Spectrum customers in some highly competitive service areas are being offered more discounted services than ever before, including a $20 Lifestyle TV package with 50+ cable networks and local channels can be bundled with up to 200 Mbps internet access for $59.98 a month for 12 months (not including the $11.99/mo Broadcast TV Fee).

Spectrum Lifestyle TV ($19.99/mo) includes all local TV channels, plus:

• AMC
• MSNBC
• Arts & Entertainment
• Cartoon Network
• CNN
• SyFy
• Discovery Channel
• EWTN
• E!
• Inspiration
• Food Network
• ION
• Freeform
• TBN
• FX
• WGN America
• Hallmark
• BET
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
• TV Land
• HGTV
• VH-1
• Lifetime Channel
• OWN TV
• Oxygen
• BET Jams
• Spectrum News
• BET Soul
• TBS
• Nicktoons
• TLC
• TV One
• TNT
• BET Her
• USA Network
• Aspire
• Lifetime Movie Network
• Revolt
• History Channel
• The Africa Channel
• Animal Planet
• The Impact Network
• Spike TV
• Nick Jr.
• Comedy Central
• Teen Nick
• Bravo
• The CW
• Disney Channel
• StarzEncore Black
• Travel Channel

Customers can use their own equipment, such as Roku, Apple TV, desktop, or apps for iOS and Android, or rent traditional Spectrum set-top boxes for $7.50/mo each (add $4.99/mo to enable DVR service for one box or $9.99/mo for two or more boxes).

Spectrum’s traditional bundle promotion consists of up to 200 Mbps internet and Spectrum TV Select (125+ channels) for $89.98 a month, not including the $11.99/mo Broadcast TV Fee, so the stripped down Lifestyle TV bundle offers about $30 a month in savings.

Spectrum TV Stream is offered to cord-cutter/internet-only customers, but Lifestyle TV me be a more compelling deal.

If you want the Lifestyle TV package but want more channels, you can still save with this promotion by upgrading to the TV Silver package (175+ channels and HBO, Showtime, and the NFL Network) for $20 a month more, which is $25 less a month than what the traditional Double Play TV Silver and internet bundle costs.

Package Comparison (both offers include the same channel lineup and internet package)

• Lifestyle TV Promo: $19.99 Lifestyle TV + $39.99 internet + $20 TV Silver Upgrade + $11.99 BTV Fee = $91.97
• Traditional Double Play Promo: $44.99 Standard TV + $44.99 internet + $20 TV Silver Upgrade + $11.99 BTV Fee = $121.97

Stop the Cap! has confirmed this promotion is running in some AT&T service areas in the southern United States, especially Texas. You can confirm eligibility by visiting Spectrum.com and entering your street address, request to get pricing for new service, and selecting an internet-only package. The Lifestyle TV promotion will appear on the order page as a bundle option if you are qualified for the offer. Spectrum may offer you its other TV add-on packages, notably TV Stream ($24.99/mo), which is a less compelling streaming option with fewer channels at a higher price.

These offers and pricing are for “new customers only.” If you are a current customer, you can return your equipment at a Spectrum Cable Store location to cancel service without dealing with customer retentions, and then sign up as a new customer through the Spectrum website under the name of another family member or friend. Select self-install/pickup equipment in-store and you can get service under a new account on the same day. Otherwise, you must disconnect service for 30 days before qualifying again as a new customer. Depending on how much competition exists in your area, pricing and promotions can vary. Customers may find promotional pricing locked in for 12, 24, or 36 months depending on how much Spectrum is fighting to win customers in each area. Be sure to look out for free upgrades, particularly to 400 Mbps internet service, which is being offered in some areas.

Charter Communications has refused to cooperate in a review to determine if the company is meeting its merger obligations to customers in California.

The Public Advocates Office of the California Public Utilities Commission reports that Spectrum was required to offer at least 300 Mbps internet service to all households in its California service area by December 31, 2019. It was a key condition required of the cable company to win approval of its 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable. But after getting its merger, Charter officials have stopped cooperating with the Public Advocates Office, which is required to submit annual progress reports on Charter’s compliance.

“Charter’s reports thus far have consisted only of bald assertions, without any supporting household data, that it is providing download speeds of up to 300 Mbps to a certain percentage of households and, as stated in its 2017 report, 400 Mbps to a certain percentage of households,” the Public Advocates Office wrote in a Notice of Ex Parte Communication.

“Charter has refused to provide all data requested by the Public Advocates Office, making it impossible for the Public Advocates Office and the Commission to verify whether Charter is, in fact, in compliance with [its merger obligations},” the Office stated. “[I]f Charter fails to comply with merger conditions, the Commission may pursue appropriate enforcement remedies, including the imposition of fines.”

The Public Advocates Office won the granting of a motion to compel Charter Communications to provide the information, signed by Administrative Law Judge Karl J. Bemesderfer.

Officials in the Justice Department are asking T-Mobile and Sprint to spin off a portion of their networks to lay the foundation to create a new national wireless carrier, with its own network, as a deal condition for approving their $26.5 billion merger.

