The federal government is set to approve the proposed merger of Charter Communications and Bright House. Government regulators are interested in combining the two companies so they can help prevent the growth of streaming video services from stifling.

This $5 billion merge would create the second largest broadband provider in the US, just behind the largest provider Comcast. The merge would also create one of the largest cable companies, closely following AT&T and Comcast.

Once this merge takes place, Charter-Bright House will have seven years of requirements that will keep it from limiting platforms for streaming video such as YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix. The US Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission set forth these requirements.

Charter-Bright House will be required to refrain from data caps and charging prices for data usage, and they will not be able to force tech companies to pay interconnection fees when they deliver large amounts of data. Lastly, media companies will not be able to sign content agreements with Charter-Bright House that can prevent them from streaming or airing the same movies or shows.

Each of these requirements will benefit the consumers while also benefiting the distributors of online videos. They can also help to give new forms of video programming services additional protection. Consumers will be able to enjoy faster speeds for streaming during the seven years without the added cost. Hopefully, Charter-Bright House will see the benefits of the requirements over the seven-year period and continue offering consumers and businesses the benefits the regulations provide.

Though Netflix originally opposed the Charter Communications and Bright House merger, they are now backing it. Netflix claims these new policies Charter is adopting would prevent them from charging businesses for Internet speeds that are faster.

Once this merger is approved, customers will be provided with more options when it comes to streaming video services and broadband Internet.