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Charter Communications Discussion

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wxntrafficfan:
Sad news, imo. Mike brought up in our nitely stream last night that Charter is undergoing serious bankruptcy. As of March 28th, 2009, Charter Communications is now in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Poor stocks in NasDaq, and horrible customer service have drove their customers away. As a result, revenue is falling sharply, and debt has consumed the corporation.

Here are a couple qoutes from the Charter Communcications Wikipedia page


--- Quote ---On July 20, 2009, the sale to Apollo Management was rejected, and the pre-arranged plan was converted to a traditional Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which means Charter will either have to sell a considerable amount of its assets or completely liquidate.

--- End quote ---



--- Quote ---Comcast would be interested in the Northwest including all of Oregon (249,000 subs), Sierra Nevada including Reno/Tahoe and Redding (278,000 subs), Michigan (592,000 subs), and Louisiana/Tennessee (533,000 subs).

--- End quote ---



--- Quote ---Charter has been criticized for poor customer support and frequent billing consistency issues, causing the Better Business Bureau to post a warning to consumers about the company:

"The Better Business Bureau has received numerous complaints regarding this cable, digital TV, and high speed internet access provider. Complainants primarily allege that the firm had improper billing practices, referred customer bills to collection agencies in error, provided poor customer service, used misleading advertising, provided defective internet or cable performance, used improper sales tactics or misrepresented the actual costs of installation and service, failed to properly install or maintain service, damaged customers' property, and failed to honor service appointments. "

--- End quote ---


Here is another interesting statistic, involving all legacy STARs (4000 and XL's)
Currently, there are 46 known 4000 units across the country.
5 are owned by Charter
Comcast also owns 5
Time Warner only owns 1

Currently, there are 51 known XL units across the country.
10 are owned by Charter
7 are owned by Comcast
Time Warner owns 6

While these are not the best facts to prove my point, Charter does own the most legacy STARs of any cable company.

Charter is much quieter with advertising than Comcast is, and serves a lot of rural areas as well (northern Michigan).

One thing many are concerned about is Comcast and TW updating the STARs in many locations to the Intellistar. This is an issue that bears watching, as Chapter 7 appears imminent.

Now, here's where my personal connection comes into it.
I have recorded 2 Charter legacy STARs (hopefully soon to be 3), and only one Comcast one.

Here are all the Charter STARs I have recorded:
-Asheville, NC
-Morristown/Newport, TN
-Alpena, MI
-Houghton Lake, MI
-Petoskey, MI
and soon to have Mackinaw City, I hope

I am also looking at Kalamazoo, MI and Traverse City, MI.


I have recorded Comcast STARs in:
Lansing, MI
East Lansing, MI
Romulus, MI
Grand Rapids, MI
Bad Axe, MI

I have only managed to record Time Warner in Cincinnati, OH.

So, this appears to be mixed on my end. But I have started this thread to open discussion on the concept of Charter failing, and to update the issue as news occurs. Unfortunately, another Adelphia style transaction appears quite possible.

Mike M:
First Adelphia, now possibly Charter?  :cry: I really hope they survive, but won't be surprised if they end up liquidating in the coming months. You brought up a good point that Charter owns the majority of the known legacy STARs. I have a feeling they will remain in use, as there are still a lot of former Adelphia headends now owned by Comcast and Time Warner that still use legacy STARs, even after more than three years since Adelphia became defunct.

Zach:
I guess I can expect an IntelliSTAR when I go back to Chincoteague possibly next year. :cry3:

twcfan68:
Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope they can bounce back.

wxntrafficfan:

--- Quote from: twcfan68 on August 18, 2009, 06:28:54 PM ---Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope they can bounce back.

--- End quote ---
I do as well; a lot of us do. At this point though, Chapter 7 unfortunately appears imminent. However, do remain optimistic :thumbsup:

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