Central Coast customers who use Charter Communications for their cable, internet or phone service could find themselves dealing with an entirely different company in the coming months.
All Charter customers in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties will become Comcast customers should the federal government approve a major merger that is currently in the works.
Charter is not part of the merger however, which may be confusing to many. It's Comcast and Time Warner that would join forces, but as part of a realignment of service areas, Charter and Comcast would swap some 1.6 million customers, including those along the Central Coast.
A representative from Comcast told KCBX Thursday that no swap will be made until the merger details are approved by the government, which could happen near the end of this year.