Liberty Broadband Corporation (Liberty Broadband) engages in communications businesses providing a wide range of cable, data, wireless, video, voice, and managed services.
The company is primarily consisted of GCI Holdings, LLC (GCI Holdings), a wholly owned subsidiary, and an equity method investment in Charter Communications, Inc. (Charter).
GCI Holdings
GCI Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, provides a full range of data, wireless, video, voice, and managed services to res...
Liberty Broadband Corporation (Liberty Broadband) engages in communications businesses providing a wide range of cable, data, wireless, video, voice, and managed services.
The company is primarily consisted of GCI Holdings, LLC (GCI Holdings), a wholly owned subsidiary, and an equity method investment in Charter Communications, Inc. (Charter).
GCI Holdings
GCI Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, provides a full range of data, wireless, video, voice, and managed services to residential customers, businesses, governmental entities, and educational and medical institutions primarily in Alaska under the GCI brand. Due to the unique nature of the markets it serves, including harsh winter weather and remote geographies, its customers rely extensively on its systems to meet their communication and entertainment needs.
Since its founding in 1979 as a competitive long distance provider, GCI Holdings has consistently expanded its product portfolio and facilities to become the leading integrated communication services provider in markets it serves. Its facilities include redundant and geographically diverse digital undersea fiber optic cable systems linking its Alaska terrestrial networks to the networks of other carriers in the lower 48 contiguous states and a statewide wireless network.
GCI Holdings has successfully added and expects to continue to add new products to its product portfolio. GCI Holdings has a demonstrated history of new product evaluation, development and deployment for its customers, and it continues to assess revenue-enhancing opportunities that create value for its customers. Where feasible and where economic analysis supports geographic expansion of its network coverage, it is pursuing or expects to pursue opportunities to increase the scale of its facilities, enhance its ability to serve existing customers’ needs and attract new customers. Additionally, due to the unique market conditions in Alaska, GCI Holdings, and in some cases its customers, participate in several federally (and to a lesser extent locally) subsidized programs designed to financially support the implementation and purchase of telecommunications services in high cost areas. With these programs, GCI Holdings has been able to expand its network into previously undeveloped areas of Alaska and offer comprehensive communications services in many rural parts of the state where it would not otherwise be able to construct facilities within appropriate return-on-investment requirements. As part of GCI Holdings’ expansion initiatives, it actively pursues government grants designed to help fund rural expansion.
GCI Holdings sells new and enhanced services and products to its existing customer base to achieve increased revenue and penetration of its services. Through close coordination of its customer service and sales and marketing efforts, its customer service representatives suggest to its customers other services they can purchase or enhanced versions of services they already purchase. Many calls into the customer service centers or visits into one of the retail stores result in sales of additional services and products.
GCI Holdings has empowered its customer service representatives to handle most service issues and questions on a single call. GCI Holdings prioritizes its customer services to expedite handling of its most valuable customers’ issues, particularly for its largest commercial customers. GCI Holdings’ integrated approach to customer service, including service set-up, programming various network databases with the customer’s information, installation, and ongoing service, allows it to provide a customer experience that fosters customer loyalty.
GCI Holdings continues to expand and evolve its integrated network for the delivery of its services. For its existing network, GCI Holdings’ bundled strategy and integrated approach to serving customers creates efficiencies of scale and maximizes network utilization. By offering multiple services, GCI Holdings is better able to leverage its network assets and increase returns on its invested capital. GCI Holdings periodically evaluates its network assets and continually monitors technological developments that it can potentially deploy to increase network efficiency and performance.
GCI Holdings holds a number of federally registered service marks used by its business. It owns two utility patents issued in 2017 pertaining to device diagnostics and network connectivity. The Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the ‘Communications Act’), gives the FCC the authority to license and regulate the use of the electromagnetic spectrum for radio communications. GCI Holdings holds licenses for its satellite and microwave transmission facilities for provision of long-distance services, and for its submarine cable landings. GCI Holdings holds various licenses for wireless spectrum. These licenses may be revoked and license renewal applications may be denied for cause. However, GCI Holdings expects these licenses to be renewed in due course when, at the end of the license period, a renewal application will be filed.
GCI Holdings has licenses for earth stations that are generally licensed for fifteen years. The FCC also issues a single blanket license for a large number of earth stations operating in specific frequency bands. Its operations may require additional licenses in the future.
GCI Holdings is certified through the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (‘RCA’) to provide local, long distance, and video service by Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity (‘CPCN’). These CPCNs are nonexclusive certificates defining each authorized service area. Although CPCNs have no stated expiration date, they may be revoked due to cause.
Network Services Facilities. GCI Holdings operates an advanced, diverse communications network providing data, mobile, video, voice, and managed services to consumer, business, government, and carrier customers throughout Alaska.
