Comcast agrees on $800 0000 settlement with the FCC

Cable operator Comcast has agreed upon a settlement with the Federal Communications Comission, by which the company is to pay an $800 000 dollars government fee, as well as provide broadband internet access to clients who have not signed up for cable television services.

The FCC explained last Wednesday that Comcast's unexpected strategy is part of a consent decree to resolve an investigation concerning the cable operator's compliance with a series of merge conditions that resulted from the acquisition of media an entertainment company, NBCUniversal.

Comcast was able to successfully purchase a controlling interest in NBCUniversal in 2011, after a year long review by federal regulators concluded upon a series of specific conditions, including providing stand-alone, broadband internet services at a reasonable price, for clients who are not signed up for any of Comcast's video cable offers. The FCC took a special interest in Comcast after being informed that the company may not have been providing this service in an adequate manner.

The cable television giant refrained from admitting that they have committed a marketing error, but has agreed to provide broadband internet services through February 21, 2015, to all of its clients who do not benefit from Comcast cable TV services. The $800 000 that the company is to pay to the United States Treasury was named a "voluntary contribution" by government regulators, who have also urged Comcast to carry out a large-scale advertising campaign for its broadband internet services.

FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, publicly discussed the settlement, explaining that its purpose is to promote competition in the industry, benefit the consumers, but also support the availability of broadband internet services in areas covered by Comcast.

In response, a spokesperson for Comcast stated that the company has already modified its business strategy as a result of the conditions and suggestions placed upon them by the FCC, including providing stand-alone broadband internet services. "As is often the case with services associated with government orders, the FCC had questions on how the service might have been rolled out in a different or even better way", they said.