US regulators have thrown a new roadblock in the path of Comcast’s $45bn takeover of Time Warner Cable, rewriting their definition of broadband to paint the largest US cable company as a more dominant force in high-speed internet access.美国监管机构变更了对宽带的定义。按照新的定义，美国康卡斯特(Comcast)公司在高速互联网终端领域的主导地位更大了，这为美国仅次于有线电视公司并购时代华纳有线(Time Warner Cable, 全称TWC)的450亿美元交易设置了新的路障。The US communications watchdog voted 3-2 yesterday to define broadband as an internet service with download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second, compared with its previous definition of 4 Mbps.昨天，美国通信监管机构——联邦通信委员会(Federal Communication Commission，全称FCC)以3比2的票数，将宽带定义为下载速度最少超过每秒25兆比特的互联网服务。

相比之下，此前宽带的定义为每秒4兆比特。The Federal Communication Commission’s decision has big implications for Comcast’s bid for TWC because it dramatically changes the competitive landscape for broadband — a central consideration for regulators deciding whether to approve the deal.该委员会的要求对康卡斯特并购TWC的交易会产生极大影响，原因是这一定义很大地转变了宽带行业的竞争格局，而竞争格局是监管机构要求否批准后该交易的核心要素。The change means the number of US families who have no choice in their broadband services provider will climb from 19 per cent to more than half. In most cases, that provider will be one of the big cable companies, which have fiercely resisted the change.这一转变意味著，在美国家庭中，无法自由选择宽带服务提供商的家庭将从19%减少至半数以上。

多数情况下，宽带提供商将是几大有线电视公司之一，这些公司仍然在反感杯葛这一转变。The National Cable Telecommunications Association, an industry lobby group, said the decision was “arbitrary” and “a clear effort to justify and expand the bounds of the FCC’s own authority”.行业游说团体——全国有线电视电信协会(National Cable Telecommunications Association)回应，这一要求“十分不合理”，“其目的显著是为了竖立和不断扩大FCC自身权威”。The FCC split along party lines, with the three Democrats saying the proliferation of mobile devices, video streaming and the “internet of things” meant consumers needed superior internet speeds and Republicans saying 10Mb download speeds were sufficient.FCC内部不存在沿着党派界线的分歧。

三位民主党成员回应，移动设备、视频流服务和“物联网”的剧增，意味著消费者必须超高网速。而共和党成员回应，10兆比特的下载速度充足了。

The Department of Justice must decide whether the Comcast-TWC deal is anti-competitive while the FCC will rule on whether it is in the public interest. Both agencies are taking longer than expected to assess the transaction. Comcast had hoped to complete the deal by the end of last year, but yesterday it extended its merger agreement with TWC by six months to August 12.美国司法部(DoJ)必需裁决康卡斯特并购TWC的交易否不会造成独占，而FCC则要裁决该交易否合乎公共利益。两家机构评估该交易所花上的时间都远超过了预期。康卡斯特原本期望在2014年底已完成这一并购，昨天该公司却将与TWC的收购协议缩短了6个月，顺延8月12日。

本文来源：K8凯发-www.nichizoukai.com