Bloomberg News reports the launch of a new “fourth largest” U.S. wireless company would help win Justice Department approval for the merger deal, according to unnamed sources. Such a network could be created with the spinoff of Sprint’s Boost Mobile, a prepaid MVNO dependent on Sprint’s wireless network. Since a considerable percentage of Sprint’s existing network was expected to be scrapped after the merger won approval, Sprint could theoretically give up part of its network that would have been deemed redundant anyway to appease regulators. But Wall Street is unlikely to approve of the prospect of creating a new competitor, especially in a transaction designed to reduce the number of wireless competitors in the United States.

Boost Mobile, according to Reuters, could be worth $3 billion in a sale — potentially more if an already-built wireless network is included in the deal.

Critics wonder why the Justice Department would approve a deal merging T-Mobile and Sprint at all if officials were worried about reducing the number of wireless options for consumers. Industry observers suspect T-Mobile and Sprint would be unlikely to support such a network spinoff plan, and the resulting emergence of a new carrier likely to be even smaller than Sprint would leave it in a difficult position in a marketplace that would be dominated by three much larger national carriers planning to spend billions to develop 5G networks.

A source told Bloomberg News Justice Department antitrust chief Makan Delrahim “still wants four carriers” and remains unmoved by T-Mobile and Sprint’s arguments that combining operations would lead to more competition and lower prices for consumers. 

Many state attorneys general remain opposed to the merger, fearing that it will lead to less competition and higher prices.  They are waiting for the Justice Department to make its decision before contemplating lawsuits to block the merger if the deal wins approval in Washington.

(Reuters) – A group of potential buyers are preparing bids for prepaid wireless brand Boost Mobile in an upcoming sale valuing the offshoot of U.S. wireless carriers T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp at up to $3 billion, interested buyers told Reuters.

The $26 billion deal between T-Mobile and Sprint won approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission last week after the two carriers offered concessions. It included the sale of Boost to reduce the combined company’s market share in the prepaid wireless business, where customers pay for phone service at the beginning of the month and are not required to pass a credit check.

While the deal awaits a ruling from the U.S. Department of Justice, interested parties are already preparing bids. The sale process is expected to begin after the Justice Department’s review.

Q Link Wireless, a prepaid brand and the third-largest provider of federally assisted wireless plans, is putting together a package to bid for Boost with private equity backing and could pay between $1.8 billion to $3 billion, founder and Chief Executive Issa Asad told Reuters.

The price will depend on the quality of Boost’s customers, such as their level of churn, or the rate of customer cancellations, the devices they are using, and what type of phone plan they are on, none of which the companies have disclosed, he said.

This month, analysts at Cowen estimated Boost has 7 million to 8 million customers and a transaction could be valued at $4.5 billion if the deal included wireless spectrum, or the airwaves that carry data, and facilities. Sprint has not disclosed the number of Boost customers.

Stephen Stokols, chief executive officer of prepaid wireless company FreedomPop, said an undisclosed private equity group he is speaking with have placed Boost’s future value at about $4 billion, such as in an initial public offering.

While FreedomPop is not a bidder, Stokols said he is advising a private equity group preparing a bid. If that bid succeeds, he believes the group would combine their acquisition with FreedomPop and have him lead a combined company with the Boost assets.

Peter Adderton, founder of Boost Mobile who sold the U.S. business to Nextel in 2004, which was then acquired by Sprint, has also said he is interested in buying back Boost. He declined to comment on his valuation for the business.

Adderton said he and his lawyers have urged regulators to require T-Mobile and Sprint to also divest wireless spectrum to ensure Boost will be a viable competitor in the market.

Adderton added that regulators must also ensure the new T-Mobile does not employ anticompetitive practices to harm Boost, and the contract between the companies should be non-exclusive, which would allow Boost to buy network access from other carriers.

The current sale agreement is devoid of details, but with the right terms, “we can create a dynamic player that will compete in the market,” Adderton said of Boost.

T-Mobile and Sprint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Reporting by Sheila Dang; Editing by Kenneth Li and Lisa Shumaker

Charter Spectrum customers in New York State: today is the final day to claim free services as part of the state’s $174 million settlement with the cable operator.

About 700,000 customers, mostly in downstate New York, should have already received $62 million in refunds averaging $75 per household in the form of a bill credit. But many more are still qualified for up to three months of HBO or six months of Showtime for free. At the end of the term, services will automatically deactivate so you will never be billed for them.

The offers:

• Current subscribers who subscribe to both internet and cable television from Spectrum will have a choice of either three (3) months of HBO OR six (6) months of Showtime. (Note: This benefit is available to subscribers who do not already subscribe to both of the offered services through Spectrum.)
• Internet only subscribers will get one (1) month of Spectrum TV Choice streaming service—in which subscribers can (depending on their location) access broadcast television and a choice of 10 pay TV networks—as well as access to Showtime for one (1) month.

You can determine which offer you qualify for, if any, on your March 2019 billing statement, available from Spectrum’s website. Or call 1-833-422-8795 and you can learn more about what is available to you and select the free service of your choice. The deadline is today, May 30.

If you are new to Spectrum or already subscribe to HBO and Showtime, you will not qualify for either settlement. Neither will ex-customers that disconnected service.

New York Attorney General Leticia James is interested in learning your views and experiences on the settlement offer. After calling Spectrum, visit here to complete a survey.