)
Implications of the deal for Charter, Cox and the broader cable industry (06:02)
Potential hurdles to the merger on the horizon (12:50)

In this episode, Jeff explains what we know about the planned combination so far, what this deal will mean for the companies and sectors involved and what hurdles and opportunities are on the horizon as the deal moves forward.

telcodad

Charter and Cox state their case at the FCC
Charter and Cox filed their public interest statement at the FCC, touting the mobile and broadband benefits of the proposed combination, including a plan to accelerate DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades in the Cox footprint.
By Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading - July 17, 2025
https://www.lightreading.com/regulatory-politics/charter-and-cox-make-their-case-at-the-fcc

Charter Communications and Cox Communications have made their case at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), arguing that their proposed merger serves the public interest while highlighting that the combined operator will bring forth a competitive mobile offering while also accelerating DOCSIS 4.0 network upgrades in the Cox footprint. Those were among the high-level highlights in their redacted 83-page public interest statement (PDF) filed with the FCC on July 14: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10715141122783/2

The FCC, which has approved several telecom deals of late – including the T-Mobile/UScellular, BCE/Ziply Fiber, Verizon-Frontier and T-Mobile/Metronet transactions – will now put the Charter-Cox combo to the test.

Announced in May, the $34.5 billion Charter-Cox deal is poised to create the nation’s largest cable operator with a combined footprint of 69.5 million homes and businesses and about 37.6 million customers. The combination will retain the Cox corporate name and adopt Charter’s Spectrum consumer branding.

‘De minimis’ competitive overlap

Cox and Charter stressed that the deal doesn’t remove a competitor out of the mix, noting that the overlap of their respective service areas is “de minimis” (less than 0.1%), and “significantly less than those identified in the recently approved Verizon/Frontier transaction.” Charter also promises to onshore Cox’s customer service functions and match Charter’s current commitment to a 100% US-based sales and service employee workforce. Charter also intends to extend its $20 per hour starting wage policy to include Cox employees. …..

telcodad

Today, Charter stockholders approved Charter’s merger with Cox:

Charter Receives Stockholder Approvals Necessary to Complete Cox Communications Transaction
Charter press release, PRNewswire - July 31, 2025
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/charter-receives-stockholder-approvals-necessary-to-complete-cox-communications-transaction-302518752.html

Charter Communications, Inc. (along with its subsidiaries, “Charter”) today announced that its stockholders have approved the proposals necessary to complete Charter’s previously announced transaction with Cox Communications, Inc. (“Cox”) at its special meeting of stockholders this morning. More than 99% of the votes cast voted in favor of each of the proposals required to complete the transaction.

Charter expects to complete its previously announced transaction with Cox in mid-2026, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

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