Comcast to Pay $800K to Resolve FCC Probe

Comcast will also continue offering its lower-priced, Internet-only broadband service for an additional year

Comcast has agreed to pay an $800,000 fine and continue offering a standalone, affordably priced broadband service through at least Feb. 15, 2015 under a consent decree with the FCC, the agency said Wednesday.

Under the terms of the decree, the requirement — which was originally included as a condition on FCC approval of Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal last year — has been extended by one year. The condition requires Comcast to provide a standalone broadband service with a download speed of at least 6 mbps for no more than $49.95 a month.

In a news release, the FCC said the agency investigated Comcast after receiving “information suggesting that Comcast was not adequately marketing its standalone broadband services.”

“Today’s action demonstrates that compliance with commission orders is not optional,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in the release.

Also read: Comcast Ups Data Usage Limits Following Netflix Complaint

“Comcast has incorporated the extensive commitments and conditions from the NBCUniversal transaction into the DNA of our business practices, including the commitment to offer standalone broadband Internet,” Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice, a Comcast said in a reponse.

“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,” Fitzmaurice added.

 

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