Syracuse, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised the state Public Service Commission Friday for fining Charter Communications $2 million, saying the company has made false claims about the buildout of its Spectrum cable network in New York.
"The situation with Charter/Spectrum violating the conditions under which it was approved to operate in New York state is very serious," Cuomo said in a statement. "The PSC should not back down to a media giant that has abused the people of the state in violation of its obligation to build out our broadband system."
The commission fined Charter $2 million on Thursday, saying it had failed to expand its network of high-speed internet, cable TV and telephone service in New York as quickly as it was required to under the conditions of the commission's 2016 approval of Charter's acquisition of Time Warner Cable.
Cuomo said the state's goal is to have 100 percent broadband coverage by the end of the year and that part of its plan depends on Charter living up to its commitment to provide broadband coverage to a specified number of homes.
"Access to broadband is essential for economic development and social equity," he said. "Hotels, businesses, schools and homes all need broadband to be competitive and have equal access to information."
In response to the commission's action Thursday, Charter, which operates under the brand name Spectrum, issued a statement saying it is meeting its merger obligations and had exceeded it most recent buildout milestones.
In addition, the company says on its website that its "multiyear buildout is a massive undertaking, one that will ultimately involve construction of thousands of miles of network infrastructure -- all funded completely by Charter, with no taxpayer subsidies or customer contributions."
Cuomo attacked the company's statements.
"Make no mistake, Charter has not only violated its franchise agreement, it is deceiving the public," he said. "Spectrum news coverage has not only conveniently failed to fairly cover the company's violations, but they also make false claims as to their performance for New Yorkers."
"Their broadband buildout is not on time," he added. "Nor is it a voluntary effort to benefit our citizens, as the company might have people believe. Instead, it was an express condition of their franchise approval, which is very lucrative."
Charter spokesman Andrew Russell said Friday the company stands by its statement.
Cuomo said the state would not have approved Charter's merger with Time Warner Cabe if the company had not agreed to the buildout, "and the company would not have profited from the large New York state market."
Under the commission's 2016 merger approval, Charter is required to extend its network to an additional 145,000 unserved and underserved residential housing units and businesses in the state within four years and to meet certain buildout milestones along the way.
The commission said the company failed to meet its December 2017 buildout requirement and then failed to "cure" the miss as required by March 16.
The commission rejected 18,363 addresses - including 12,467 in New York City and 4,096 in Albany, Buffalo, Mount Vernon, Rochester, Schenectady and Syracuse - to which Charter said it had expanded its network. It said the addresses had already been passed by Charter or another company providing high-speed broadband, or that Charter was separately required to pass the addresses by state regulations or franchise agreements.
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