Time Warner expands fiber access in Central New York

DeWITT — Time Warner Cable, Inc. (NYSE: TWC) plans to invest $6.5 million to expand its fiber-optic network in Central New York this year.

The company will likely continue its investment in network improvements in the years ahead as well, says Fritz Ferrell, vice president for new market development and field operations. The 2012 expansion will bring the network to areas that didn’t previously have access to high-speed fiber, according to the company.

Recent expansions included areas of Auburn, Cicero, Clay, Gouverneur, Horseheads, Jamestown, Liverpool, Lowville, Rome, Syracuse, Utica, and Watertown. Additional areas on tap for fiber expansion include Binghamton, Cortland, East  Syracuse, Ithaca, Massena, Ogdensburg, Potsdam, and downtown Syracuse. 

Continued developments are projected in Cicero, Liverpool, Rome, and Utica, according to the company.

The expansion is driven mainly by Time Warner’s business customers, Ferrell says. Companies are demanding more bandwidth.

The access allows for applications that require more data. But bandwidth doesn’t just mean more speed and new applications, Ferrell notes.

More bandwidth will allow greater numbers of users access to high-speed networks, he says.

The company is trying to give its customers what they need to expand and grow, Ferrell says. The current expansion began at the beginning of this year, he adds.

Ferrell says he’s not sure yet what next year’s budget for network upgrades will be.

“I think this will be an ongoing expansion,” he says. “This is a need that businesses have.”

The work in Central New York is part of a larger $100 million expansion taking place throughout Time Warner’s markets in the Northeast, New York City, and the Carolinas. Once completed, the expansion will provide 10,000 new areas with high-speed access.

Time Warner Cable employs 1,800 people in Central New York and more than 51,000 people nationwide. The firm has more than 14 million customers.

The company generated revenue of $5.4 billion in the second quarter, up 9.3 percent from the same period last year. Net income attributable to common shareholders totaled $452 million for the period, up from $420 million in the second quarter of 2011.

Earnings per diluted share totaled $1.43, up from $1.24.

Time Warner Cable generated revenue of $19.7 billion in 2011, up 4.3 percent from 2010. Net income attributable to common shareholders totaled $1.7 billion, or $4.97 per diluted share, compared with $1.3 billion, of $3.64 per diluted share, in 2010.

Time Warner Cable Business Class services include data, video, phone, cell tower backhaul services to wireless carriers, and through its NaviSite subsidiary, hosting, managed application, messaging, and cloud services.