Charter Communications announced yesterday that it has reached a deal to acquire big name Time Warner Cable for the hefty price tag of $55.33 billion according to industry sources. That's a huge chunk of change for the big wigs and shareholders of both companies but what does that mean for the average person like myself? You know, the subscriber. Around the Boston area, the big names are Comcast and Verizon.

Executives stated that this deal might create a stronger national player. Does this mean we will have another option for cable and broadband? I mean, who doesn't like options and not being handcuffed by Comcast's pricing on specific channels. Why can't we create our own channels and pay for the stuff we want to watch? The big part of the deal is to help create a faster avenue for streaming services. With many of us on the go and wanting to watch our favorite shows and sporting events, they state this will help. The acquisition will now give Charter a customer base of more than 24 millions subscribers to compete with Comcast's 27 millions plus.

Remember, AT&T is set to acquire DirecTV for $48.5 billion pending approval. This latest merger, also pending approval, is another step to gain control of the on-going fight for broadband and cable users. Comcast failed in a bid to acquire Time Warner so the deal now could be a blow to the leading provider of those services. They are still the top dogs but now the competition is gaining ground.

Time Warner Cable is currently at $183.60 per share while Charter is at $179.78 as of this morning.