Charter Gets a Little Help From Its Friends In Bid to Raise Fees

Charter Communications has won support from an unlikely roster of organizations as it seeks permission to increase fees for customers that use a lot of data. The Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, for example. The New York youth organization is among scores of civic and local-business groups that have received charitable donations from the company, and have reciprocated by filing statements on Charter’s behalf with the Federal Communications Commission. Others include a non-profit theater in Honolulu, civil rights organizers in Los Angeles, an African America museum in South Dallas, and a car dealership in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Charter’s petition to the FCC asks for freedom to charge subscribers more for high data consumption, as well as to demand fees from online video providers such as Netflix. The company agreed in 2016 not to do that for at least seven years when it won the FCC’s approval for a $55 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc.

Enterprise Florida, the state’s main business development group, wrote to call for “full and fair consideration” of Charter’s request. In the filing, President Jamal Sowell cited 8,000 Charter workers in Florida, and grants from the company of $57,500 to groups including non-profits working on digital literacy. Enterprise Florida’s chairman is Gov Ron DeSantis (R-FL). Charter gave his political action committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, contributions of $25,000 on June 13, 2019, and $25,000 on Dec. 11, 2019, according to Florida state’s online records. Competitors and consumer groups have urged the FCC to reject Charter’s request.