Albany

The state Public Service Commission on Friday unanimously approved Charter Communications' $55 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Cable, a move that will pave the way for faster Internet speeds for all New York customers and more availability of high-speed Internet access across the state.

Under the draft order that the commissioners approved Friday, Charter would be required to make available Internet, TV and phone services to 145,000 homes not served by Time Warner Cable. And it cannot charge customers for the line extensions.

And it would be required to offer 300 megabits per second Internet speeds to all New Yorkers by 2019. Time Warner Cable already offers 300 Mbps speeds in New York City.

The "net benefit" to New Yorkers will be $1 billion, according to the commission, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment in the state. Although Charter only has a small number of customers in the areas of Plattsburgh in Clinton County and Chatham in Columbia County, Time Warner Cable has 2.6 million customers in the state, although its typical Internet package has download speeds of just 15 Mbps.

Just a few hours after the vote, Charter said it would agree to the conditions outlined by the PSC.

"This is a significant step forward, not only for Charter but also for our future customers, and we are very happy to have obtained this approval from the New York State PSC," said Tom Rutledge, CEO of Charter Communications. "We thank Gov. Cuomo and his team for their leadership and we look forward to bringing many benefits including a superior high-speed, low-cost broadband service to families and seniors in New York."

A special meeting of the PSC was held to vote on the deal Friday.

Only three of the four PSC commissioners were available to vote, which was approved unanimously, 3-0. Commissioner Patricia Acampora was not able to make the meeting, but she supported approval of the deal with the conditions.

Commissioner Diane Burman, who said she was not happy with the original petition that the two companies filed with the commission, said the conditions set out by staff at the Department of Public Service convinced her to change her mind.

"I don't believe a denial outright is appropriate," Burman said. "I think (this draft order) finds the right balance."

The deal still needs approval by the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. California also needs to approve the deal. The FCC's review is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Charter, which is based in Connecticut, would also have to put a hold on laying off any of Time Warner Cable's "customer facing" or customer service employees in the state for two years. The company would also have to spend $50 million on upgrading its customer service in the state. Charter will be required to reduce customer complaints by 35 percent by 2020.

"Nobody likes the cable guy," PSC Chair Audrey Zibelman said.

The PSC order also prevents Charter from implementing any data caps in the state for three years that would allow the company to charge customers more for using a certain amount of data, a common practice in the cell phone industry. And Charter will be required to offer low-income customers 30 Mbps service for just $14.99 a month.

"It's what we deserve and need in this state," Zibelman said of the PSC conditions.

lrulison@timesunion.com • 518-454-5504 • @larryrulison