ST. LOUIS, March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Responding to last week's devastation in Japan, Charter Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHTR) will waive all charges for direct dial long-distance calls to Japan from residential and business Charter Phone(R) customers until April 30. The free offer will be retroactive for calls placed to Japan from March 11.

"Seeing the horrific images on television and not being able to hear the voice of a family member, a business colleague or friend is unimaginable," said Rich DiGeronimo, Charter's Senior Vice President, Product and Strategy. "In times of staggering devastation such as these, what may seem small efforts to some can go a long way in easing the burden of others. We hope to connect friends and loved ones to help ease their pain, and will continue to keep the victims and rescue workers in our thoughts."

Charter has seen call volume to Japan decline from its peak on Friday, the day the earthquake and tsunami hit the country, although volume remains higher than normal. According to DiGeronimo, about half of calls placed to Japan are being answered.

Charter Phone customers will be credited for any calls placed to Japan from March 11-14. Calls made from March 14 through April 30 will be not appear on customers' monthly statements(1). Free calls can be placed to landline or mobile phones. Calls to operators or directory assisted calls will be charged at the usual rate.

(1) Charter reserves the right to curtail free calling to any business customer during this period if the amount of free direct-dialed minutes used in calling Japan is more than 200% of the customer's average monthly direct-dialed minutes for calls to Japan.

About Charter

Charter is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV(TM) video entertainment programming, Charter Internet(TM) access, and Charter Phone(TM). Charter Business(R) similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media(R) brand. More information about Charter can be found at charter.com.

SOURCE Charter Communications, Inc.