NY PSC Floats Possible Altice/Cablevision Conditions
Altice may face a flurry of New York Public Service Commission conditions when the PSC rules next month on the company’s $17.7 billion takeover of Cablevision. The commission sought comment Friday on conditions recommended by the advisory staff for the Department of Public Service. The staff said the conditions, if approved, would result in $245 million in benefits. “Recommended conditions focus on the areas of network investment, internet speed enhancements, access, affordability, debt risk mitigation, and service quality,” the advisory staff said in a Friday filing. Altice had committed to some of the items (see 1603090081). Imposing conditions would make them enforceable.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Comments on the recommended conditions are due May 31. The PSC is set to rule on the deal June 16 after extending the deadline last week (see 1605180062). The Communications Workers of America, which had been a leading opponent of the deal, earlier this month said that it worked out a pact with Altice and now supports the combination. The New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee conditionally OK’ed the deal earlier this month (see 1605110055). The FCC OK’d Altice/Cablevision without conditions other than those for national security (see 1605040010). Altice didn’t immediately comment Friday.
Under a staff-proposed condition, Altice would be required to increase download speeds to 300 Mbps for all New York customers by the end of next year. By the end of 2018, the new company must extend the network to all residences and small business in Milan, New York, which is the largest community of unserved customers in Cablevision’s footprint outside the Barrier Island, a recommended condition said. For the difficult-to-serve Barrier Island, Altice would be required to apply for New York state broadband grants. The staff also recommended a requirement that Altice set up a $2 million subscriber contribution fund to support network extension to any remaining households or small businesses in existing Cablevision franchise areas.
A recommended condition on broadband adoption requires Altice to offer a low-income service providing 30 Mbps for $14.99 monthly to homes eligible for the National School Lunch Program and senior citizens receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits. The service must be available in New York in some form within six months of the deal closing, and available to all New York customers within 15 months, the condition stated. The advisory staff proposal sets several terms and goals for the program, including a requirement that Altice enroll 12.5 per percent of eligible customers within the three years of full implementation, and 25 percent within five years. If the first penetration milestone isn't met, Altice would have to invest another $2 million in marketing efforts, and if the second milestone is missed, Altice would have to invest another $3 million.
Another broadband adoption condition requires Altice to increase speeds of Cablevision’s “Internet Basics” service, which would provide affordable service to households not eligible for the new low-income service. Altice would have to double the download speed of the $24.95 monthly service to 10 Mbps, the advisory staff said. Altice would be required to provide broadband services to 40 community anchor institutions for free in underserved or unserved locations, the staff said. And Altice would be required to participate in the FCC new Lifeline broadband program, it said.
Other conditions would include a four-year prohibition on job cuts and protections in the case of another disaster like Superstorm Sandy. “Petitioners should be prohibited from laying off, or taking any action effecting an involuntary reduction in workforce (excluding retirement incentives and attrition), of any customer-facing jobs in New York in the first four years from the date of the Commission’s Order,” the advisory staff said. During declared emergencies, Altice would be required to provide free access to Wi-Fi, news content and power outage coordination. It would have to develop an emergency response and readiness plan to be reviewed by the state.