---
kind: "section"
citation: "47 U.S.C. § 572"
title: "47"
title_heading: "Telecommunications"
number: "572"
heading: "Prohibition on buy outs"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/47/572"
units:
  - "Chapter 5 — Wire or Radio Communication"
  - "Subchapter V–A — Cable Communications"
  - "Part V — Video Programming Services Provided by Telephone Companies"
---

# §572. Prohibition on buy outs

- (a) **Acquisitions by carriers—** No [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) or any [affiliate](/usc/47/153.md?p=2) of such [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) owned by, operated by, controlled by, or under common control with such [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) may purchase or otherwise acquire directly or indirectly more than a 10 percent financial interest, or any management interest, in any cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) providing [cable service](/usc/47/153.md?p=8) within the [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32)’s telephone service area.
- (b) **Acquisitions by cable operators—** No cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) or [affiliate](/usc/47/153.md?p=2) of a cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) that is owned by, operated by, controlled by, or under common ownership with such cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) may purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, more than a 10 percent financial interest, or any management interest, in any [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) providing [telephone exchange service](/usc/47/153.md?p=54) within such cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A)’s franchise area.
- (c) **Joint ventures—** A [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) and a cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) whose telephone service area and cable franchise area, respectively, are in the same market may not enter into any joint venture or partnership to provide video programming directly to subscribers or to provide [telecommunications services](/usc/47/153.md?p=53) within such market.
- (d) **Exceptions—**
  - (1) **Rural systems—** Notwithstanding subsections [(a)](#a), [(b)](#b), and [(c)](#c) of this section, a [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) (with respect to a [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) located in its telephone service area) and a cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) (with respect to the facilities of a [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) used to provide [telephone exchange service](/usc/47/153.md?p=54) in its cable franchise area) may obtain a controlling interest in, management interest in, or enter into a joint venture or partnership with the [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) of such system or facilities for the use of such system or facilities to the extent that—
    - (A) such system or facilities only serve incorporated or unincorporated—
      - (i) places or territories that have fewer than 35,000 inhabitants; and
      - (ii) are outside an urbanized area, as defined by the Bureau of the Census; and
    - (B) in the case of a [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32), such system, in the aggregate with any other system in which such [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) has an interest, serves less than 10 percent of the households in the telephone service area of such [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11).
  - (2) **Joint use—** Notwithstanding [subsection (c)](#c), a [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) may obtain, with the concurrence of the cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) on the rates, terms, and conditions, the use of that part of the transmission facilities of a [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) extending from the last multi-user terminal to the premises of the end user, if such use is reasonably limited in scope and duration, as determined by the Commission.
  - (3) **Acquisitions in competitive markets—** Notwithstanding subsections [(a)](#a) and [(c)](#c), a [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) may obtain a controlling interest in, or form a joint venture or other partnership with, or provide financing to, a [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as “the subject [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9)”), if—
    - (A) the subject [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) operates in a television market that is not in the top 25 markets, and such market has more than 1 [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A), and the subject [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) is not the [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) with the most subscribers in such television market;
    - (B) the subject [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) and the [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) with the most subscribers in such television market held on May 1, 1995, cable television franchises from the largest municipality in the television market and the boundaries of such franchises were identical on such date;
    - (C) the subject [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) is not owned by or under common ownership or control of any one of the 50 [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) [operators](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) with the most subscribers as such [operators](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) existed on May 1, 1995; and
    - (D) the system with the most subscribers in the television market is owned by or under common ownership or control of any one of the 10 largest [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) [operators](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) as such [operators](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) existed on May 1, 1995.
  - (4) **Exempt cable systems—** [Subsection (a)](#a) does not apply to any [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) if—
    - (A) the [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) serves no more than 17,000 cable subscribers, of which no less than 8,000 live within an urban area, and no less than 6,000 live within a nonurbanized area as of June 1, 1995;
    - (B) the [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) is not owned by, or under common ownership or control with, any of the 50 largest [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) [operators](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) in existence on June 1, 1995; and
    - (C) the [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) operates in a television market that was not in the top 100 television markets as of June 1, 1995.
  - (5) **Small cable systems in nonurban areas—** Notwithstanding subsections [(a)](#a) and [(c)](#c), a [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) with less than $100,000,000 in annual operating revenues (or any [affiliate](/usc/47/153.md?p=2) of such [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) owned by, operated by, controlled by, or under common control with such [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11)) may purchase or otherwise acquire more than a 10 percent financial interest in, or any management interest in, or enter into a joint venture or partnership with, any [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) within the [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32)’s telephone service area that serves no more than 20,000 cable subscribers, if no more than 12,000 of those subscribers live within an urbanized area, as defined by the Bureau of the Census.
  - (6) **Waivers—** The Commission may waive the restrictions of subsections[^1] (a), (b), or (c) only if—
    - (A) the Commission determines that, because of the nature of the market served by the affected [cable system](/usc/47/153.md?p=9) or facilities used to provide [telephone exchange service](/usc/47/153.md?p=54)—
      - (i) the affected cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) or [local exchange carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=32) would be subjected to undue economic distress by the enforcement of such provisions;
      - (ii) the system or facilities would not be economically viable if such provisions were enforced; or
      - (iii) the anticompetitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in [meeting](/usc/47/397.md?p=5) the convenience and needs of the community to be served; and
    - (B) the local franchising authority approves of such waiver.
- (e) **“Telephone service area” defined—** For purposes of this section, the term “telephone service area” when used in connection with a [common carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) subject in whole or in part to subchapter II of this chapter means the area within which such [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) provided [telephone exchange service](/usc/47/153.md?p=54) as of January 1, 1993, but if any [common carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) after such date transfers its [telephone exchange service](/usc/47/153.md?p=54) facilities to another [common carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11), the area to which such facilities provide [telephone exchange service](/usc/47/153.md?p=54) shall be treated as part of the telephone service area of the acquiring [common carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) and not of the selling [common carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11).

## Footnotes

[^1]: So in original. Probably should be “subsection”.

## Source credit

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 652, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title III, § 302(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 119.)