Charter Spectrum Ups its Game With Spectrum Internet Gig

Charter Communications launches Spectrum Internet Gig in seven additional markets, featuring the deployment of DOCSIS 3.1 internet services delivering a 1 Gbps connection to the customer’s home. What's more, Charter is also doubling the minimum internet speed in these markets to 200 Mbps at no extra cost to all Charter Spectrum Internet customers.

Charter is fully committed to bringing faster internet speeds to the communities it serves with no contracts or data caps. Spectrum Internet Gig is now available to more than 8.8 million consumers across the San Antonio and Austin, Texas; New York City; Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina; Cincinnati; Honolulu, Hawaii: and Kansas City Missouri markets, and will launch in additional Spectrum communities next year.

“Charter’s state-of-the-art, fiber-rich network is superior in its ability to deliver fast and reliable internet to millions of consumers across the country,” said Charter CEO, Tom Rutledge. “As technology continues to evolve, the products and services of tomorrow will increasingly rely on faster broadband connections. Charter’s world-class network is best-positioned to deliver the bandwidth and capacity needed to meet these growing demands.”

With Spectrum Internet Gig, customers have access to faster and more powerful internet speeds to stream video, play online games, download music and more across multiple devices without sacrificing performance.

Charter's Spectrum Internet Gig is offered with no data caps or contracts, includes a modem and free in-home WiFi, and is backed by a 30-day money back guarantee.

About Charter Spectrum

Charter Spectrum is a suite of advanced broadband services offered by Charter Communications Inc., a leading broadband communications company and the second largest cable operator in the United States. Charter Spectrum provides bundles of services, including Spectrum TV™, Spectrum Internet™ access, and Spectrum Voice™. Spectrum Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services.

Charter unsure if net neutrality helps or hinders

Cable TV, Internet and Voice provider Charter Communications is like most of the other big Internet Service Providers in that they like the idea of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to do away with the net neutrality rules. The rules were enacted back in 2015 by what they are calling Obama’s Federal Communications Commission.

After Donald Trump became President, he appointed Ajit Pai to the position of FCC Chairman. Ajit Pai promised to get rid of the net neutrality rules which he seems to be doing despite the American public and the Democrats in the Senate wanting to keep them. By the way, Ajit Pai used to work for a little old Internet Service Provider called Verizon.

Pai and the Cable and Internet Service Providers like Charter maintain that the rules hinder investment even though investment has never been higher and Charter CEO Tom Rutledge himself even said “Title II, it didn't really hurt us; it hasn't hurt us," to an investors group last year.

Despite saying that the rules made it harder to invest, Charter just happened to buy Time Warner Cable AND the Bright House Networks while the rules were in effect. Now Charter provides Internet, cable TV and voice service to all of Time Warner and Bright House areas. Oh, and also Tom Rutledge made almost $100 million last year. Yeah, the whole net neutrality thing must be rough on poor Tom.

Charter Announce Renewal of Viacom Distribution Agreement

Sometimes cable companies like Charter, a provider of cable TV, Internet and phone bundles, has to renegotiate their contract with video content providers. Sometimes it can get messy.

Luckily for Charter subscribers, Charter Communications, Inc. and Viacom Inc. announced recently that they renewed a multi-year distribution contract. They also worked out a new partnership for co-producing original programming.

The programming Charter will provide Spectrum subscribers from Viacom's networks include channels like TV Land, Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1, BET,  Comedy Central, Spike, and CMT on the Spectrum Select tier across Charter's footprint. Other Viacom channels will be available on other Spectrum tiers like Spectrum Silver or Spectrum Gold. Spectrum subscribers will continue to be able to access Viacom's on-demand content on both set-top boxes and through the Charter apps.

Viacom and Charter have also entered into a partnership for co-production of new original content that will exclusively premiere on Charter's channels in the U.S. After Charter's exclusive premiere period Viacom will distribute the co-produced programming around the world, as well as in some domestic markets.

Unfortunately the companies have also agreed to collaborate on gathering viewership data, exploiting advertising opportunities, and making sure users aren't sharing passwords.

There were other parts of the agreement that they are not sharing.

Charter Communications Inc. is the second largest cable company in the United States. Charter provides broadband services, Spectrum TV™ video entertainment programming, Spectrum Internet™ access, and Spectrum Voice™. Spectrum Business® similarly provides business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, music, video and such.

Charter Gives Awards to Non Profits

Charter Communications, Inc. is a leading cable and Internet company. They are the second largest cable operator in the United States and the third largest TV provider over all (including DirecTV). Charter provides Spectrum TV™ Spectrum Internet™ access, and Spectrum Voice™. Spectrum Business® provides cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, telephone, video, data networking, music, and wireless backhaul. Charter also sells advertising and production services.

