CEI Says FCC Abused Discretion in Charter/TWC/BHN Overbuild Conditions
The idea that the Competitive Enterprise Institute should have predicted the FCC was considering broadband network overbuild conditions in OK'ing Charter buying Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, and that not doing so means CEI can't petition for reconsideration,…
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is an abuse of discretion and doesn't mean an appellate court can't review the unlawful conditions, the group said Monday in a docket 18-1281 appellant brief (in Pacer). CEI said in October it would appeal those conditions and the agency order rejecting CEI's petition for recon (see 1810090044). It said FCC arguments CEI lacks standing because it didn't suffer injury by the acquisition ignores how it has demonstrated injury, and individual appellants joining in the appeal satisfy those demands since Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's dissent recognized consumers of the combining companies would be hurt by the conditions. One of those individual appellants, Jean-Claude Gruffat, is a CEI board member, it said. The FCC didn't comment Tuesday.