 Founded in 1993 as Time Warner Communications, the company was a joint venture between US West and Time Warner Cable a division of Time Warner Entertainment, to deliver telephone services over a hybrid fiber and coaxial network.The company was successful in their efforts, but at the time the cost to build fiber directly to consumer's homes proved too expensive to be profitable.In the mid-1990s the company evolved into a "carriers carrier" selling "dark fiber" capacity to other telecom and Internet providers to supplement their networks.