Cablefax The Magazine August 2022 - 13

Catherine Bohigian
EVP, Government Affairs,
Charter Communications
By Cathy Applefeld Olson
Catherine Bohigian is our Advocate honoree
this year because she's not only led Charter's
regulatory strategies since joining the company
in 2013, but also more than ever she's
determined to champion policies that enable
the company to best serve its customers.
Navigating regulatory waters is no easy
task. " The complexity of the issues confronting
Washington and state legislators and
regulators today certainly make it more difficult
to find common ground, and it's always
challenging to navigate the nuance of some
policy or political debates, " says Charter's
EVP of Government Affairs.
The cases in point are myriad. Bohigian
continues to shepherd the MVPD's participation
in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund,
the emergency broadband relief program
that will disburse up to $20.4 billion to help
bridge the digital divide. During the past few
years she dug deep to effect change regarding
specific issues that can accelerate the
bridge-building. When evidence pointed to
pole attachment issues potentially hindering
the deployment of broadband to unserved
and less populated areas, she kept her foot
on the gas in Washington and helped bring
about a 4-0 vote at the FCC this March to
seek comment on establishing clear rules for
the ways utilities and attachers must share in
the costs of pole replacements.
" This space is constantly evolving, but the
pandemic really put our industry in the spotlight
in a way that we have not seen since
Congress passed the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, " she says of broadband. " The
internet service we sell became a lifeline for
people. That brought more government focus
on us than we'd ever had before. At the
beginning of the pandemic, we were fielding
calls and inquiries nonstop from almost every
elected official, from local governments
all the way up to the White House. "
Under Bohigian's guidance, Charter gave
away free service to those in need at the onset
of the pandemic and then became active
in the government's consumer subsidy programs
when they became available. Charter
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Bohigian leads a
team of 140 as EVP
of Government
Affairs for Charter
She joined Charter
from Cablevision,
where she opened
its DC office and
also increased deployment of broadband in
rural areas and participated in most federal
and state deployment programs where the
company operates. " We're focusing on both
sides of the digital divide: Bringing broadband
to unserved areas and helping those in lowincome
communities afford it, " she says.
Bohigian also makes it a point to be up
on the myriad technology evolutions including
cryptocurrency, social media regulation,
online privacy and data security that are introducing
new policy discourse. These kinds
of issues " may concern public officials even
though they may not fully understand the
technical details, " she notes. " Technology as
an advocacy tool has also developed significantly
over the last 10 years. "
She has earned the respect of many in
Washington circles and has a loyal following
from her team. " When I joined Charter, it was
my third time leaving a job to join Catherine, "
says Elizabeth Andrion,
Charter's SVP of
Regulatory Affairs, Government Affairs. " She
is brilliant at seeing all angles and making
quick, astute decisions. She is also an exceptional
and supportive leader with a rare talent
for both setting extremely high standards
while still trusting her team in a way that develops
confidence to excel in their jobs. "
served as SVP, Federal Affairs.
She also held several senior
roles at the FCC, including
Chief of the Office of Strategic
Planning and Policy Analysis
and Senior Advisor to thenChairman
Kevin Martin
Bohigian received
a B.A. from Duke
University, and a
Juris Doctor from
Harvard Law School
In a career punctuated by milestones, the
ones that stand out most to Bohigian have
required meaningful collaboration across
business units and at various levels of the
company.
" A highlight was gaining approval for a
transaction that tripled the size of our company;
we had a great team that helped the
Obama Administration understand why the
combination was in the public interest, " she
says of Charter's 2015 purchase of Time
Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
" More than anything, I think having a
great team and creating an environment
where everyone can thrive is critical, " she
says. " Hire good people, give them responsibility
and trust them to do their jobs. " 
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