GCI Holdings serves urban and rural Alaska utilizing a combination of fiber, microwave, and satellite technologies. GCI Holdings is expanding its fiber network to the Aleutian Chain and has launched urban-level service in the region. GCI Holdings’ extensive use of microwave and satellite technologies also enables it to deliver connectivity to some of Alaska’s most-remote communities.
GCI Holdings owns and operates a statewide wireless network providing voice and data services to Alaskans. Its statewide wireless network provides fifth generation (‘5G’) data service, 4G Long Term Evolution (‘LTE’) voice and data service, EVDO, 3G UMTS/HSPA+, 2G CDMA, and 2G GSM/EDGE service. It continues to expand and upgrade these services to provide a modern network for Alaska.
GCI Holdings’ dedicated internet access and suite of managed services, including voice, WiFi, firewall, detection and response operate on the highest-capacity backbone in Alaska, with numerous peering partners in Seattle and Portland. The availability and quality of service, as well as statistical information on traffic loading, are continuously monitored for quality assurance. The management platform has the capability to remotely access network elements and service end-points, permitting changes in configuration without the need to physically be at the service end-point. This management platform allows GCI Holdings to offer network monitoring and management services to businesses and governmental entities.
GCI Holdings’ video businesses are located throughout Alaska. Its facilities include hybrid-fiber-coax plant and head-end distribution equipment. The majority of its locations on the fiber routes are served from head-end distribution equipment in Anchorage. GCI Holdings has announced that it plans to exit the video business in 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
Charter Communications, Inc.
Introduction
Charter is a leading broadband connectivity company and cable operator with services available to an estimated 57 million homes and businesses in 41 states through its Spectrum brand. Over an advanced communications network, Charter offers a full range of state-of-the-art residential and business services including Spectrum Internet, TV, Mobile and Voice. For small and medium-sized companies, Spectrum Business delivers the same suite of broadband products and services coupled with special features and applications to enhance productivity, while for larger businesses and government entities, Spectrum Enterprise provides highly customized, fiber-based solutions. Spectrum Reach delivers tailored advertising and production for the modern media landscape. Charter also distributes news coverage and sports programming to its customers through Spectrum Networks.
Charter’s strategy is focused on utilizing its high bandwidth connectivity network to deliver high-quality, competitively priced products, with outstanding service, allowing Charter to increase both the number of customers it serves over its network and the number of products it sells to each customer. This combination also reduces the number of service transactions Charter performs per relationship, yielding higher customer satisfaction and lower customer churn, which results in lower costs to acquire and serve customers and greater profitability.
Products
Charter continues to evolve its connectivity network to offer symmetrical and multi-gigabit Internet speeds across its entire footprint and has launched symmetrical Internet service in eight markets and 2x1 Gbps service in two markets. Advanced WiFi, a managed WiFi service that provides customers an optimized home network while providing greater control of connected devices with enhanced security and privacy, is available to all Internet customers. Spectrum Mobile is available to all new and existing Internet customers and offers plans that include 5G access, do not require contracts and include taxes and fees in the price. Charter continues to innovate its video product and recently transformed all of its affiliation agreements with major programmers. These new agreements give Charter greater overall packaging flexibility and the ability to include the ad-supported versions of programmer streaming applications within its video packages along with the ability to upgrade to ad-free versions and to sell those applications to customers a la carte for a seamless entertainment experience. Together with Charter’s Xumo Stream Boxes (‘Xumo’), its goal is to deliver utility and value for customers, irrespective of how they want to view content, and better and more stable economics for its programming partners and Charter.
Pricing & Packaging and Customer Commitments
Charter’s fully deployed high-bandwidth network offers ubiquitous and seamless connectivity products. It removes barriers and creates opportunities for customers, in every aspect of their lives, which led Charter to its new brand platform, Life Unlimited. As part of the new brand platform, which launched in the fall of 2024, Charter also launched a new, simplified pricing strategy that better utilizes its seamless connectivity and entertainment products to offer lower promotional and persistent bundled pricing to drive customer and financial growth. Additionally, Charter announced new customer commitments, focused on reliable connectivity, transparency, exceptional service and a focus on always improving. Through reliable connectivity, Charter is committed to keeping its customers connected 100% of the time and promptly resolving issues. Transparency at every step means Charter is committed to clear and simple pricing and timely service updates, and Charter will take responsibility when things go wrong. Through exceptional service, Charter is committed to providing exceptional customer experiences. And finally, always improving means Charter acts on its customers' feedback to improve its products and customer service.
Network Evolution
Charter’s network and product evolution plan continues to progress, with a clear path to delivering symmetrical and multi-gig speeds to its customers across its footprint, meeting the needs of today and anticipating the growing demand for faster speeds for years to come. Charter continues to expand the capacity of its hybrid fiber coaxial network using a number of technologies, including spectrum expansion, initially to 1.2 GHz and then to 1.8 GHz, changing the bandwidth allocation to a ‘high split’ to increase upstream speeds, Distributed Access Architecture (‘DAA’) and DOCSIS 4.0 technology. Through this process, which Charter expects to complete in 2027, it will transform its network to enable multi-gigabit data speeds to customers. Those faster speeds will be offered in conjunction with the Spectrum Mobile product and Advanced WiFi, providing customers seamless and convenient, ultra-fast converged connectivity in attractively priced packages.
