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Can Comcast contractually exclude Sonic from a community?
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:06 pm
by fodogejo
I was just told by my (~500 Unit) apartment complex management that they would not even consider allowing fiber to be installed in the community, because they had a contract with Comcast. Is this normal? Sounded a bit monopolistic to me.
Re: Can Comcast contractually exclude Sonic from a community?
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:34 pm
by dane
No, that’s not legal. Tenants have a right to the telecom carrier of their choice, including Sonic Telecom.
They CAN sign agreements that allow Comcast that allow them exclusive use of the coaxial cable in the buildings, which is fine because we don’t use coax.
And they CAN sign an exclusive “marketing” agreement, where they agree to promote Comcast to their tenants, and earn commissions for doing so. This is where the issues arise: they get bigger commissions based on higher uptake.
This is an area that the FCC is currently doing some work, and may ban these sort of agreements because they create incentives for property owners to try to block access, even though that’s not legal.
-Dane