ST. LOUIS -- The company known today as Suddenlink is celebrating its first decade.The name Suddenlink was introduced in May 2006, but the company’s origins can be traced to Feb. 12, 2003, when its management team assumed responsibility for what, at the time, was the twelfth largest U.S. cable operator, Classic Communications. Classic served approximately 300,000 customers in primarily rural communities.Chairman and CEO Jerry Kent assembled a veteran management team to lead the enterprise, which was renamed Cebridge Connections in August 2003. The company more than quadrupled in size in 2006, when it acquired Cox cable systems serving approximately 900,000 customers and Charter cable systems serving approximately 240,000 customers.“Through the hard work of our team, an unrelenting focus on customer care, plus transformative acquisitions, billions of dollars in financings and capital investments, we turned a small, bankrupt company into the nation’s seventh largest cable operator with financial and operating results that are among the very best in the industry,” said Suddenlink Chairman and CEO Jerry Kent. “In 2003, several friends in the industry called to ask me why we agreed to take on such a long-shot risk. A decade later, our team has made that long shot look like a sure thing. My hat is off to them for everything they’ve accomplished. It’s been an incredible journey.” Suddenlink Communications