Net neutrality debate raises big questions for Comcast's big deal Investors increasingly jittery over potential threat to Time Warner Cable takeover David Cohen, architect of Comcast's political and regulatory strategy, has been a big supporter of Barack Obama over the years. He has hosted multiple fundraisers for the US president at his home - so many that Mr Obama quipped in 2013 that "the only thing I haven't done in this house is have [the Passover] Seder dinner." It is unclear whether Mr Obama will be returning to the Cohen residence anytime soon. This week the president stunned Comcast, the largest cable and broadband operator in the US, and other broadband providers such as AT&T and Verizon, when he waded into the debate about net neutrality - the principle that all web traffic should be treated equally. Mr Obama urged the Federal Communications Commission to ban so-called internet "fast lanes" and reclassify broadband as a public utility along so-called "Title II" lines - a position vigorously opposed by Comcast. It says reclassification will hinder investment and stifle future innovation. The president's intervention comes at a sensitive time for Comcast - and not only because the company has cultivated close ties with his administration: Brian Roberts, its chief executive, has played golf with Mr Obama in Martha's Vineyard, for example. The company has been spending a lot of time on FCC matters lately. The regulator is in the middle of a lengthy review of Comcast's proposed $45bn takeover of Time Warner Cable, the second-largest US cable company. The deal, which is also being reviewed by the US Department of Justice, would consolidate Comcast's position as the largest provider of high-speed broadband services. Will Mr Obama's intervention over net neutrality sway commissioners scrutinising the deal? Comcast says no. Mr Cohen points out that the FCC's "open internet" proceeding - a review of net neutrality that has been under way for several months - is unconnected to its analysis of Comcast's proposed Time Warner purchase. "It doesn't have anything to do with our transaction," he told me. He may be right but investors are increasingly jittery over whether the deal will be cleared. The spread between the value of Comcast's all-share offer and the current trading price of Time Warner Cable has widened, hitting 12 per cent following Mr Obama's comments. Net neutrality and the future of broadband regulation may explain some of the market's concerns. The fastest growing businesses operated by Comcast and Time Warner Cable are broadband services. Will Comcast still want to double down in broadband when the market could potentially become much more tightly regulated? Comcast has historically been a content distribution business but in 2010 it began the process of acquiring NBCUniversal, the broadcast network and movie studio. "It's possible that Comcast could conclude that Title II regulation [of broadband] would make it less attractive to own more distribution," said Craig Moffett, analyst with MoffettNathanson. "They may decide they don't want to increase their exposure to distribution assets at a time when price regulation of broadband hangs in the balance," he said. Mr Cohen declined to comment on what Comcast will do if the FCC moves towards a tighter regulatory regime. Other companies have already reacted, with AT&T suspending plans to roll out superfast fibre broadband in100 US cities. Randall Stephenson, chief executive, said it could not "go out and invest that kind of money deploying fibre to 100 cities" without "knowing under what rules those investments will be governed." If the FCC blocks the deal - or if Comcast withdraws its offer because the new regulatory environment for broadband services becomes too restrictive - the company has plenty of other options. It could invest in Europe, a market it has avoided and which is undergoing a round of consolidation. John Malone's Liberty Global has acquired cable operators and BSkyB bought Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland to create a pan-continental satellite player. A European foray would not be the first choice for Mr Roberts, who would rather stick to the original plan. But uncertainty surrounds a deal that once seemed to have a clear path through the regulatory thicket. While Mr Obama's intervention may not have hurt Comcast's chances, it certainly has not helped. @MattGarrahan