Expansion
Charter’s rural investments will allow Charter to offer a suite of broadband connectivity services, including fixed Internet, WiFi and mobile to unserved areas in states where it operates. To accomplish all of this, Charter has invested in new teams, new training and new equipment. These investments will allow Charter to generate long-term infrastructure-style returns by taking further advantage of Charter’s scale efficiencies, network quality and construction capabilities, while offering its high-quality products and services to more homes and businesses.
Products and Services
Charter offers its customers subscription-based Internet, video, mobile and voice services, with prices and related charges based on the types of service selected, whether the services are sold as a ‘bundle’ or on an individual basis, and based on the equipment necessary to receive Charter’s services. Bundled services, including some combination of Charter’s Internet, video, mobile and/or voice products, are available to substantially all of Charter’s passings.
Residential Services
Connectivity Services
Charter provides its customers with a suite of broadband connectivity services, including fixed Internet, WiFi and mobile, which when bundled together provides Charter’s customers with a differentiated converged connectivity experience while saving consumers money.
Charter offers Spectrum Internet products with speeds up to 1 Gbps across its entire footprint. Spectrum Internet bundled with Charter’s in-home Advanced WiFi allows multiple people within a single household to stream high definition (‘HD’) video content while simultaneously using its Internet service for other purposes, including two-way video conferencing, gaming and virtual reality, among other things.
Charter’s in-home WiFi product provides its Internet customers with high performance wireless routers and a managed WiFi service to maximize their wireless Internet experience. Charter offers Advanced WiFi service across all of its footprint along with WiFi 6E routers capable of delivering speeds over 2 Gbps. In 2024, Charter began offering WiFi 7 routers capable of delivering speeds over 10 Gbps. With Advanced WiFi, customers enjoy a cloud-optimized WiFi connection and have the ability to view and control their WiFi network through the Spectrum app (‘My Spectrum App’). The service enables parental control schedules and Spectrum Security Shield which is automatically enabled and protects all devices in the home using network-based security. Customers also have the option to add Spectrum WiFi pods to Advanced WiFi. WiFi pods are small, discreet access points that plug into electrical outlets in the home, providing broader and more consistent WiFi coverage.
Charter also offers the capabilities of the Advanced WiFi service to MDUs as Advanced Community WiFi (‘ACW’). With ACW, tenants receive the same visibility and control over their apartment’s WiFi networks through the My Spectrum App, while building managers are able to see and manage the entire building’s network through a purpose-built property service portal. In 2024, Charter began offering to MDUs and bulk single-family communities Spectrum Ready, which allows customers to set up Spectrum Internet with Advanced WiFi and video services in their home without ordering equipment or scheduling installation through permanent WiFi routers already installed in the property. New residents simply scan a QR code and confirm services through a new or existing Spectrum account.
The Spectrum Mobile service is offered to customers subscribing to Charter’s Internet service and uses the customers’ private WiFi, its Spectrum Mobile network (consisted of out-of-home WiFi access points across its footprint combined with out-of-home WiFi access points from other networks with which Charter partners) as well as leveraging the cellular network of Verizon Communications Inc. (‘Verizon’). Charter leverages the Verizon cellular network to provide nationwide coverage including unlimited calls, text and data using Verizon’s fourth generation and 5G service including their 5G ultra-wide band services. Spectrum Mobile also uses Verizon’s international roaming partner network to ensure customers have coverage around the globe. Customers can use their Spectrum Mobile device to connect to their Spectrum WiFi, which increases speeds and provides a superior experience while in the home and on-the-go via the Spectrum Mobile network. In addition, Charter continues to focus on improving the customer experience and integrating its mobile and fixed Internet products with enhancements such as Spectrum Mobile Speed Boost (‘Speed Boost’). Customers are eligible for Speed Boost if they have both Spectrum Mobile and Spectrum Internet, a DOCSIS 3.1 modem and an Advanced WiFi router. When connected on their Spectrum Mobile device through Advanced WiFi service, customers are now experiencing the fastest overall speeds up to 1 Gbps.
Charter provides wireline voice communications services using voice over Internet protocol (‘VoIP’) technology to transmit digital voice signals over its network. Charter’s voice services include unlimited local and long distance calling to the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding and other features and offers international calling either by the minute, or through packages of minutes per month. Charter also offers Call Guard, an advanced caller ID and robocall blocking solution, for its residential and SMB voice customers. Call Guard reduces customer frustration and improves security by blocking malicious calls while ensuring customers continue to receive the legitimate automated calls they need from schools or healthcare providers.
