or $3.1 billion and Denver-based cable operator Fanch Communications for $2 billion. Allen also invested $300 million into Go2Net Inc., a community web site operator. The deals opened Charter's market reach in New York, California, the Pacific Northwest, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri and North Carolina. Charter announced plans to go public in July 1999 with an initial public offering of $3.45 billion. The IPO served two purposes: to generate more money for Charter to enhance its infrastructure and to raise funds for additional acquisitions, such as the February 2001 purchase of cable systems from AT&T Broadband for $1.79 billion. That deal netted Charter an additional 512,000 subscribers and made Charter the nation's No.-4 cable operator with a total base of 6.4 million customers. Charter advanced into small-to-medium subscriber areas and suburbs of larger cities, instead of attempting to infiltrate larger urban areas. Charter also took an early interest in the potential of broadband and cable technology and the bundling of VAULT CAREER LIBRARY 2005 Vault Inc. Vault Guide to the Top Telecom Employers Charter Communications phone, Internet and other communications services as long-term business ventures, while its competitors built up local phone markets that resulted in short-term gains. In 2000, Charter announced plans to accelerate by one year a $3.5 billion rebuilding and upgrade program that included adding digital video capabilities and high-speed Internet access. The company had initially set a goal of 10,000 new Charter cable customers per week in 2000, but was adding as many as 24,000 new digital customers weekly by mid-year. Subscriber scandal By May 2002, analysts were predicting huge things from the St. Louis-based company, suggesting it would be a dominant player in the broadband industry in the coming years. Anthony Gikas, a senior analyst for U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, reported, "We anticipate Charter will continue to push the technology envelope and lead" in the expansion of video and resi