Albany

An Albany consumer watchdog group says Time Warner Cable's $7 million, taxpayer-funded program to expand broadband Internet service across upstate is targeting more affluent customers.

The claim comes as Time Warner Cable is seeking approval from the state for its $45 billion sale to Comcast.

New York's Utility Project, a consumer advocacy group run by attorney Gerald Norlander, has been pressing the state Public Service Commission to force the companies to reveal more about their plans to expand high-speed Internet in the state, arguing that it's one of the key aspects of the deal for the public to consider.

The companies have fought the disclosures.

Last Friday, Norlander made a new plea for the plans to be made public, arguing that Time Warner Cable's state-funded broadband expansion program may run "contrary" to state universal service goals to bring high-speed Internet service to all New Yorkers.

"Our analysis of that information shows the subsidized expansion is occurring in areas that have significantly higher incomes than the county average," Norlander wrote the PSC.

Last February, Time Warner Cable won a $5.3 million grant from the state to subsidize the expansion of its cable network to rural areas of the state where it is typically too expensive to build because of the lack of customers. The state grant is paying for about 75 percent of the costs.

Details of the 53 projects proposed under the grant are public, and Norlander found that 73 percent of the cable line extension projects are occurring in ZIP codes that have median incomes higher than the rest of the county where they are located. For instance, the median household income in the area of the town of Grafton that is being targeted is $65,857, which is about 10 percent higher than the average for Rensselaer County, which is $59,818, according to U.S. Census Bureau data cited in the analysis.

Time Warner Cable spokesman Scott Pryzwansky defended the company's choice of projects Monday, saying the company is proud of its partnership with the state.

"These projects are all in rural, upstate New York," Pryzwansky said. "All are previously unserved by high-speed broadband, and the vast majority are in economically distressed areas."

Officials with Empire State Development, which runs the state's broadband grant program, did not immediately respond to requests for comment after being provided with a copy of Norlander's analysis.

Broadband Internet service is very prevalent in cities like Troy and Albany, which often have lower average household incomes than the suburbs. For instance in Troy, 97 percent of the households have broadband access, but the median household income is $38,991, census figures show.

lrulison@timesunion.com • 518-454-5504 • @larryrulison