NY PSC Members, Voting 3-1 for Extension, Tired of Lengthening Charter Case
New York Public Service Commission members showed increasing impatience as they voted 3-1 Thursday to confirm the latest extension for Charter Communications to file an exit plan and seek rehearing of the PSC’s July revocation of the Time Warner Cable…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
buyout approval (see 1810100060). “I’m impatient,” said Commissioner Gregg Sayre. “If we can’t get an agreement … in short order, then let’s find somebody else to operate these systems.” Sayre wanted the deal to produce more broadband upstate and is “very disappointed that we have to exert so much effort and take so much time to get what was promised.” If Sayre is so impatient, he should oppose further delay and allow a petition for rehearing to be filed, said Commissioner Diane Burman, voting no. Burman criticized a “broken process,” echoing many of her comments from a September meeting on a previous extension (see 1809120018). The July orders gave “no wiggle room” for settlement, she said. “While it may appear like the right thing to extend” because of productive talks between staff and Charter, it’s a “very dangerous road” that may set a precedent for PSC willingness to stop the clock, she said. The agency is on solid legal and procedural ground, said acting General Counsel John Sipos. Commissioner James Alesi voted yes but said he would have supported a 60-day extension as requested by Charter, more than the 45 days allowed by the agency. “But I don’t want to be here again voting on this issue.”