Adding more wireless and mobile firepower to its ranks, Charter Communications confirmed that it has hired former Ericsson exec Manish Jindal to the post of group vice president of wireless R&D.
Jindal reports to Craig Cowden, Charter’s SVP of wireless technology, a former Sprint and Bright House Networks exec who joined the Charter following its acquisition of Bright House Networks last year.
FierceCable first reported Jindal’s hiring at Charter. According to his LinkedIn profile, Jindal joined Charter in March, is based in the Denver area, is now responsible for “driving Standard, Spectrum, 5G, 3.5Ghz, [and] IoT initiatives” at Charter.
Jindal previously has VP and head of technology and strategy at Ericsson, and is also late of Nokia Siemens Networks.
Jindal is joining Charter, which inherited a Verizon MVNO via its acquisition of Time Warner Cable, as the operator makes plans to release a wireless product next year and starts to dabble in 5G technology.
Charter has also forged an agreement with Comcast that aims to “explore potential opportunities for operational cooperation” in their respective wireless businesses.
RELATED: Comcast, Charter Make Wireless Partnership Official
Comcast introduced its mobile product, Xfinity Mobile, in April and launched the service in May.
RELATED: Xfinity Mobile is Open for Business
In June, The Wall Street Journal said Sprint had entered exclusive talks with Comcast and Charter Communications to discuss an agreement that could boost the MSOs’s plans to offer wireless services and a deal that might include investments by Charter and Comcast aimed at upgrading Sprint’s network in exchange for “favorable terms” to offer wireless service on Sprint’s network. However, a person familiar with the situation said Comcast’s interest in talking with Sprint is centered on improving its existing MVNO agreement with Sprint, which was signed almost a decade ago.
RELATED: Sprint Exploring New Wireless Deal With Charter, Comcast: WSJ
