FALSE CLAIMS
REALITY
“Published pricing for Charter Spectrum service
shows a clear and consistent pattern of the provider
reserving its best offers – high speed at low cost – for
the wealthiest neighborhoods in LA County.”
• Published pricing for Spectrum Internet shows plans, speeds, and regular prices are exactly
the same in every ZIP Code we serve.
• Spectrum has nationally-consistent regular pricing that the vast majority of customers pay, with
no data caps, no modem fees, and no annual contracts.
• Our Spectrum One promotional offer is available across our entire footprint.
“People who live in higher poverty neighborhoods
are not only routinely offered slower service at
higher prices, but are offered contracts with worse
terms and conditions. For example, Charter
Spectrum’s promotional offers - guaranteeing a
period of time before prices will increase - are for
two years in wealthy communities, but for just one
year in high-poverty communities.”
• Spectrum has no annual contracts (so it would be impossible for Spectrum to offer differing
terms and conditions within them).
• Spectrum Internet plans, speeds, and regular prices are exactly the same in every ZIP Code we
serve.
• The length of any given promotional rate – meaning the amount of time a customer is eligible to
receive that price if they choose to remain with Spectrum – varies based on the promotion.
“Charter Spectrum's low-cost plans are not
consistently advertised to households in high-
poverty neighborhoods.”
• We’ve actively promoted the Affordable Connectivity Program and plans, including through
direct marketing, in our Spectrum stores, through national and local news announcements and
on our social media channels, and we continue to prominently feature ACP at Spectrum.com,
highlighting convenient sign-up options for both prospective and current customers.
• In fact, Charter’s significant participation in the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB)
program and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has helped millions of families gain
access to reliable and affordable, high-speed in-home internet.
• All Spectrum Internet plans are eligible for credits from the ACP. Spectrum Internet 100 was
developed specifically for ACP, offering eligible new households 100 Mbps speeds for just
$29.99 per month – making quality service available at a low – or even no – cost to eligible
families in need.
“One of the most durable images of the COVID
pandemic was two elementary school students in
Salinas, California, sitting in a Taco Bell parking lot
with their school computers on their laps, trying to
connect to the restaurant’s Wi-Fi because they had
no connectivity at home.”
• The photo of these girls speaks volumes and we agree that one of the most important lessons
of the COVID pandemic has been the importance of having high-speed internet service at
home. But the Report implies that the family’s connectivity issues were due to the cost of
service, when in fact the family’s housing situation made it impossible for them to subscribe to
wireline broadband (had they been able to do so, they would have qualified for Charter’s free
service offer for students and educators). Additionally, Charter was a day one participant in
both the FCC’s EBB program and ACP and our significant efforts have helped millions of families
gain access to reliable and affordable, high-speed in-home internet.
• But affordability programs are just one piece of a complete solution to the far-more-complex
reality of the many barriers to broadband adoption faced by many American families (including
the students in the image), such as language barriers, complex housing situations, and
transience due to housing insecurity. By over-simplifying the story to suit a desired narrative,
the Foundation undermines both its own legitimacy and the efforts of so many in the
community to help deliver equitable access to and adoption of high-speed internet connections.
“This report raises critical questions, speaking truth
to the barriers that continue to limit equitable
access to broadband in Los Angeles County.”
• The Report glosses over the questions critical to solving the digital divide in favor of driving a
political agenda that will continue to limit equitable access to broadband in Los Angeles County.
By ignoring facts and reality, the Foundation’s report undermines both its own legitimacy and
the efforts by Spectrum and so many others in the community to help deliver equitable access
to high-speed and reliable internet connections across every neighborhood in Los Angeles
County.
FALSE CLAIMS
vs. REALITY
Setting the record straight on the
California Community Foundation’s
misleading report.
2
FALSE CLAIMS
REALITY
“Most Angelenos are subject to a
broken monopoly market for
broadband. Charter Spectrum is
the only internet service option for
the majority of addresses
examined for this study.”
• According to the LA-based independent watchdog group Broadband Now:
o 99.6% of Los Angeles residents have access to high-speed internet service from multiple wired
providers
o 50 internet service providers serve LA alone, including: AT&T, Frontier, Spectrum, T-Mobile, and
Verizon.
• However, Charter is the only internet company that has invested equitably in communities and neighborhoods
across Los Angeles County.
o Fully 98% of Los Angeles County households already have Spectrum Internet available to them.
“Internet is Slower and More
Expensive in High-Poverty
Neighborhoods”
• Spectrum has nationally-consistent regular pricing that the vast majority of customers pay, with no data caps, no
modem fees, and no annual contracts.
• Spectrum Internet plans, speeds, and regular prices are national – exactly the same in every ZIP Code we serve
across our entire 41-state service area.
• Ookla® data recently confirmed we deliver the fastest internet and fastest Wi-Fi in the nation, and we do it
consistently: The FCC’s most recent Measuring Broadband America report showed Spectrum Internet
outperformed all fiber and DSL competitors, exceeding 100% of advertised download and upload speeds and
making Spectrum Internet “most consistent” for the fifth consecutive year.
• These studies and results apply consistently across Spectrum’s service footprint, not only in certain
neighborhoods.
“This report raises critical
questions, speaking truth to the
barriers that continue to limit
equitable access to broadband in
Los Angeles County.”
• The Report glosses over the questions critical to solving the digital divide in favor of driving a political agenda that
will continue to limit equitable access to broadband in Los Angeles County. By ignoring facts and reality, the
Foundation’s report undermines both its own legitimacy and the efforts by Spectrum and so many others in the
community to help deliver equitable access to high-speed and reliable internet connections across every
neighborhood in Los Angeles County.
“Charter Spectrum’s standard
service tier is “Internet Ultra.”
"Internet Ultra" is Charter
Spectrum's branded service
offering of up to 500 megabits
per second (Mbps) download
speed. Internet Ultra is the only
tier of service offered at every
address in this study, with slower
“Internet” (300Mbps) offered to
just over three-quarters of
households and “Internet”
(100Mbps) advertised to less than
a quarter of households.”
• Charter’s standard service tier is “Spectrum Internet,” which offers starting speeds of 300 Mbps and no modem
fees, data caps, or contracts. Spectrum Internet plans, speeds, and regular prices are exactly the same in every
ZIP Code we serve across our entire 41-state service area, including: Spectrum Internet (300 Mbps); Spectrum
Internet Ultra (500 Mbps); and Spectrum Internet Gig (1,000 Mbps)
• While all Spectrum Internet plans are eligible for credits from the FCC’s
Affordable Connectivity Program, Spectrum Internet 100 was
developed specifically for the program, offering eligible new households
100 Mbps speeds for just $29.99 per month, including a modem, in-home
WiFi, and self-installation at no additional charge – making quality service
available at a low — or even no — cost to eligible families in need.
• We’ve actively promoted the Affordable Connectivity Program and
plans, including through direct marketing, in our Spectrum stores,
through national and local news announcements and on our social
media channels, and we continue to prominently feature ACP at
Spectrum.com, highlighting convenient sign-up options for both
prospective and current customers.
“Charter Spectrum’s advertised
prices vary widely from
neighborhood to neighborhood”
“Charter Spectrum offers better
pricing, under better terms and
conditions, to residents in
wealthier neighborhoods”
• Spectrum Internet plans, speeds, and regular prices
are exactly the same in every ZIP Code we serve across
our entire 41-state service area.
• As just one example of the impact of promotional
offers, our Spectrum One promotion is available across
our footprint.
