Spectrum

Spectrum was first introduced to the world after its parent company, Charter, merged with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to bring all three companies under the same roof and to increase the level of service more than any one of the individual companies could have provided on their own. Since then, Spectrum has expanded into forty-four states offering coverage to over 100 million Americans. Spectrum continues to expand their coverage areas, attracting more and customers with its easy to understand tiered pricing and historically fast, reliable internet connections.

Charter, Spectrum’s parent company, was founded in 1980 primarily offering home telephone service and television. They eventually entered into the internet market through a strategic partnership with EarthLink, since acquiring and merging with multiple companies over its life cycle. The company we now know as Charter Spectrum came to fruition in 2016 when it merged with Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, making it the third-largest cable television provider in the nation just behind AT&T and Comcast. It was after this merger that Charter brought all services covered by the three formerly-independent companies under the brand name “Spectrum.” As a condition of this merger, Charter Spectrum agreed to expand its lines to generally underserved areas of New York State with 145,000 new residences to receive service by 2021. Since the merger, Charter has entered into further strategic partnerships with companies like Comcast and Verizon to expand the suite of services it offers as well as expanding its general service area.

Spectrum uses a hybrid fiber-coaxial network to supply its customers with the internet. This was an easy transition for the company to make once they started offering internet, leveraging the massive network they inherited from Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, allowing them to hit the ground running once they entered the market as an internet service provider. Hybrid fiber-coaxial lines are the most common way for most companies to offer internet service due to their relative low cost, especially when compared to fiber. Reaching higher speeds than DSL, a hybrid fiber-coaxial line is able to provide more than fast enough internet for most consumers though still being slower than fiber. With that being said, hybrid fiber-coaxial lines do have their drawbacks. The biggest is shared bandwidth. Total bandwidth is shared among all users on those lines so when there is heavy usage, the end-user is going to receive reduced speeds. However, this usually only happens a portion of the day and even when congested, most receive fast enough speeds to be able to handle anything they’d be looking to do.

Spectrum offers multiple services beyond the internet including cable television and home phone service. They offer multiple different plans, bundles, and prices, allowing for easy navigation and customization for their customers. This is especially important as every household has different needs based on their number of active devices, active users, and budget. Now, this is all based on availability, but generally, there are multiple different options in every market Spectrum serves. Spectrum has created a service that can meet the demands of any budget and any digital lifestyle.