- CPUC approved the merger with some conditions
- Consumer advocacy groups say the combination leaves Californians with limited providers
- Wall Street is thinking ahead to a possible Charter/Cox merger with Comcast
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved Charter Communications’ $34.5 billion purchase of Cox Communications. This was the final approval the two companies were awaiting, and they now expect to close their merger next week.
The combined company will be the largest cable TV and broadband provider in the U.S., surpassing Comcast. Charter/Cox will pass about 43.2 million locations, while Comcast passes about 38.7 million locations, according to a June 2026 report from Cartesian. Charter and Cox will have a total of 35.6 million residential and business internet customers compared to Comcast’s 31.26 million.
CPUC approved the merger with some conditions, including requiring new affordable broadband offerings for low-income Californians, a $30 million investment in digital inclusion initiatives, at least $275 million to upgrade the company’s California network, and five years of free broadband and Wi-Fi service for 50 eligible community anchor institutions.
CPUC also adopted a number of new customer protections, including automatic bill credits for qualifying service outages lasting two hours or longer, continued honoring of eligible residential “price for life” service agreements, and elimination of equipment exchange fees when customers upgrade or downgrade qualifying residential cable television service or return rented equipment in-person.
Despite the conditions, a group of California consumer advocates were disappointed in CPUC’s approval.
The California Alliance for Digital Equity, Digital Equity LA, Center for Accessible Technology, Fresno Coalition for Digital Inclusion, East Bay Broadband Consortium, and Media Alliance issued a statement, saying the post-merger company will be the only gigabit-capable provider for more than 2.6 million California locations.
“Importantly, our organizations remain concerned about the speed and consistency at which large telco mergers are taking place in California,” said the groups’ joint statement. “The Charter/Cox merger comes just one year after Verizon absorbed Frontier, consolidating market dominance between just four companies: Comcast, Charter, AT&T, and Verizon. We caution against the continued and rapid consolidation of the marketplace without sufficient regulatory safeguards.”
New Street Research analyst Vikash Harlalka wrote, “With the closure of the Cox transaction, we expect an increase in investor speculation around a potential Charter-Comcast merger, especially after Comcast's recent announcement that they are splitting the cable and media assets. We continue to believe that a merger of the two cable giants has industrial logic and would result in material cost synergies.”
The Charter and Cox backstory
Charter and Cox announced their deal last year, with Charter paying $34.5 billion and also taking on $12 billion of Cox’s debt. The combined company will change its name to Cox Communications, but it will use Charter's Spectrum brand for customer-facing interactions.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the deal in March 2026 after Charter joined other major U.S. telcos in dropping diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.
Investors will be anxious to see the first earnings report of the combined Charter/Cox in the third quarter. In late July, Charter filed an 8-K disclosing Cox’s second quarter 2026 earnings. The analysts at BNP Paribas led by Sam McHugh wrote that they’re concerned about a potential reset risk at Charter post-deal close. “Cox is facing intensified competitive pressure in the broadband space following the deal announcement,” wrote McHugh “We anticipate a potential headwind for Charter - should they elect not to raise prices.”