New York PSC Fines Charter $2 Million in Broadband Buildout Probe

The New York Public Service Commission ordered Charter to pay $2 million to the state treasury over the state’s claims -- denied by the operator -- that the cable company missed a December buildout target that was a New York condition of the carrier's Time Warner Cable acquisition (see 1805100023). Voting unanimously Thursday on orders in docket 15-M-0388, commissioners directed Charter to accept terms in the merger order or risk having the state’s OK revoked. The PSC rejected 18,363 addresses to which Charter claimed to have expanded its broadband network because the agency said they were already passed by it or another company, or because the ISP was separately required to cover the addresses under state regulations or franchise agreements. The PSC directed the company to revise its 145,000-address buildout plan to remove rejected addresses within 21 days. “Our investigation shows that Charter failed to meet its obligations to expand the reach of its network to unserved and underserved customers at the required pace and that it failed to justify why it wasn’t able to meet its obligations,” PSC Chair John Rhodes said. “Since the company has taken the unfortunate position of refusing to adhere to all conditions set forth in our initial decision two years ago, we now demand the company unconditionally accept all of the conditions as the Commission unambiguously required in 2016, or run the risk of more severe consequences.” The provider “exceeded our last commitment and we continue to meet our merger obligations,” a spokeswoman said.