Aug 8

Aug 8 Charter Communications & Cox Communications File Joint Application Related To Merger Transaction

Kansas, Kansas Broadband News, Mergers & Acquisitions, Cable TV, Broadband

August 8, 2025 – Charter Communications, Inc. (Charter), Cox Communications, Inc. (Cox), and Cox Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) have filed a joint application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) requesting approval of two changes related to the companies’ merger transaction. In their filing with the KCC, Charter, Cox, and CEI have requested that the KCC approve the following two changes to the regulated operations of Cox’s Kansas subsidiaries arising from the companies’ proposed merger transaction that will result in the transfer of control of Cox and, indirectly, its subsidiaries from CEI to Charter: (1) reaffirm the Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) designation held by Cox Kansas Telcom, L.L.C. d/b/a Cox Communications (Cox Telcom) following the change in ultimate control and ownership of Cox Telcom from CEI to Charter; and (2) approve the indirect transfer of control of the certificate of Video Services Authorization (VSA) held by Cox Communications Kansas, L.L.C. (Cox Kansas and collectively with Cox Telcom, Cox Licensees) from CEI to Charter. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 26-COXT-047-MIS.

In May 2025, Charter, Charter’s subsidiary Charter Communications Holdings, LLC (Charter Holdings), and CEI announced that they entered into an agreement to merge Charter and CEI’s subsidiary Cox under common ownership. Pursuant to that agreement, Cox and its subsidiaries will become subsidiaries of Charter, and CEI, which owns Cox today, will receive a combination of cash and equity in Charter Holdings exchangeable for Charter stock. As a result, Charter will become the indirect owner of the Cox Licensees, and CEI will become Charter’s largest minority investor. Within a year after the deal closes, the combined company will change its name to Cox Communications, and Spectrum will become the consumer-facing brand within the communities Cox serves. The combined entity will assume Cox’s approximately $12 billion in outstanding debt.

Currently, Charter with its operating subsidiaries, is one of the largest U.S. broadband providers, serving customers across 41 states, including Kansas, through its Spectrum brand. In the joint application, Charter states that it “currently serves approximately 100,000 customers across 25 communities in Kansas, with nearly 900 employees located at its largest employment centers in Overland Park, Lenexa, and Kansas City.” The following Charter subsidiaries offer services in Kansas under KCC-issued certificates of authority:

Time Warner Cable Information Services (Kansas), LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Charter, is authorized by the KCC to operate as a competitive local exchange carrier pursuant a February 2004 order in Docket No. 04-TWRT-224-COC, and an interexchange carrier pursuant to a February 2004 order in Docket No. 04-TWRT-225-COC.
Time Warner Cable Business, LLC is authorized by the KCC to provide competitive interexchange access services pursuant to a June 2013 order in Docket No. 13-TWBC-603-COC.
Charter’s cable affiliate Spectrum Mid-America, LLC provides broadband services and cable services in Kansas pursuant to a KCC-issued VSA granted in Docket No. 13-TWMC-206-VSA.

Cox is the largest private broadband company in the U.S., serving roughly 6.3 million homes and businesses across 18 states with various voice, broadband, wireless, and enterprise services. In Kansas, Cox Telcom is authorized to provide local exchange service and interexchange service pursuant to authority granted in Docket Nos. 00-COXT-928-COC and 00-COXC-197-COC. Cox Telcom is designated as an ETC in Kansas in Docket No. 21-COXT-245-ETC. Cox Kansas is an operating entity of Cox and is authorized to provide video service pursuant to video service authorization granted in Docket No. 07-CXKC-621-VSA. Additionally, Cox’s subsidiary Unite Private Networks, LLC d/b/a Segra was granted a Certificate of Convenience and Authority to provide switched local exchange telecommunications services in Kansas by the KCC in Docket No. 03-EOMT-313-COC.