Altice/Suddenlink Making 'Steady Progress' With Regulators, Suddenlink CEO Kent Says

Suddenlink still expects its purchase by Altice to close by year’s end as it makes "steady progress" on regulatory approvals, CEO Jerry Kent said Thursday, announcing its Q3 results. Transition planning is underway, with the new management team to be announced at closing, Kent said, saying he wouldn't remain with the company. The company didn’t take any questions on the $9.1 billion takeover by Altice, which many don't expect to face substantial regulatory hurdles (see 1509170015). The company has increased broadband speeds in 104 markets, with its upgrade to a new flagship speed of 50 Mbps largely complete, it said. As of Sept. 1, 13 Suddenlink markets offer 1 Gbps speeds, and another 15 will by year's end, it said. In response to a question about over-the-top video growth, Kent said it will lead to some unbundling of video packages due to the rapidly rising costs of video. Meanwhile, the cable industry is unlikely to look at overage charges as a sizable revenue stream because that could quickly lead to more customer churn, he said. In response to a question about the importance of wireless to the cable industry, Kent said it plays a bigger potential role with companies with a national footprint. "For a company like us, it's going to be difficult to mesh in wireless," he said, saying he was curious what AT&T/DirecTV does. But a quadruple-play offering "will definitely be something offered by the really large operators in this space," he said.