Charter maps out broadband priorities for 2022

Charter CEO Tom Rutledge mapped out the operator’s priorities for 2022, unveiling plans to accelerate network upgrades and drop some serious cash on rural expansion projects. “2022 will increase the number of projects to deploy high splits in our service areas,” Rutledge said. This shift will allow charter to “comfortably offer” symmetrical gigabit speeds and multi-gig speeds in the downstream, he stated. Rutledge and Charter CFO Jessica Fischer also talked up the operator’s rural build initiative, on which it plans to spend around $1 billion in 2022. That figure includes outlays on its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) commitments and other subsidized rural construction projects, including those backed by stimulus funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Charter added a total of 190,000 Internet customers in Q4 2021, falling short of analyst consensus expectations that it would gain around 224,000 subscribers. However, analysts at MoffettNathanson noted “that total leaves Charter’s broadband base still growing by 4.2 percent.”