CVC Cablevision Systems Corp. Class A

By Shalini Ramachandran 

The New York attorney general's office has opened a probe into whether Cablevision Systems Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. are providing consumers with the Internet speeds they advertise.

In separate letters to all three providers, the attorney general's office expressed concern that people aren't getting the broadband speeds that companies are promising for reasons within the operators' control. It also said consumers who are paying up for premium, superfast tiers may not be experiencing "proportional increases" in speeds.

"New Yorkers deserve the internet speeds they pay for. But, it turns out, many of us may be paying for one thing, and getting another," said Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, in a statement. "Families pay a huge cost already for Internet access in New York, so I will not tolerate a situation in which they aren't getting what they have been promised."

In separate statements, Cablevision, Verizon and Time Warner Cable each expressed confidence that they provide customers with the speeds they promise and said they will cooperate with the attorney general's office in the matter.

The office's probe is being headed up by Tim Wu, the prominent advocate for "net neutrality" who was recently hired by the Attorney General's office as senior enforcement counsel and special advisor. Mr. Wu has long advocated for greater scrutiny on broadband companies.

In the letters, Mr. Wu wrote that the discrepancy between actual speeds and those advertised may be wide enough apart to "render the advertising deceptive." He also said congestion at the handoff or "interconnection" point between third parties' networks and those of the broadband companies may be slowing the end speeds consumers are receiving.

"We are specifically concerned about disruptions to the consumer experience caused by interconnection disputes, and also the possibility that interconnection arrangements may in some instances render irrelevant any benefit of paying for a 'premium' option," wrote Mr. Wu in the letters, which were delivered to the providers Friday.

The office requested detailed information from each of the companies on their network management and advertising practices, including copies of all broadband customer complaints related to discrepancies between actual and advertised speeds and all "interconnection" agreements, formal and informal, that the companies have struck with third parties.

Write to Shalini Ramachandran at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2015 10:49 ET (14:49 GMT)

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