N.Y. Orders Charter to Provide $15 Broadband to Low-Income Residents

WASHINGTON, August 15, 2024 – New York’s largest cable broadband provider has agreed to a settlement requiring it to offer a $15-per-month broadband plan to eligible low-income residents statewide.

Under the settlement announced Thursday, Charter Communications will reinstate its low-income program offering 50 Megabit per second download speeds for a duration of four years. 

The settlement was intended to benefit over 1.5 million students participating in the National Free School Lunch Program and approximately 1.2 million individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income across the state of New York. 

The agreement followed allegations that Charter violated conditions set in a 2016 merger order by raising its low-income broadband program’s price alongside faster download speeds without approval from the New York State Public Service Commission. 

The 2016 order had mandated that Charter offer a low-cost broadband plan providing speeds of at least 30 Mbps for $14.99 per month. The condition was one of many imposed on Charter to ensure that its merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks did not negatively impact consumers.

However, the Department of Public Service in 2021 alleged that Charter increased the price of this plan to $24.99 per month for a 50 Mbps service, a claim Charter denied.

Based in Stamford, Conn., Charter is the second-largest internet service provider in the country, with 30.3 million subscribers as of June 30. It provides service in 58 out of the 62 counties in New York state.

Charter issued a statement that did not specifically address the PSC's allegations. Charter said, in part, that it is “a leader in delivering life-changing high-speed internet service to low-income families, having helped millions of low-income households and seniors get and stay connected to the internet."