When the state approved Spectrum’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable, it did so based on the fulfillment of certain obligations. Those obligations included providing broadband access to underserved parts of the state and preserving a qualified workforce. Their merger with Time Warner runs the risk of revocation due to misleading advertising and fudging the numbers on their commitments under the merger agreement :...Because of this claim and the misrepresentation to customers and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, there is a possibility that the approval of Spectrum’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable may be revoked, the department said.
The situation regarding Charter/Spectrum is getting more serious with each passing day,” Department CEO John Rhodes said in a news release about the letter. “Not only has the company failed to meet its obligations to build out its cable system as required, it is now making patently false and misleading claims to consumers that it has met those obligations without in any way acknowledging the findings of the Public Service Commission to the contrary. Access to broadband is essential for economic development and social equity. Charter/Spectrum’s intentional deception of New Yorkers must end now.”
UTICA OD:
http://www.uticaod.com/news/20180626/state-to-spectrum-stop-false-advertisements
Spectrum scrutinized
• According to a New York State Department of Public Service investigation and a Public Service Commission order, Spectrum missed its required Dec. 16, 2017, build-out commitment to extend its broadband network to pass additional residences and businesses by 12,245 passings.
• For these two failures, Spectrum was ordered by the Public Service Commission to forfeit $2 million.
• Spectrum has not met a single build-out deadline since the approval of its acquisition of Time Warner Cable in 2016.
• The department of Public Service (PSC) stated that, instead of working to meet its commitment to New York, Spectrum has ignored the state’s interests and knowingly continued to advertise and publish knowingly false claims that the company is exceeding its mid-December 2017 commitment made to New York by more than 6,000 locations and is on track to extend the reach of advanced broadband network to 145,000 unserved or underserved locations by May 2020.
