Charter Communications Operating, LLC

Charter Communications Operating, LLC, doing business as Charter Media, is the second-largest cable operator in the United States, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and serves federal agencies as a prime contractor (99% of recent awards) delivering commercial telecommunications infrastructure — cable television, high-speed internet, telephone, and fiber optic connectivity services — across 44 distinct customer agencies on firm fixed-price purchase orders with no set-aside designations.

Charter competes full-and-open across civilian and defense agencies with a portfolio anchored in low-dollar, recurring telecommunications utility contracts. The company holds a named subsidiary, Bright House Networks, LLC. Recent representative work includes a $401,814 firm fixed-price order from the Defense Health Agency (awarded September 2024) for internet and television services at William Beaumont Army Medical Center through September 2029; a $248,822 definitive contract from Air Force Materiel Command (awarded October 2021) for commercial internet services at Edwards Air Force Base through September 2026; a $143,458 purchase order from Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 (awarded June 2026) for bulk cable services in Montgomery, Alabama through May 2031; a $110,242 order from Medical Command for cable television services at Fort Cavazos, Texas through August 2026; a $108,820 definitive contract from the National Park Service Northeast Region (awarded September 2021) for data line upgrades; and a $96,984 order from Air Force Materiel Command for fiber optic installation at Edwards Air Force Base. The majority of the remaining 144 awards are small-dollar DEA purchase orders for Spectrum internet, cable, and telephone services across regional offices, typically ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 per order.

Customer concentration clusters heavily around operational telecommunications needs rather than strategic IT modernization. The Drug Enforcement Administration dominates by award count at 53 awards (57% of recent awards) valued at $431 thousand combined potential value, but ranks third in dollars — a portfolio of high-frequency, low-value purchases. Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 anchors the top-dollar ranking with 8 awards valued at $1.4 million, followed by the U.S. Marine Corps with 13 awards at $467 thousand. The two rankings diverge meaningfully: DEA places many small orders while VISN 7 carries fewer, higher-value multi-year installations. Across 44 customer agencies, the top five account for 57% of award count and 50% of combined potential value, indicating broad but shallow market penetration typical of commodity telecom supply.

Charter placed no awards on government-wide IDIQs, BPAs, or agency-wide vehicles in the source data; all work flows through direct purchase orders. The vendor operates as a facilities and branch telecoms supplier rather than as a systems integrator or IT prime, with 67 awards coded to NAICS 541512 (Wired Telecommunications Carriers) and 34 to cable subscription programming. No recompete cliff signal: only 7 awards complete within the next twenty-four months, valued at $507 thousand combined potential value, reflecting the transactional nature of the order flow.

Charter subcontracts minimally — only 2 sub-awards in the source, both from General Dynamics Information Technology for Priority Telecommunications Services support (January and October 2024). The vendor's federal footprint is characterized by high-volume, low-complexity commodity supply rather than prime system integration or strategic infrastructure modernization partnerships.