Charter Communications and Cox Communications need just one more regulatory sign-off — from the California Public Utilities Commission — before they can close their merger, MLex reports.

The two US cable and broadband operators have cleared every other hurdle in the deal's approval process. California's state-level utility regulator is the last body standing between the companies and a completed transaction.

What does the California PUC's role mean?

State utility commissions review telecom mergers for effects on in-state service, competition and consumer protections. The CPUC's jurisdiction covers Charter's and Cox's California operations, which gives it authority over the transfer of control of those assets even after federal review has concluded.

That makes California the sole remaining gatekeeper. There is no indication in the reporting of a firm date for the CPUC's decision, so the closing timeline depends on the commission's docket rather than on the companies themselves.

What is not said

The report does not state when the CPUC is expected to vote, whether the commission has flagged conditions, or what commitments Charter and Cox have offered in California. Those gaps matter: state approvals in past telecom deals have sometimes carried behavioral conditions on broadband pricing, build-out or service quality.

The transaction's financial terms, subscriber figures and expected synergies are likewise absent from this stage of the story — the headline development is procedural, not commercial.

Why it matters

For a deal of this scale, being down to a single approval is the procedural endgame. Once the CPUC acts, Charter and Cox can close without further regulatory process elsewhere in the United States.

The next marker to watch is the CPUC's voting meeting agenda; the merger closes once that approval lands.