Charter still hates broadband competition, asks FCC to help prevent it

Enlarge / A Charter Spectrum vehicle. (credit: Charter)

Charter Communications is asking the Federal Communications Commission to block government funding for ISPs that want to build networks in parts of New York where Charter is required to offer broadband.

An FCC rule for Phase 1 of the commission's $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) bans funding in census blocks where at least one ISP has been awarded money from any federal or state broadband-subsidy program "to provide 25/3Mbps or better service," and it also bans funding in areas that already have home-Internet access at those speeds. But that rule would not prevent ISPs from getting funding to serve parts of New York where Charter is required by the state government to offer service but in which it hasn't yet finished construction.

Charter on Friday thus petitioned the FCC for a rules waiver that would ban funding in 2,400 census blocks "in which Charter has unfunded but nonetheless binding state obligations to deploy at least 25/3 Mbps broadband service." Charter, which sells broadband and other cable services under its Spectrum brand name, said it is deploying speeds of at least 300Mbps downstream and 10Mbps upstream, far above the FCC's 25/3Mbps standard.

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