Once again, Charter Communications has demonstrated that it remains the weakest of links in a chain of balkanized cable operations in our region.

The St. Louis-based company, controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is headed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after skipping a debt payment amid a $1.5 billion loss for the fourth quarter.

Charter, which operates the cable TV franchise for San Luis Obispo County, has been rolling out phone and high-speed Internet services and its performance has improved.

But this company is hobbled with huge debts and it is far less healthy than Comcast or Cox, which operate in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara, respectively, or Time Warner, which has taken over most of Ventura County’s cable operations.

If Charter is going to emerge from bankruptcy as a more effective company, maybe somebody with a better track record should step up and take over the SLO operation. Our region deserves better treatment from Charter — maybe it’s time for Allen to take a hike.

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