RCN Corp. / RCNI

About RCN Corp.

196 Van Buren St., Herndon, Va. 20170
www.rcn.com | 703-434-8200 | Founded: 1996

Industry: Telecommunications | Category: Public Companies

Throughout 2006, RCN battled much larger competitors, especially Verizon and Comcast. RCN, which spent seven months in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004, was among the first companies to offer customers the so-called triple play of telephone, television and high-speed Internet service. Now that larger cable and telephone companies also are selling that option, RCN hopes to stay competitive by emphasizing service and prices.
The company showed substantial improvement in 2006 over the previous year. For example, its net loss was $11.9 million, compared with a loss of $136.1 million in 2005. Revenue for the year was $585.5 million, compared with $530.4 million in 2005.
RCN had about 425,000 customers at the end of 2006; slightly more than one-tenth are in the Washington area. In March 2007, Moody's Investors Service placed RCN's ratings under review for a possible downgrade after RCN said it may issue a $350 million to $400 million dividend to shareholders. Also in March, RCN sold its San Francisco assets to Astound Broadband for $45 million, or about $2,500 per customer.
Last July, RCN eliminated the positions of chief technical officer and senior vice president for operations as part of an effort to streamline management.

2006 Financial Data

Revenues: $585,476,000 | Net Income: $-11,856,000
Asssets: $975,381,000 | Earnings Per Share: $-0.32
Total employees: 1,800 | Local employees: 250