Video Services
Charter provides its customers with a choice of video programming services on a variety of platforms including through a digital Spectrum Receiver or an Internet Protocol (‘IP’) device. Video customers have access to a variety of programming packages with approximately 375 channels available in home and out of home allowing its customers to access the programming they want, when they want it, on any device. In 2024, Charter began offering certain seamless entertainment applications, including among others, Max, Disney+, ESPN+, Paramount+, ViX Premium, and Tennis Channel Plus to customers in certain packages and reached agreements with several other programmers that will add Discovery+, Peacock, AMC+ and BET+ in certain packages in 2025. Charter now has completed deals with every major programmer to deliver better flexibility and greater value to its customers by including seamless entertainment applications with its Spectrum TV services at no additional cost.
Charter’s video service also includes access to an interactive programming guide with parental controls, video on demand (‘VOD’) and pay-per-view services. VOD service allows customers to select from approximately 100,000 titles at any time. VOD programming options may be accessed at no additional cost if the content is associated with a customer’s linear subscription, or for a fee on a transactional basis. VOD services are also offered on a subscription basis, included in a digital tier premium channel subscription, or for a monthly fee. Pay-per-view channels allow customers with a set-top box to pay on a per-event basis to view a single showing of a one-time special sporting event, music concert, or similar event on a commercial-free basis. Charter also offers digital video recorder (‘DVR’) service that enables customers to digitally record programming and to pause and rewind live programming on set-top boxes. Charter’s cloud DVR service allows customers to schedule, record and watch their favorite programming anytime from the Spectrum TV app, as well as SpectrumTV.com.
Charter continues to deploy Xumo to new video customers. Xumo combines a live TV experience with access to hundreds of content applications and features unified search and discovery along with a curated content offering based on the customer's interests and subscriptions. Combined with the Spectrum TV app, Xumo is now Charter’s preferred go-to-market platform for new video sales.
Customers are increasingly accessing their subscription video content through Charter’s highly rated Spectrum TV app via mobile devices and connected IP devices, such as Xumo, Apple TV, Roku and Samsung TV. Access to the Spectrum TV app is included in all Spectrum TV video plans. The Spectrum TV app allows users to stream content across a growing number of platforms, as well as access their full TV lineup and watch on demand content. It also supports DVR functionality through Charter’s cloud DVR offering.
Commercial Services
Charter offers scalable broadband communications solutions for businesses and carrier organizations of all sizes, selling Internet access, data networking, fiber connectivity to cellular towers and office buildings, video entertainment services and business telephone services.
Small and Medium Business
Spectrum Business offers Internet, video, mobile and voice services to SMBs over its hybrid fiber coaxial network. Charter also offers Advanced WiFi service to SMBs, which leverages the residential platform features, including Security Shield, with features specific to small and medium-size business, such as a guest service set identifier (‘SSID’). Spectrum Business includes a full range of video programming and offers Internet speeds up to 1 Gbps across Charter’s entire footprint. Spectrum Business also includes a set of business services, including static IP and business WiFi, e-mail and security, and voice services through either a traditional voice offering or hosted voice solution. Spectrum Business Connect is an SMB communications solution that includes Spectrum Internet, voice and complementary mobility features allowing its customers’ remote and office employees to stay more easily connected regardless of their location. Charter also offers Wireless Internet Backup to its SMB customers which is designed to enhance and protect Internet service for SMBs in the event of a network disruption.
Enterprise
Spectrum Enterprise offers tailored connectivity, communications and managed service solutions over a high-capacity last-mile network with speeds up to 100 Gbps to larger businesses and government entities (local, state and federal), in addition to wholesale services to mobile and wireline carriers. The Spectrum Enterprise product portfolio includes connectivity services, such as Internet Access (fiber, coax and wireless delivered); Wide Area Network (‘WAN’) services (Ethernet, Software Defined-WAN and cloud connectivity) that privately and securely connect geographically dispersed customer locations and cloud service providers; and Managed Service solutions which address a wide range of enterprise networking (e.g. routing, Local Area Network, WiFi) and security (e.g. firewall, Distributed Denial of Service protection) challenges. To meet the communications needs of these more sophisticated customers, Spectrum Enterprise also offers an array of voice trunking services and unified messaging, communications and collaboration products. Charter offers Unified Communications services integrated with its connectivity and managed services to give customers more choices for enhancing their digital experience across locations and devices. In addition, Spectrum Enterprise offers a wide range of video solutions targeting unique needs of customers across multiple industries with a specific focus on hospitality, healthcare, government and education. Spectrum Enterprise serves businesses nationally by combining its large serviceable footprint with a robust portfolio of fiber lit buildings and a significant wholesale partner network.
