(Telecompaper) An order recommending the approval of AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV has been circulated to the FCC commissioners, said chairman Tom Wheeler. The proposed order outlines a number of conditions that will increase competition in the broadband marketplace. If approved by the commissioners, 12.5 million customer locations will have access to a competitive fibre connection. The additional rollout is around ten times the size of AT&T's current FttP deployment and increases the national residential fibre build by over 40 percent. It also triples the number of metro areas AT&T has announced that it plans to serve. In addition, to prevent discrimination against online video competition, AT&T will not be permitted to exclude affiliated video services and content from data caps on its fixed broadband connections. It will also be required to submit all competed interconnection agreements with the FCC, along with regulator reports on network performance. AT&T said it was pleased that the Department of Justice has completed its review of the acquisition and that the FCC order to approve the acquisition was being circulated. The company hopes the order will be approved quickly and expects to close the transaction shortly thereafter.