FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 9, Pages 6955 to 7935, June 18 - July 12, 2012 Page: 6,987
x, 6955-7935 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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FA 153 C
A erCI a omt.umiunialUicaLt ons.mm a zlssnh3 i 1-7 J
(t) "Rate Change Notifications" means notices that Comcast sends pursuant to 47
C.F.R. 76.1603.
(u) "Rules" means the Commission's regulations found in Title 47 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
(v) "Standalone Broadband Internet Access Service Condition" or "Condition"
means Section IV.D (1)-(3) of Appendix A of the Comcast-NBCU Order.
II. BACKGROUND
2. In the Comcast-NBCU Order, released on January 20, 2011, the Commission identified
potential concerns associated with Comcast's post-transaction incentives to require its customers
interested in purchasing broadband services to also purchase other bundled services-to the detriment of
customers who desired to purchase Broadband Internet Access Service without also purchasing cable
television or other services. To remedy this potential harm, the Commission imposed the Standalone
Broadband Internet Access Condition. The Condition required Comcast to continue to offer standalone
Broadband Internet Access Services at reasonable market-based prices and specified that Comcast must
offer standalone broadband services on equivalent terms and conditions to packages that bundle
broadband and video cable service for seven years.4
3. The Condition also required, inter alia, that Comcast "shall offer a service of at least 6
Mbps down at a price no greater than $49.95 [per month] for three years (provided that the price can be
increased by no more than any increase in the CPI-U for Communications after two years)," and that
Comcast "shall visibly offer and actively market standalone retail Broadband Internet Access Service,
including but not limited to (i) providing a linkable web page devoted exclusively to describing (e.g.,
price and speed) and permitting online purchase of all retail Broadband Internet Access Service
standalone options; (ii) running at least one major advertising promotion of the standalone retail
Broadband Internet Access Service offering annually; and (iii) ensuring that the standalone Broadband
Internet Access Service offering appears with prominence equal to that of bundled offerings on any
product list or in any window, menu or other similar place on any call center screen."s
4. The record indicates that on February 21, 2011, Comcast began offering the required 6
Mbps down/$49.95 per month standalone broadband service tier, known as "Performance Starter," in
every market in Comcast's service territory in which Comcast offers Broadband Internet Access Service.
As with other standalone, multi-product, and bundled Broadband Internet Access Service tiers, the
Company offers Performance Starter through its Customer Service Representatives and outsourced call
center vendors, through its website, and through its owned and operated retail locations.6
5. In the weeks following Comcast's launch of the Performance Starter service pursuant to
the Comcast-NBCU Order, the Bureau received information raising potential concerns about the extent of
Comcast's compliance with the Condition. The Bureau therefore initiated an investigation relating to
some potential compliance issues, specifically: whether all Customer Service Representatives were
providing information concerning the Performance Starter service in responding to consumers inquiring
about Internet service options; whether Comcast had omitted the Performance Starter service on some
Rate Cards distributed after the initiation of that service; and whether Comcast's website readily enabled
existing (as opposed to new) customers to find information about the Performance Starter service.
4 See Comcast-NBCU Order, 26 FCC Red at 4362.
5Id.
6 In the responses described below, Comcast indicated that it does not currently offer certain tiers of Comcast
products, including Performance Starter, through third party retail stores and independent dealers, including
independent resellers.6987
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 27, No. 9, Pages 6955 to 7935, June 18 - July 12, 2012, book, July 2012; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc111170/m1/49/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.