Advertising Services
Charter’s advertising sales division, Spectrum Reach, offers local, regional and national businesses the opportunity to advertise in individual and multiple service areas on cable television networks, various streaming services and numerous advanced advertising platforms. Charter receives revenue from the sale of local advertising across various platforms for networks, such as TBS, CNN and ESPN. Charter inserts local advertising on up to 100 channels in over 90 markets and on multiple streaming services/free advertising-supported streaming television channels, including Amazon, Xumo and others. Charter’s large footprint provides opportunities for advertising customers to address broader regional audiences from a single provider and thus reach more customers with a single transaction. Charter’s size also provides scale to invest in new technology to create more targeted and addressable advertising capabilities.
Available advertising time is generally sold by Charter’s advertising sales force. In some service areas, Charter has formed advertising interconnects or entered into representation agreements with other video distributors, including, among others, Verizon, DirecTV and Comcast, under which Charter sells advertising on behalf of those operators. In other service areas, Charter enters into representation agreements under which another operator in the area will sell advertising on its behalf. These arrangements enable Charter and its partners to represent and deliver commercials on their inventory across wider geographic areas, replicating the reach of local broadcast television stations to the extent possible. In addition, Charter enters into interconnect agreements from time to time with other cable operators, which, on behalf of a number of video operators, sell advertising time to national and regional advertisers in individual or multiple service areas.
Additionally, Charter sells the advertising inventory of its owned and operated local sports and news channels, of its regional sports networks that carry Los Angeles Lakers’ basketball games and other sports programming and of SportsNet LA, a regional sports network that carries Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball games and other sports programming.
In conjunction with other multichannel video programming distributors (‘MVPDs’), Spectrum Reach enables multi-channel cable networks (e.g. AMC, Univision) to deploy household addressability on their own inventory in Charter’s footprint, charging them an enablement fee. Charter’s fully deployed Audience App, which uses its proprietary set-top box viewership data (all anonymized and aggregated), allows Charter to create data-driven linear TV campaigns for local advertisers. Spectrum Reach also offers a programmatic sales platform allowing advertising agencies and advertisers to buy inventory in a fully automated way. Streaming TV, which is largely consisted of Spectrum TV app impressions, as well as those from numerous over-the-top streaming content providers, is part of its suite of advanced advertising products available to the marketplace. Additionally, Spectrum Reach purchases third-party inventory in its markets when needed. Spectrum Reach is also now employing multi-screen deterministic attribution services for television and streaming services that lets advertisers know the effectiveness of their advertising on Spectrum Reach’s platform.
Other Services
Regional Sports Networks
Charter has an agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers for rights to distribute all locally available Los Angeles Lakers’ games through 2033. Charter broadcasts those games on its regional sports network, Spectrum SportsNet. American Media Productions, LLC (‘American Media Productions’), an unaffiliated third party, owns SportsNet LA, a regional sports network carrying the Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball games and other sports programming. In accordance with agreements with American Media Productions, Charter acts as the network’s exclusive affiliate and advertising sales representative and has certain branding and programming rights with respect to the network. In addition, Charter provides certain production and technical services to American Media Productions. The affiliate, advertising, production and programming agreements continue through 2038. Charter also owns 26.8% of Sterling Entertainment Enterprises, LLC (doing business as SportsNet New York), a New York City-based regional sports network that carries New York Mets’ baseball games, as well as other regional sports programming.
News Channels
Charter owns and manages over 30 local news channels, including Spectrum News NY1 and Spectrum News SoCal, 24-hour news channels focused on New York City and Los Angeles, respectively. Charter’s local news channels connect the diverse communities and neighborhoods Charter serves providing 24/7 news, weather and community content focused on hyperlocal stories that address the deeper needs and interests of its customers. Customers can also read, watch and listen to news stories by its Spectrum News journalists and local partner publications on their mobile device on its Spectrum News application and certain smart TVs and streaming devices.
Community Solutions
Spectrum Community Solutions (‘SCS’) delivers broadband connectivity solutions to apartments, single-family gated communities, off-campus student housing, senior residences and RV parks and marinas. Services offered by SCS include Internet speeds up to 2 Gbps, property-wide managed WiFi coverage, Spectrum Ready service and traditional and streaming video packages, as well as customized fiber and coaxial solutions for new construction and established communities. SCS also manages Charter’s relationships with third-party resellers of Spectrum services to MDUs. In addition, SCS is responsible for Charter’s non-bulk MDU salesforce covering sales within existing, serviceable MDU properties. Charter’s SCS bulk customers are serviced by dedicated call centers.
Pricing of Charter’s Products and Services
Charter’s revenue is principally derived from the monthly fees customers pay for the services Charter provides. Charter typically charges a one-time installation fee which is sometimes waived or discounted in certain sales channels during certain promotional periods.
Charter’s Spectrum pricing and packaging generally offers a standardized price across its services with bundle options designed to drive more value into a package to fit the customer need. Charter also has specialized offerings to enhance affordability of its Internet product for qualified low-income households, including Spectrum Internet Assist, a 50 megabits per second (‘Mbps’) service, and Internet Advantage, a 100 Mbps service. Both are low cost and include a modem for no additional charge.
