WASHINGTON, August 15, 2024 – New York’s largest cable broadband provider has agreed to a settlement that requires it to offer a $15-per-month broadband plan to eligible low-income residents across the state.
Under the settlement Charter Communications will reinstate its low-income program with download speeds of 50 megabits per second for four years, the company announced Thursday.
The agreement would benefit more than 1.5 million students participating in the National Free School Lunch Program and approximately 1.2 million Supplemental Security Income recipients throughout New York State.
The settlement was based on allegations that Charter violated the terms of a 2016 merger resolution by raising prices for its low-income broadband program while offering faster download speeds without approval from the New York State Public Service Commission.
The 2016 order required Charter to offer a low-cost broadband plan with speeds of at least 30 Mbps for $14.99 a month. This condition was one of many imposed on Charter to ensure that its merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks did not negatively impact consumers.
However, the Department of Public Service claimed in 2021 that Charter had increased the price of that plan to $24.99 per month for 50 Mbps service, a claim Charter denied.
Charter, based in Stamford, Connecticut, is the country’s second-largest internet service provider, with 30.3 million subscribers as of June 30. The company offers its services in 58 of New York State’s 62 counties.
Charter issued a statement that did not specifically address the PSC’s allegations. Charter said, among other things, that the company “is a leader in providing life-changing, high-speed internet services to low-income families and has helped millions of low-income households and seniors obtain and maintain internet access.”
