Time Warner Cable Ponders Renaming Itself

Time Warner Cable has been officially separated from Time Warner Inc. since last March.

Now, the cable operator might be cutting one of the last symbolic ties to its erstwhile parent: The MSO is considering renaming itself in a initiative code-named “Project Mercury,” Dow Jones Newswires reports. (Not sure if this is the allusion, but the Mercury Project was NASA’s first manned-flight program.)

A Time Warner Cable spokesman confirmed that the company is having a high-level “discussion” internally about a name change but said it’s still too early to say if or when that would happen. A new name would help distinguish Time Warner Cable from the media company (not to mention give the ambiguous “TWC” decisively to The Weather Channel).

Project Mercury was initially planned for completion in the second half of 2010, but that target has recently been pushed back, according to Dow Jones, which noted that Time Warner Cable is under no contractual obligation to rename itself.

Until we find out more, here are some ideas for a new name:

  • Road Runner Cable
  • Get Tough Corporation [or should that be RollOver Inc.? Maybe they’ll let customers “decide.”]
  • Start Over LLC
  • Bandwidth Ltd.
  • Oceanic [what the heck, it works so well in the Aloha State, take it to the mainland!]
  • Full Service Network [but then, with “FSN,” you have the confusion with the regional Fox Sports Nets]
  • Mystro!
  • Adelphia Communications [yes, that’s a joke, although according to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Time Warner Cable Inc. is listed as the current owner of the trademark on “Adelphia”]

Any other suggestions? Post ‘em below.