In 2024, Charter introduced new bundles that better utilize its unique product assets with guaranteed pricing for up to three years and speed options that will benefit new customers, create more choices and provide faster speeds for existing customers. For customers who don’t take advantage of these new bundled rates, the Spectrum One offering provides a differentiated connectivity experience by bringing together Spectrum Internet, Advanced WiFi and Unlimited Spectrum Mobile to offer consumers fast, reliable and secure online connections on their favorite devices at home and on-the-go in a high-value package. Alternatively, mobile customers can choose from unlimited or by-the-gig data usage plans and can easily switch between mobile data plans during the month. All plans include 5G service, free nationwide talk and text, and simple pricing that includes all taxes and fees. Charter’s Unlimited Plus plan also includes an additional 20 gigabytes of data, free roaming in Canada and Mexico and an Anytime Upgrade program that allows customers to upgrade their devices whenever they want, eliminating traditional wait times, upgrade fees and condition requirements. Customers can also purchase mobile devices and accessory products and have the option to pay for devices under interest-free monthly installment plans. Charter’s device portfolio includes 5G models from Apple, Google and Samsung and Charter offers trade-in options along with its Phone Balance Buyout program which makes switching mobile providers easier by helping customers pay off balances on ported lines.
Charter’s Network Technology
Charter’s network includes three key components: a national backbone, regional/metro networks and a ‘last-mile’ network. Both its national backbone and regional/metro network components utilize a redundant IP ring/mesh fiber architecture. The national backbone component provides connectivity from regional demarcation points to nationally centralized content, connectivity and services. The regional/metro network components provide connectivity between the regional demarcation points and headends within a specific geographic area and enable the delivery of content and services between these network components.
Charter’s last-mile network utilizes a hybrid fiber coaxial cable (‘HFC’) architecture, which combines the use of fiber optic cable with coaxial cable. In most systems, Charter delivers its signals via fiber optic cable from the headend to a group of nodes, and uses coaxial cable to deliver the signal from individual nodes to the homes served by that node. Charter’s design standard allows spare fiber strands to each node to be utilized for additional residential traffic capacity, and enterprise customer needs as they arise. For Charter’s Spectrum Enterprise customers, fiber optic cable is extended to the customer’s site. For most new buildouts, including for its rural construction initiative, and MDU sites, Charter utilizes a fiber deployment. Charter believes that this hybrid network design provides high capacity and signal quality with a cost efficient path to increased speeds.
Charter’s systems provide a two-way all-digital platform, leveraging DOCSIS 3.1 technology and bandwidth of 750 megahertz or greater, to virtually all of its passings. This bandwidth-rich network enables Charter to offer a large selection of HD channels and Spectrum Internet Gig across all of its footprint which enables Charter to provide fast, reliable and secure online connections, meeting current customer demands.
Through Charter’s network evolution initiative, Charter is expanding its spectrum to 1.2 Ghz through a module upgrade in the hub, node and amplifier and using high splits and DAA to deliver multi-gig speed capabilities while using the current DOCSIS 3.1 customer premise equipment. When paired with the next generation of DOCSIS modem, DOCSIS 4.0, Charter will be able to deliver even faster speeds. Next, Charter will begin to deploy DOCSIS 4.0 technology in the network, and further increase its spectrum to 1.8 Ghz enabling even higher speed capabilities. This network evolution will also allow Charter to extend fiber services to the home in a success based ‘Fiber on Demand’ manner.
Charter plans to complement its wireline investments with planned WiFi upgrades for in-home routers. With nearly 500 million devices connected wirelessly to Charter’s network in its customers’ homes and businesses, Charter is unlocking its network investments for multi-gigabit speeds through the deployment of WiFi 7 routers that Charter launched in late 2024.
Charter owns 210 Citizen Broadband Radio Service (‘CBRS’) Priority Access Licenses (‘PALs’). Charter intends to use these licenses along with unlicensed CBRS spectrum to build its own 5G data-only mobile network on targeted 5G small cell sites leveraging its HFC network to provide power and data connectivity to the majority of the sites. These 5G small cells, combined with growing WiFi capabilities, increase speed and reliability along with improving Charter’s cost structure through offload of wireless data onto its owned networks. Charter continues to deploy 5G small cell sites in targeted areas of its footprint, as part of a broader multi-year 5G mobile network buildout, based on disciplined cost reduction targets.
