Kaliforniya, Charter'ın 21,9 milyar $ değerindeki Cox Communications birleşmesini onayladı

California approves Charter's $21.9 billion Cox Communications merger

Fri, August 14, 2026 at 2:23 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve Charter Communications' $21.9 billion acquisition of Cox Communications, clearing the final regulatory hurdle before the deal closes.

California was the last state to grant approval, according to the Wall Street Journal. The other 44 states where the companies operate had already signed off, and the Federal Communications Commission approved the deal in February. Charter and Cox expect the transaction to close later this month, at which point the combined company will operate under the Cox Communications name within a year.

As part of the conditions California imposed, Charter committed to providing affordable broadband plans to low-income customers for five years and to keeping price-lock promises already in place, the commission said. The company must also invest $30 million in a state fund covering broadband adoption, digital literacy, and device access for underserved communities, and commit at least $275 million to upgrade its California network. An additional $5 million will go to Community Development Financial Institutions to support underserved small businesses.

The commission's order incorporated two settlement agreements reached with the Public Advocates Office and the California Emerging Technology Fund, plus five further conditions, according to Broadband Breakfast. The ruling originated as an alternative proposal from California Public Utilities Commissioner Matthew Baker, bypassing the administrative law judge who had presided over the proceeding.

"This decision secures significant commitments that will benefit Californians through expanded affordable broadband options, major infrastructure investments, improved customer protections, and meaningful support for digital inclusion," Commissioner Baker said in a statement.

California regulators had questioned whether Charter's rollback of certain diversity, equity and inclusion policies — changes made at the FCC's behest — would run afoul of state law, according to the Wall Street Journal. California requires Charter to report diversity data on its roughly 6,300-person California workforce and on its use of suppliers owned by members of underrepresented populations.

Together, Charter's roughly 31 million subscribers and Cox's six million would make the combined company the biggest internet and video provider in the country measured by total customers.

Charter had been contending with a shrinking broadband customer base heading into the deal's close. The company lost 172,000 internet subscribers in the second quarter of 2026, bringing its total to 29.4 million, as competition from fixed wireless and fiber providers continued to erode its home-internet business. Charter agreed to acquire Cox in May 2025.