Charter Communications is Being Forced Out of New York After Failing to Meet Commitments

Quinn: It’s 1-800-LAW-1010. 1800law1010.com. Our friend Paul Harding’s on the phone, Cantara.

Cantara: Morning, Paul.

Quinn: Martin Harding’s on.

Paul: Good morning, guys. Good morning. Good morning.

Quinn: Is this unprecedented? The state of New York kicking out a business? We’re talking about Charter right here.

Cantara: Yeah.

Quinn: Attempting to kick out Charter. Is that unprecedented?

Paul: I looked. I have not found anything that is quite on point. Nothing that made the news. Nothing that’s been this impactful. They have got one month to find someone else to provide internet service to all of us. And they are kicked out of New York. Or at least, that’s what the order says.

Quinn: What about, I thought you said they were fighting it, Cantara?

Cantara: I read a story that said they, because this is such a gigantic market for cable, that they are going to fight this tooth and nail. Did you hear that too?

Paul: Yeah. Well, what’s happened here is, they’ve got 30 days to file an appeal of the Public Service Commission. And they are going to file that appeal. It’s going to drag on. And I think what we really have here is this, okay, so they got this 2016 Time Warner and Charter merge. So we were going to have this amazing cable service. They said, “Okay. But, we need you to do some things.” And there were about six deliverables. The biggest one was, we need people in rural areas, hey, places where we live, to have internet service. They don’t have internet service. And they said, “We’ll do it.” And they had to do a certain number. By now it was 145,000 people who were underserved or unserved were supposed to have it. They don’t. So, I think what I read between the lines, Public Service Commission says “You’re out”. I think this is the beginning of a negotiation to keep them in. And just kind of…

Quinn: I just can’t… Oh, okay.

Cantara: So much money involved, right?

Paul: Billions.

Cantara: Like, I mean, there’s got to be a way…

Paul: Yeah, billions.

Cantara: I mean, there’s got to be a room of people that are going to make this happen. Right?

Paul: I think they were ignoring the Public Service Commission. They don’t like to be ignored. They do have the right to revoke a merger that they approved, because something wasn’t met. I think what’s going to happen, we’re going to see that they are going to do a mea culpa. Charter’s going to say, “We are going to do better. We were unrealistic. Now these are our new goals. Hold us accountable.”

Cantara: And I also read a story that said, if they were to exit the state of New York, it’s not like your cable and your internet would just go dead. You would be switched over automatically. So, we’re not going to be caught with no internet service if this does happen. They’ll move us over and then they’ll tell us, you know, who we work with on this.

Paul: Yeah.

Cantara: So, what they gonna, like… Then they got to like be nice to you and everything, the offering people free movies on their birthdays and stuff like that. They got to do a whole campaign.

Quinn: Do they?

Cantara: Well, I don’t know. This is not good PR for them right now. You know?

Paul: I looked back to a story that we did that, you know, that I did with you guys. And it was back in 2017 when the Attorney General then filed a claim against Time Warner, Charter, Spectrum. Right? That’s who we’re talking about. Saying, “Hey, you are not delivering the bandwidth, the speed, that you are charging for.” Right? So, this case is still pending, and will go to trial in 2019. So, there’s been a theme of Spectrum not doing what they said they were going to do. And, this is really the second version of it. But no, if you didn’t read any of these stories, if you don’t turn the news on, if you don’t even know what Spectrum is, other than maybe paying your bill, then nothing will change.

Cantara: Okay.

Paul: You’ll continue to get service. The question is: “What level of service?”

Cantara: And then, for those of us following the story, the next big date comes what, in about 30 days? The next big piece of news?

Paul: Yeah. Well, the news is going to be they filed an appeal. And then it’s going to go dark. That’s when I believe we’re then going to hear news saying they’ve come to a second arrangement. I don’t see Charter Communications leaving. They are a national company. They do this all over the place. And I think we just see some strategy on the part of the Public Service Commission.

Quinn: Hey, do you pay the bill? Do you pay the cable bill at the house? Or is that someone else’s chore?

Paul: It’s someone else’s. Yeah. I’m not good like that. Yeah. They’d be kind of, yeah, it’s backing up.

Quinn: I still have to pay Time Warner Cable every time I pay, right? My check goes, or the money goes…

Paul: Right, right.

Quinn: …to Time Warner Cable on the app. So, it’s like it still is never totally gone, fully.

Cantara: I feel like, you’re like me, like you’re living a good life if you never go to the mailbox. Like seriously. I never go to the mailbox.

Quinn: Once a week.

Cantara: I’m just totally clueless through what’s being paid, and I feel better about myself like that.

Quinn: Yeah, there’s a lot of crap in the mailbox. You’re right.

Paul: There really is.

Quinn: Thanks Paul. We appreciate it, brother.

Cantar: Thanks Paul.

Paul: You’re welcome. Talk soon.

Quinn: All right. It’s 1-800-LAW-1010. 1800law1010.com.

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