NYS officials say that they’ve reached a potential settlement with Charter Communications regarding the build-out of its cable network.
The State Department of Public Service announced the $13 million settlement, saying that Charter failed to meet requirements for expanding the cable network as called for when the state approved Charter’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable.
Interim CEO for the Department of Public Service, Gregg Sayre, says that while Charter is delivering on many of the requirements regarding investments and other activities, it failed to expand the reach of its network to un-served and under-served communities and commercial customers in the time that was allotted.
Charter has now agreed to pay $1 million in grants for equipment to provide computer and internet access to low-income users, and to set aside $12 million as a security to meet its network expansion commitment going forward.
Charter released a statement saying that it has met and even exceeded the vast majority of its one-year commitments in New York. It says delays in approvals for adding utility poles in parts of the state has affected the timetable for extending its network.
