Charter COVID-19 Update

No Layoffs: As part of its ongoing commitment to its employees, Charter announced on April 20 there will be no layoffs or furloughs for at least the next 60 days. We are making this commitment to reassure our employees during this unprecedented time that we are facing together as a company and a nation. Read more about our commitment here.

We’re Expanding: Charter is expanding its workforce at locations nationwide, including hiring 200 jobs for its newly renovated Spectrum Mobile™ call center in Rotterdam, N.Y.; 185 jobs at its Mobile call center in Kansas City, Mo.; 100 new customer billing agents in Portland, Maine; and creating 350 new jobs at Charter’s Spectrum sales operation center in El Paso, Texas. The company has also increased its use of virtual hiring technology to recruit candidates remotely. Visit Jobs.Spectrum.com to learn more about our career opportunities and excellent benefits. 

$20 Minimum Wage: Charter announced April 2 it is permanently raising its minimum wage to $20 an hour over the next two years for all hourly employees, beginning with $1.50 an hour increase for all hourly frontline field and customer operations employees retroactive to their merit increase in February; followed by an additional $1.50 an hour increase in March of 2021.  

Network Traffic: Peak demand on Charter’s network increased nearly 20 percent on downstream traffic, and 32 percent on upstream traffic since the coronavirus crisis began, according to Chief Technology Officer Stephanie Mitchko-Beale, who in a Q&A published April 13 provides insight into how Charter is maintaining the reliability of its broadband network. 

Free Internet Offer: Charter continues to see strong demand for its free 60-day internet offer for families with school-aged children or college students, who are not current subscribers. The offer was expanded to include educators and generated 119,000 new internet accounts in March a significant step in helping close the nation’s digital divide.

Expanding Broadband: The COVID-19 crisis has not slowed the expansion of Charter’s fiber-rich network into unserved and underserved areas. Charter is currently building out its network to reach more homes and businesses at a rate or 1,500 new passings each day.

More Customers Using Self-Install: Since mid-March Charter has seen a significant increase in customers using one our self-installation options for Spectrum TV, Internet and Voice services. Charter now deploys over 80,000 pieces of customer equipment – such as set-top boxes and internet modems – every day. 

Fewer House Calls: While significantly reducing non-essential in-home service calls, Charter Field Technicians continue to support customers with 40,000 service calls and installations daily – the vast majority of which are done remotely. Meanwhile, Charter Maintenance Technicians are completing 10,000 service activities daily, keeping Charter’s outside plant network in top condition and operating at peak performance.

Charter Connects Critical Healthcare Facilities: Spectrum Enterprise has fulfilled more than 35 requests from hospitals and healthcare providers across the country, including Hawaii, for increased internet capacity and bandwidth, many within 48 hours. Charter’s vital connectivity services help to support the greater demand for telehealth visits, the increase in patients, high call volume, and enable employees to work from any location during this crisis. 

Bandwidth Upgrades for Schools, Universities: Across eight states, Spectrum Enterprise has expedited internet access and bandwidth upgrade requests from several universities and colleges serving as coronavirus testing sites, enabling their employees to work remotely or students to learn online. Spectrum Enterprise also has helped K-12 schools with increased bandwidth requests to support online learning and video conferencing. 

Providing Essential Services: Charter provides key network services to support critical institutions, hospitals and government agencies throughout the company’s 41-state service area. Recent customer projects include providing TV service aboard U.S. Navy hospital ships docked in New York and Los Angeles, and installing internet and phone services for a drive-thru COVID-19 testing facility at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore, Calif. 

More People Watching Spectrum News: Customers continue to turn to Spectrum News for local news and information during the pandemic. Spectrum News channels were the most-viewed networks across Charter’s markets in the first week of April, and overall viewership is up 29 percent from pre-pandemic levels. Spectrum News is reaching over 5 million households weekly, meaning more than half of Spectrum’s video subscribers are tuning in at least once a week. And daily page views of Spectrum News websites and mobile apps has nearly doubled, averaging 1.47 million page views per day. Viewership overall consistently spikes when the networks air local and White House press conferences. 

Spectrum Reach Donates PSAs: Charter’s advertising unit is donating $12 million worth of commercial time on widely viewed cable channels to support the Internet & Television Association's (NCTA) industry-wide pledge to devote a collective $100 million worth of COVID-19 public-service announcements.