Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge has spent plenty of time recently talking up the company’s converged fixed and mobile strategy. It now appears it’s looking to ensure its network, not just products, reflect that vision, appointing a new EVP of Connectivity Technology to oversee the infrastructure effort.
The operator tapped former SVP of Wireless Products Justin Colwell for the role. In his new position, Colwell will oversee the design and development of Charter’s network architecture across fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi. He will report to Charter's Chief Product and Technology Officer Rich DiGeronimo. A Charter representative told Fierce the appointment comes alongside the expected departure of CTO Stephanie Mitchko-Beale, who is leaving to "pursue other interests." Mitchko-Beale has been CTO since late 2019.
Colwell has focused on wireless since joining Charter in 2015, helping develop its Wi-Fi and Spectrum Mobile products and leading the operator’s participation in the Federal Communications Commission’s 3.5 GHz (CBRS) auction. But he has plenty of wireline experience as well. Before joining Charter, Colwell served as VP of Access Network Technologies at CableLabs, focusing on DOCSIS research and development.
His other prior experience includes eight years at Cricket Wireless, including four as Director of RF Engineering; and roles at AT&T and Qwest Wireless.
In a statement, DiGeronimo said Colwell’s “deep expertise, creativity and relentless focus to leverage our continuously evolving superior networks for the most competitively differentiated experiences, uniquely position him to drive Charter's converged network strategy."
Since the company launched its Spectrum Mobile MVNO service in 2018, Charter executives have increasingly highlighted the potential for converged connectivity offerings spanning fixed and mobile broadband. This, they’ve argued, will allow Charter to capture a greater portion of consumers’ overall monthly spending on connectivity products.
On the operator’s recent Q1 2022 earnings call, CFO Jessica Fischer stated “Our path to continue to grow our business remains strong and we will do that by furthering convergence in our connectivity business, allowing us to capture additional share.”
During the call, CEO Tom Rutledge noted the operator’s efforts to deploy its own wireless infrastructure using the 3.5 GHz (CBRS) spectrum licenses it acquired in 2020 are coming along. Charter finished the buildout of its own mobile core network in Q1 and expects to begin a mobile trial in the middle of the year, he said.
It is unclear what exactly Charter has in mind for its converged architecture, as operator declined to make Colwell available for an interview at this time. However, CableLabs late last year unveiled a fresh set of MVNO architectures which lay the groundwork for operators to manage their own wireless assets alongside those of their MVNO partner and their Wi-Fi network.
This story has been updated to note the exit of CTO Stephanie Mitchko-Beale.