Charter ends free high-speed Internet service for St. Louis

After delivering free high-speed Internet service to government offices and police precincts in St. Louis for nine years, Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) is asking the city to pay it $115,000 annually to continue receiving service.

Charter had been providing free Internet service to government agencies in St. Louis that are connected to a "public safety network" via fiber, but its contract to offer the city free service expired last year. Some cable MSOs offer cities free Internet, video and phone service as part of their franchise agreements.

Charter's decision to no longer offer free high-speed Internet service to government offices in St. Louis is noteworthy, considering the cable MSO is headquartered in the city.

St. Louis has asked AT&T (NYSE: T) for a proposal to duplicate charter's public safety network. But that's unlikely, considering it would require AT&T to invest in costly overbuild of Charter's network in the city.

For more:
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch has this story

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