Subsidized Rural Construction Initiative
In 2024, Charter continued its subsidized rural construction initiative in which it intends to expand its network to offer a suite of broadband connectivity services, including fixed Internet, WiFi and mobile to over 1.7 million passings in unserved areas in states where it operates. Since inception in the beginning of 2022, Charter has spent $5.5 billion on its subsidized rural construction initiative and activated approximately 813,000 passings. Charter also expects to participate in additional federal, state and municipal grant programs over the coming years, including the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, if regulatory conditions are conducive to private investment. In addition to construction in areas subsidized by various government grants, Charter expects to continue rural construction in areas near its current plant and in areas surrounding subsidized construction where synergies can be achieved. These investments will allow Charter to generate long-term infrastructure-style returns by further taking advantage of Charter’s scale efficiencies, network quality and construction capabilities, while offering its high quality products and services to more homes and businesses. Charter expects these newly served homes will be enabled to engage in remote work, virtual learning, telemedicine and other bandwidth-heavy applications that require high speed broadband connectivity. Newly served rural areas will also benefit from Charter’s high-value Spectrum pricing and packaging structure including mobile and voice offerings, as well as its comprehensive selection of video products. The successful and timely execution of such fiber-based construction is dependent on a variety of external factors, including the make-ready and utility pole permitting processes. With fewer homes and businesses in these areas, broadband providers need to access multiple poles per home, as opposed to multiple homes per pole in higher-density settings. As a result, pole applications, pole replacement rules and their affiliated issue resolution processes are all factors that can have a significant impact on construction timing and speed to completion. The RDOF auction rules and other subsidy grants establish construction milestones for the build-out utilizing subsidized funding. Failure to meet those milestones could subject Charter to financial penalties.
Management, Customer Operations and Marketing
Charter’s operations are centralized, with senior executives responsible for coordinating and overseeing operations, including establishing company-wide strategies, policies and procedures. Sales and marketing, field operations, customer operations, network operations, engineering, advertising sales, human resources, legal, government relations, information technology and finance are all directed at the corporate level. Regional and local field operations are responsible for customer premise service transactions and maintaining and constructing that portion of Charter’s network which is located outdoors. Charter’s field operations strategy includes completing a significant portion of its activity with its employees which Charter finds drives consistent and higher quality services. In 2024, Charter’s in-house field operations workforce handled approximately 85% of its customer premise service transactions. In addition, Charter has been growing its in-house construction teams to perform a portion of its network expansion initiatives.
Charter continues to focus on improving the customer experience through enhanced product offerings, reliability of services, and delivery of quality customer service. As part of Charter’s operating strategy, Charter insources most of its customer operations workload. Charter’s in-house call centers handle all of Charter’s customer service calls. Charter manages its customer service call centers centrally to ensure a consistent, high quality customer experience. In addition, Charter routes calls by call type to specific agents that only handle such call types, enabling agents to become experts in addressing specific customer needs, creating a better customer experience. Service from Charter’s call centers continues to become more efficient as a result of new tool enhancements that give its front-line customer service agents more context and real-time information about the customer and their services which allows them to more effectively troubleshoot and resolve issues. Charter’s call center agent desktop interface tool enables virtualization of all call centers thereby better serving its customers. Virtualization allows calls to be routed across Charter’s call centers regardless of the location origin of the call, reducing call wait times, and saving costs.
Charter also provides customers with the opportunity to interact with it in the manner they choose through self-service options on its customer website and mobile device application, or via telephonic communication, online chat and social media. Charter’s customer websites and mobile applications enable customers to pay their bills, manage their accounts, order and activate new services and utilize self-service help and support. In addition, Charter’s self-install program has been beneficial for customers who need flexibility in the timing of their installation.
Charter sells its residential and commercial services using national brand platforms known as Spectrum, Spectrum Business, Spectrum Enterprise, Spectrum Reach and Spectrum Community Solutions. These brands reflect Charter’s comprehensive approach to industry-leading products, driven by speed, performance and innovation. Charter’s marketing strategy emphasizes the sale of its bundled services through targeted direct response marketing programs to existing and potential customers, and increases awareness and the value of the Spectrum brand. Charter’s marketing organization creates and executes marketing programs intended to grow customer relationships, increase the number of services it sells per relationship, retain existing customers and cross-sell additional products to current customers. Charter monitors the effectiveness of its marketing efforts, customer perception, competition, pricing, and service preferences, among other factors, in order to increase its responsiveness to customers and to improve sales and customer retention. In September 2024, Charter launched its Life Unlimited brand platform which includes a new customer commitment that provides performance and service benchmarks and a new and simplified pricing structure designed to drive more value into Charter’s relationships. Charter’s marketing organization manages all residential, SMB and enterprise sales channels including inbound, direct sales, online, outbound telemarketing and stores.
Programming
Offering a wide variety of video programming choices influences a customer’s decision to subscribe to and retain its video and Internet services. Charter obtains basic and premium programming, usually pursuant to written contracts from a number of suppliers. Charter has been successful in obtaining access to the related programmer streaming applications pursuant to those contracts. Media corporation and broadcast station group consolidation has, however, resulted in fewer suppliers and additional selling power on the part of programming suppliers.
Programming is usually made available to Charter for a license fee, which is generally paid based on the number of customers to whom it makes that programming available. Programming license fees may include various discounts such as ‘volume’ discounts and other financial incentives and/or ongoing marketing support, as well as discounts for service penetration. Charter receives revenue to carry home shopping channels. Charter also offers VOD and pay-per-view channels of movies and events that are subject to a revenue split with the content provider.
