Trump, Pai Tout Charter Investment Moves; Others Skeptical
The Trump administration Friday touted a series of investments that Charter Communications is making, with details of some unveiled previously. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also lauded the decisions of CEO Tom Rutledge, who joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to discuss the investments. The cable operator will invest $25 billion and now places a four-year time frame on its plan to hire 20,000 people, an ambition the company announced in 2016 (see 1602040027 and 1608090034). A spokeswoman said no schedule previously was issued.
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“Five years ago, Charter Communications was a struggling company that had slowly emerged from bankruptcy,” Trump said. “Today, thanks to hard work and unbelievable leadership, truly great leadership, it’s the fastest growing television, internet and voice company in the nation.” The company is investing $25 billion “here in the United States,” Trump said. The operator will “end its offshore call centers,” he said.
The investment will go into “broadband infrastructure and technology in the next four years,” Charter said in a statement. “We’re going to in-source all the calls that Time Warner Cable outsourced,” Rutledge said, referring to the operator’s buys of TWC and Bright House Networks. “We’re also excited about the opportunity in the right regulatory climate, the right tax climate, to make major infrastructure investments. And we’re going to spend $25 billion, we’re committed to spending that predicated on the kind of regulatory consistency and efficiency we expect as a company.”
“I’m pleased to see that our investment-friendly policies, along with the Administration’s overall regulatory approach, are already producing results,” Pai said in a statement. “I am optimistic that this massive investment will help to close the digital divide and to strengthen our economy.”
Pai "wants to have it both ways -- declaring that the 2015 [Communications Act] Title II ruling has depressed investment, which it has not, while taking full credit for the increased investment that ISPs committed to well before he and Mr. Trump took office," said Free Press Research Director Derek Turner in a statement. "Pai and Trump are all too eager to credit themselves for the prior plans of others, and all too willing to ignore the fact that these investments are in part the result of their predecessors’ public policies. The truth is that we’re seeing unprecedented levels of U.S. investment and innovation in the sector. This investment boost was planned out well before Trump won the election and Pai became the FCC chair. That success is something Trump and Pai can help continue, or something they can destroy by unwinding the regulatory certainty put in place by those before them." Free Press pointed to Charter's investment commitments in a 2015 SEC filing. “SAD!” tweeted Free Press Director-Strategy Tim Karr, saying Pai and Trump were taking credit for a year-old jobs announcement.
“I expect Trump to improve the investment landscape in telecom," said consultant and economist Hal Singer. "But he hasn’t done anything yet.”
Charter executives also mentioned plans to open a bilingual call center in McAllen, Texas, next month, in the works and announced last year. Charter Executive Vice President-Customer Operations Kip Mayo was also present in the Oval Office Friday and said the call center has the “capacity to create over 600 good-paying jobs,” with 100 workers and a general manager already hired. It will be Charter’s “first fully bilingual call center,” Mayo said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), also present in the Oval Office, tweeted a Charter video about the McAllen center. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also devoted a part of his Friday media briefing to lauding Charter. The announcement demonstrates “the new economic model,” Spicer said.