Looking to entice potential commercial customers to switch service providers, Charter Business announced that it will start to buy out the early termination fees associated with business customers that are seeking an alternative.
"Business customers who would like to experience the higher internet speeds and robust suite of products offered by Charter Business often feel trapped in their current contracts." said Don Detampel, EVP and president for Charter Communications, in a statement. "Charter has taken the worry of early termination fees out of the equation for our new customers so business owners can try Charter Business with confidence."
Charter announced that it had launched a dedicated web site for the offer at http://www.charterbusiness.com/ContractBuyout, though it did not appear to be active as of this writing.
Update: The link is now live, directing visitors to a downloadable Contract Buyout form (PDF) that outlines the three-step process. Once those steps have been completed and Charter Business verifies eligibility, it will issue a check in the amount equal to the early termination fee charged by the customer's previous provider, but in an amount that is capped at $500.
Charter is putting the new policy in place as commercial services continue to represent a key growth engine for cable operators.
Charter’s business unit pulled in revenues of $234 million in the first quarter, up from $195 million in the year-ago period. The MSO is scheduled to report second quarter results on Thursday, July 31.
