Charter To Pay $640,000 Settlement in FCC Set-top Investigation

Charter Communications will pay a $640,000 settlement and set up a three-year compliance plan that widens the variety of third-party cable modems it accepts on its network, the FCC Media Bureau said in an order and consent decree Tuesday. The order follows a bureau investigation of Charter that it said sprung from Zoom Telephonics' petition to deny FCC approval of Charter's buying of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, with the cable modem maker alleging Charter infringed on the rights of subscribers to use non-harmful third-party cable modems (see 1510130054). The bureau said its investigation found that from 2012 to 2014, Charter told subscribers that they no longer could attach customer-owned modems and then provided a list of authorized third-party modems that required testing for issues not relating to network harm or theft of service. Under the order, Charter also is revising its cable modem testing regime so compliance testing will take no more than three weeks. Also, it is required under the order to appoint a senior corporate manager as compliance officer for implementing the compliance plan. Under the order, Charter can reject only certain cable modems, such as those that don't support DOCSIS 3.0 or higher. In a statement Wednesday, Charter said it is "pleased to be able to continue to give our customers the choice to use a modem provided by Charter for free or purchase an approved third party modem." "Zoom is pleased with much of the Commission’s action, including its requirement for much faster certification testing for cable modems and appropriate limits on tests," Zoom counsel Andrew Schwartzman said in an email to us Wednesday. "This is a major victory, and we hope other cable service providers will act consistent with the clear wishes of the FCC." Around the time the Charter settlement was released, the FCC also issued the text of the commissioners' order approving Charter/TWC/BHN (see 1605100050).