Charter Communications, Inc. recently announced the winners in its new philanthropic initiative called Spectrum Digital Education Grants. The Grants are given to nonprofit organizations that educate community members on how good broadband is and how to use it to make their lives better. Seems a little self-serving since Charter provides boadband Internet and cable TV, but it is a multi billion dollar corporation after all. The grants add up to around $400,000 which are part of a $1 million commitment to provide digital education in Charter communities through thesel grants. Also, Charter runs PSAs, workshops and webinars for local nonprofit organizations.

Charter received more than 200 applications for the grant.

Below is the list of the 17 winners:

Central Florida Urban League
Westcott Community Center
Austin Free-Net
San Diego Futures Foundation
Eliminate the Digital Divide
Kramden Institute
Connected Nation
DANEnet
LA's BEST
St. Louis Arc
Keystone Community Services
The Oasis Institute
Urban Leagues of Greater Kansas City, Shenango Valley and Rochester
Waipahu Community Association
LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the interest generated and the quality of the submissions received for the Spectrum Digital Education Grant Program," said VP of Corporate Social Responsibility for Charter Communications, Rahman Khan. "After careful review, we are confident that the selected organizations will help further our mission to provide communities in need with the necessary tools to grow and prosper in the digital age."

Charter Spectrum Products Come in Bundles

If you weren’t paying attention, Charter Cable, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, merged a while back. It is all called Charter Spectrum now. After a more than a year integrating the services of the three Internet and Cable indusrty leaders, the new company, called Charter Spectrum is ready to provide great cable and Internet service all around the country. All three companies had service bundles where you could save money if you bough tmore than one service. 

The new company, Charter Spectrum, offers some great bundles with TV, Internet and phone. Charter Spectrum has a triple plays that starts at less than $100.00 a month. That is a good deal. You can watch Charter Spectrum TV at home or on the go with Charter’s Spectrum TV app. Unlike some other providers, Spectrum Internet doesn’t have a data cap and there is no long term contract. After the beginning of 2018 Charter will be offering wireless phones through Verizon’s mobile towers.

Charter Spectrum has most all of the premium channels like HBO, The Movie Channel, Showtime, Cinemax, Encore Networks, and NFL Network!

The Internet connection you get with a Charter Spectrum Triple Play Bundle is pretty fast up to 60 Mbps. Spectrum Internet also comes with a Spectrum Security Suite to protect your computer and such. And these days, online security is very important.

More Fiber Optic Cable Installed in WV Towns

If you live in the towns of Charleston and South Charleston, West Virginia you may be getting faster high speed Internet in your neighborhood soon.

Alpha Technologies will be upgrading parts of Charleston and South Charleston WV and residents should see higher speeds in their internet service and data services as soon as November. For some it might take until next year.

Hurricane-based Alpha Technologies, a West Virginia business technology company, is installing 35-mile of fiber-optic cable to increase Internet speed up 1 GBps in the two cities.

“Some folks are going to be turned on before Thanksgiving,” said Alpha Technologies, director of special project, Charlie Dennie. “We’re probably about six months away from completing the project.”

It won't only be Internet traffic that travels through the new fiber optic installation although internet service providers will be leasing some of the network capacity. As a matter of fact, Alpha doesn't deal in retail Internet to homes. They provide business fiber connections.

For the installation of the fiber, Alpha Tech opted to dig small trenches to bury the cable. Trying to get permission to use the utility poles already in existence can be troublesome and take months or even a year or two because some pole owners try to slow down competition. The trenches are generally a foot to a foot and a half deep using what they call microtrenching. Horizontal directional drilling will also be used. They plan to complete the project by early next year.

Some of the business customers have already requested a 10 gigabyte connection.

The Evolution of Cable and Internet Providers

Cable television has been around for several decades now. At first cable companies just delivered movie and television stations but then they found out they could connect people to Internet and then phones and the triple play bundle was born. People could get phone, Internet and cable TV in a bundle all from the same provider. Then the telephone companies started doing the same thing and the two industries kind of merged with all of them providing bundles with Internet, Video and voice on one bill.Most people can find high speed cable Internet wherever they live.

Then they started getting even bigger. Comcast Cable bought NBC and Universal Studios. AT&T bought DirecTV. Verizon bought AOL and Yahoo.

With Charter's purchase of competing cable companies Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks last year some may have thought there would be a mass consolidation of cable and other companies. Especially with the election of President Trump. It really hasn't happened. Yet. Altice bought Suddenlink and Cablevision and is still looking to grow and there was some talk of Charter and Comcast engaging in some sort of hookup but it hasn't happened. They did agree not to move forward in starting a mobile phone company for a bit without telling each other.

There was also talk of Charter buying Sprint or Sprint's owner, SoftBank, buying Charter but now it is looking like T-Mobile and Sprint will be merging soon and the Charter/Sprint hookup is off the table.