PURA opens hearing on Charter’s change‑of‑control application for Cox; firms outline benefits and staff press for details

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority convened an evidentiary hearing on Nov. 19, 2025 to consider docket 250811, Charter Communications’ application seeking approval for a change of control involving Cox Communications.

Presiding Commissioner Holly Cheeseman opened the session, and the panel heard appearances from counsel and intervenors representing Charter, Cox, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the Connecticut attorney general. Charter and Cox introduced witnesses who were sworn and adopted their written testimony before delivering opening statements and answering cross‑examination.

Adam Falk, senior vice president for state government affairs for Charter, told the panel the transaction would “bring substantial benefits to consumers, to competition, and to the state of Connecticut as a whole” by extending Charter’s product portfolio, accelerating technology deployments such as DOCSIS 4 and widening access to bundled services. Kurt Stamp, vice president of government and regulatory affairs for Cox Enterprises, said Cox supports the transaction and highlighted local workforce and community programs the company runs in Connecticut.

PURA staff and intervenors pursued detailed lines of questioning about outage reporting and emergency response, integration planning and the $500 million synergy estimate in Charter’s filings. Staff asked Charter to provide supplemental data in standardized formats and requested late‑file exhibits on workforce and financial questions. The Office of the Attorney General focused on cybersecurity and privacy arrangements, asking whether Charter follows standards such as NIST and how the two companies will integrate security programs.

Several procedural requests were made on the record — including a motion by the Office of Consumer Counsel to enter the state’s digital equity plan “Connecticut Everyone Connected” into evidence and multiple read‑ins and late‑file exhibit requests for detailed pricing, employment and customer‑service data. The panel recessed for lunch and reconvened; the hearing was adjourned for the day with direction to resume Friday at 9:00 a.m.

Next steps: parties will file the requested read‑ins and late‑file exhibits and continue cross‑examination Friday, with further briefing expected on the role of broadband benefits in PURA’s public‑interest analysis.