Charter CEO emphasizes the ‘wired’ part of the wireless network

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It’s long been a saying in telecommunications that “all wireless networks end in a wire.” But Charter CEO Tom Rutledge recently emphasized that point. Both Charter and Comcast have been making good headway with their mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) businesses, seeing substantial subscribers adds in recent quarters. And the CEOs of both companies have consistently said that they see their MVNO businesses as a way to offer more choice for their broadband customers. But perhaps their mindset is starting to evolve a bit, where they’re seeing real profit possibilities in wireless. Rutledge talked about the overall household connectivity. He said, there’s a lot of cashflow in the household being spent on mobile. And yet, most traffic in the household comes from the fixed broadband connection. And even the traffic in the home from mobile devices travels on the home Wi-Fi connection. “The bulk of the business is broadband on devices that also are mobile,” said Rutledge. He pointed out that customers only use the mobile capabilities of their devices when they’re out and about.  He said most mobile-device usage is for “sedentary activities” and “not mobile activities.” “I think we can make the mobile device work better based on the way our network works and the way our Wi-Fi works and also have a great mobile platform,” said Rutledge.


Charter’s Rutledge emphasizes the ‘wired’ part of the wireless network