Ownership Interests
The company owns an approximate 31.9% economic ownership interest in Charter, based on shares of Charter’s Class A common stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024.
Regulatory Matters
The Communications Act and FCC regulations cover a variety of additional areas applicable to Charter’s and GCI Holdings’ video services, including, among other things licensing of systems and facilities, including the grant of various spectrum licenses; equal employment opportunity obligations; customer service standards; technical standards; mandatory blackouts of certain network and syndicated programming; restrictions on political advertising; restrictions on advertising in children's programming; ownership restrictions; posting of certain information on an FCC public file website, including but not limited to political advertising records, equal employment opportunity practices, compliance with children’s programming requirements, policies for commercial leased access, system information, and channel carriage information including disclosure of ownership interests in channels carried; emergency alert systems; inside wiring and contracts for MDU complexes; accessibility of content, including requirements governing video-description and closed-captioning; competitive availability of cable equipment; the provision of up to 15% of video channel capacity for commercial leased access by unaffiliated third parties; and public, education and government entity access requirements. Each of these regulations restricts Charter and GCI Holdings’ business practices to varying degrees and may impose additional costs on Charter and GCI Holdings’ operations. The FCC regulates spectrum usage in ways that could impact Charter and GCI Holdings’ operations including for microwave backhaul, broadcast, unlicensed WiFi and CBRS.
The FCC has never classified the VoIP wireline telephone services that Charter and GCI Holdings offer as telecommunications services that are subject to traditional federal common carrier regulation, but instead has imposed some of these regulatory requirements on a case-by-case basis, such as requirements relating to 911 emergency services (E911), Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) (the statute governing law enforcement access to and surveillance of communications), Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions, customer privacy and Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) protections, number portability, network and/or 911 outage reporting, rural call completion, disability access, regulatory fees, back-up power, robocall mitigation and discontinuance of service.
Charter and GCI Holdings’ VoIP telephone services are subject to certain state and local regulatory fees such as E911 fees and contributions to state universal service funds. Additionally, in California and New York and to comply with RDOF program requirements, Charter has chosen in the RDOF areas to offer Lifeline VoIP telephone services subject to traditional federal and state common carrier regulations.
As an interexchange carrier, GCI Holdings is subject to regulation by the FCC and the RCA as a non-dominant provider of interstate, international, and intrastate long-distance services. As a state-certificated competitive local exchange carrier, GCI Holdings is subject to regulation by the FCC and the RCA as a non-dominant provider of local communications services.
GCI Holdings’ wireless licensee subsidiaries are subject to regulation by the FCC and must comply with certain build-out and other license conditions, as well as with the FCC’s specific regulations governing wireless services.
Commercial mobile radio service wireless systems are subject to Federal Aviation Administration and FCC regulations governing the location, lighting, construction, modification, and registration of antenna structures on which GCI Holdings’ antennas and associated equipment are located and are also subject to regulation under federal environmental laws and the FCC’s environmental regulations, including limits on radio frequency radiation from wireless handsets and antennas.
Under FCC regulations and RCA orders, GCI Holdings is an authorized Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETC) for purposes of providing wireless telephone service in many rural areas throughout Alaska.
GCI Holdings has been able to meet FCC requirements for text-to-911 obligations to date. In 2024, the FCC adopted rules requiring carriers to use the geographic coordinates of the customer’s location to route 911 calls to the appropriate emergency call centers; GCI Holdings must implement this location-based routing by May 13, 2026. Also in 2024, the FCC adopted rules intended to facilitate the transition to next-generation 911 services. When those rules become effective, carriers will be required to interconnect with public safety agencies and call centers in IP-based format upon request from those agencies and provided the agencies meet certain technical requirements.
Additionally, on an ongoing basis, GCI Holdings is subject to FCC-imposed rules requiring timely reporting of outages impacting access to emergency 911 services. Failure to comply with reporting requirements could result in the imposition of fines and other administrative remedies.
GCI Holdings’ wireless licensee subsidiaries are subject to regulation by the FCC and must comply with certain build-out and other license conditions, as well as with the FCC’s specific regulations governing wireless services.
Charter’s Spectrum Mobile service offers mobile Internet access and telephone service. Charter provides this service as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using Verizon’s network and its network through Spectrum WiFi. As an MVNO, Charter is subject to many of the same FCC regulations that apply to facilities-based wireless carriers, as well as certain state or local regulations, including (but not limited to): E911, local number portability, customer privacy, CALEA, USF contribution, robocall mitigation and hearing aid compatibility and safety and emission requirements for mobile devices. Spectrum Mobile’s broadband Internet access service is also subject to the FCC’s transparency rule and broadband labeling rules.
History
Liberty Broadband Corporation was incorporated in 2014.
