Public Hearings on Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger

Ocean Time Warner Cable office building at the Maui Lani Village Center. File photo courtesy of Oceanic.

By Wendy Osher

Two public hearings are planned on Maui this week to solicit public comment on the merger of Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corp.

The first Maui meeting takes place tonight, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at 4:30 p.m. at the Cameron Center Auditorium in Wailuku. The second Maui meeting will be held this Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. at the West Maui Senior Center in Lahaina.

The meetings are among a series of public hearings hosted by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs across the state this week.

The DCCA’s Cable Television Division will accept public testimony on the transfer of Oceanic’s cable franchises to Comcast, and any cable-related issues.

Comcast and Oceanic’s parent company, TWC, submitted a joint application for the transfer.

If the sale goes through, “Comcast will control 44 of the top 50 markets in America and hold a virtual internet and cable monopoly in Hawaii,” according to Jay April, CEO of Akakū Maui Community Media.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Maui Nui to get better cable services and faster internet as a condition of sale and we are glad that the state cable division is coming to Maui to listen to what the people have to say” he said in a station press release.

For those members of the public who cannot attend in person, comments can be e-mailed to cabletv@dcca.hawaii.gov, faxed to (808) 586-2625 or mailed to: Cable Television Division, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, PO Box 541, Honolulu, HI 96809. The deadline to submit written comment is at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 25, 2014.

The public can review all related documents involving the proposed transfer on CATV’s website.