The state Public Service Commission’s approval of a merger between Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications is contingent on dramatic improvement in broadband availability for people in the North Country and millions of other New Yorkers.

So says an announcement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, which also says the approval will lead to more than $1 billion in direct investments and consumer benefits in the state.

The decision requires broadband speeds to double for more than two million customers by 2018, and increase six-fold by 2020.

And 145,000 homes and businesses now without broadband will be offered high-speed access, the announcement says.

Time Warner Cable currently dominates the high-speed market in northern New York. Charter, the fourth-largest cable provider in the country, has more than 30 million customers nationwide, mainly in Michigan, Texas, Missouri and California.

Under the approved plan, an affordable high-speed program will be offered to low-income New York consumers, as well as free connection and service to underserved community centers.

The commission’s merger requirements will deliver broadband speed upgrades to 100 Mbps statewide by the end of 2018, and 300 Mbps by the end of 2019, a benefit to an estimated two million upstate broadband customers. The highest speed offered now by Time Warner Cable north of New York City is 50 Mbps, so customers are expected to see significant speed upgrades.

The merger conditions further require that Charter offer high speed broadband to 145,000 unserved customers who currently have no high speed broadband at all.

Additionally, the state issued a $500 million solicitation today for private sector partners to join the New NY Broadband Program, which will greatly expand Internet access in all regions of the state, with a focus on unserved and underserved areas. The program will deliver access to high-speed Internet to every New Yorker by the end of 2018, the governor’s announcement said.