Spectrum Cable thrown out of NY for failing to live up to promises: officials
ALBANY, N.Y. — Spectrum Cable has been thrown out of New York State for failing to “live up to promises,” officials said Friday.
The New York Public Service Commission revoked its 2016 approval of the merger between Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, Inc., which has been doing business as Spectrum in New York.
The commissioner on Friday said that Charter “failed to deliver the benefits to New Yorkers that were at the core of the merger approval” and that the Commission is taking action in wake of Charter’s “persistent non-compliance and failure to live up to promises.”
Officials noted the following instances of misconduct:
- The company’s repeated failures to meet deadlines
- Charter’s attempts to skirt obligations to serve rural communities
- Unsafe practices in the field
- Its failure to fully commit to its obligations under the 2016 merger agreement
- The company’s purposeful obfuscation of its performance and compliance obligations to the Commission and its customers
Charter has been ordered to pay $3 million in penalties, file a a transitionary plan within 60 days and find another cable provider for its customers.
“To ensure that Charter’s customers are not negatively affected during that process, the Commission further ordered the company to maintain service to the company’s more than 2 million customers in New York until an orderly transition occurs,” officials said.
Charter is the largest cable provider in the state, providing TV, internet and VoIP telephone services to millions, officials said.