Charter Communications to Offer a Wireless Product, CEO Says
September 21 2016 - 6:35PM
Dow Jones News
By Shalini Ramachandran
Charter Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. cable
operator, plans to offer a wireless product, Chief Executive Tom
Rutledge said at an investor conference Wednesday.
Mr. Rutledge said Charter has asked to activate an agreement
with Verizon Communications Inc. that allows for the cable operator
to offer a wireless service by leasing Verizon's airwaves on a
wholesale basis.
Charter inherited that agreement through its purchase of Time
Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, a deal that closed earlier
this year.
Mr. Rutledge didn't offer further details, including timing,
price or potential phones the service would work on. "We have
talked internally about how to build out our network to
capacity...and how to do that both terrestrially and wirelessly,"
he said.
Charter's strategy would be to take advantage of its Wi-Fi hot
spots, both outdoor and inside customers' homes and businesses, to
support a mobile service that would rely on Verizon airwaves where
Wi-Fi isn't available, Mr. Rutledge said.
The approach mirrors a similar one laid out Tuesday by Comcast
Corp., which announced plans to launch a wireless product in
mid-2017.
Mr. Rutledge said that Charter's cable network passes some 50
million homes today but about half don't subscribe to any Charter
service. A mobile product could help drive up penetration of
Charter's services, he said.
Write to Shalini Ramachandran at
shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 21, 2016 18:20 ET (22:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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