Charter Hires Chief Mobile Officer

Filling a key role as it looks to launch mobile services later this year, Charter Communications has hired Danny Bowman to the post of chief mobile officer.

Bowman, who fills a newly created role at Charter, reports to Rich DiGeronimo, Charter’s EVP of product and strategy, and be based out of the Charter headquarters in Stamford.

A vet of the mobile industry, Bowman most recently was chief revenue officer of LeEco North America, and, prior to that, was chief sales and operations officer for Samsung Telecommunications of America. He also spent 17 years at Sprint and Nextel (they merged in 2014) and is also late of Cellular One.

Bowman comes on board as Charter prepares to launch a mobile service later this year that will be branded Spectrum Mobile and lean on the MSO’s own WiFi network and its MVNO agreement with Verizon.

The plan, which Charter bills as an inside-out strategy that will provide linkages from home wireless networks to macro mobile network, also includes the rollout of a small cell network and a utilization of both licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

RELATED: Small Cells to Play Big Role in Charter’s Mobile Future

Charter will also be looking at a wide range of frequencies, including those as 600 MHz as well as millimeter wave. Charter is also interested using the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) 3.5 GHz band, which is being set up as a shared environment for incumbents users and new entrants and the use of licensed and unlicensed capacity.

RELATED: Charter Puts Wireless Broadband to the Test (subscription required)

"Danny possesses deep mobile expertise and will be an invaluable asset to Charter and its growing team of experienced professionals dedicated to successfully designing, developing, launching, and growing Spectrum Mobile," DiGeronimo, said in a statement. "As the Chief Mobile Officer for the company, Danny and his team will run the mobile business and forge strong partnerships with key suppliers and leverage Charter's superior network assets to deliver a transformative integrated mobile, wireless connectivity and entertainment experience."

Bowman holds a bachelor of business administration in Management from Evangel College and a Leadership Certificate from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, as well as an Executive MBA from Washington University.