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Orangeburg County, South Carolina has 12,000 Time Warner Cable customers
First North Carolina and now in South Carolina, Time Warner Cable has announced a statewide rate increase taking effect this December.
As has always been the case, Time Warner Cable officials blamed the increase on programming costs, particularly for sports programming. The company also blamed local broadcasters, who increasingly demand fee-for-carriage arrangements.
Dan Jones, Time Warner vice president of government relations, told Orangeburg officials the price increases were given careful consideration.
“The value customers receive goes beyond the pure price,” Jones said in a letter to the city, reported by The Times and Democrat. “We’re offering customers more local programming, increased video on demand content, more high definition channels and enhanced cable television options.”
No explanation was provided for the increase in broadband pricing.
Orangeburg Mayor Paul Miller told the paper rate increases are out of the control of City Council.
Cable customers with the broadcast station package will see costs increase from $9.30 a month to $10.20 a month. The cable programming package will increase from $45.15 a month to $48.75 a month. Basic cable, which consists of both the broadcasting and cable programming, will rise from $54.45 to $58.95.
For Road Runner customers, the biggest increases come from Road Runner Lite, up three dollars from $24.95 to $27.95. Other broadband package prices changes include:
- Road Runner Basic, bundled with cable or digital phone — from $32.95 to $37.95
- Road Runner High Speed online, bundled with broadcast cable, basic cable or digital phone — from $47.95 to $49.95
- Road Runner High Speed online, bundled with digital cable — no change
- Earthlink, bundled with broadcast cable, basic cable or digital phone — from $47.95 to $49.95
- Earthlink, bundled with digital cable — no change
Other stories of interest:
- Time Warner Cable Jacking Up Rates in North Carolina; Up to 15% More For the Same Service
- Time Warner Cable Raises Road Runner Rates in Northeast Ohio/Western Pennsylvania Region – $50 for 7Mbps Service
- Triad Region: Time Warner Cable Introduces Road Runner Mobile WiMax on December 1st
- Time Warner Cable CEO Reports Basic Cable Suffers While Broadband Gains, Still Thinks ‘Usage Based Pricing’ is the Future
- Time Warner Cable Ends Cap ‘n Tier “Trial” in Beaumont
While price increases are always unpopular, I cannot be angry about any increase in broadband pricing. I think I have been paying the same amount for almost 10 years now.
I got off the cable bandwagon a long time ago to DirectTV, so those do not affect me at all.
Increased broadband prices don’t bother you? While my cost has not increased in the past 10 years, my service has remained the same (delivered speeds have not kept up with technology/moore’s law), and the cost to the ISP has gone down considerably. They are raking in more profit from me today than they were on day one (even accounting for inflation), and they have the nerve to ask for more $$$ to line their pockets unjustifiably.
No, increase cost does not bother me as long as there is no cap in place.
Look, whether network costs or hardware costs decrease over time, employee costs tend to go up. 1 increase over 10 years – I wish everything else was like that. I can deal with an increase like this – in fact I have said so here previously.
What I refuse to deal with is caps on service.
This is their 3rd increase in 10 years. it started at a little, not intro pricing, under 40. It is now pushing 55? This is simple monopoly pricing. A monopoly/oligopoly will increase prices if it can. In this case it can. How else can you sustain 10% year over year growth when you have ‘maxed out’ new installs?
My TW bill for road runner has not gone up since I installed it the day it way available in Rochester, NY in I think 1999. Maybe you are remembering cable price increases becuase you have a package? I have not had TW cable service since 1997.
Wish that was true here.
Glenn Britt can’t see the recession from his limo’s tinted windows
JR. Tinted windows never stopped a person with enough attitude.
Ron you will care if each extra gig cost you $10. Adds up in a hurry. Same
as both of you I pay the same amount but I also don’t lean on the system
that much. Do I go over 5 gig. Sure I do…hard not to just watching flicks
from news stations. For what I pay my speeds are OK…Not great just OK.
Don’t have a clue what I would do with more. All this streaming especially
video started the problem on structure not built to handle it. I have a TV
tuner card (high end) and a few ways to get anything else I want not there is
much to look at anyway. I feel I pay a fair price for what I do or get. What
would piss me off if they raised it $20. Then it is not worth it.
In other words: Time Warner Cable is increasing prices for everyone, everywhere, and if they haven’t done it to you yet, understand that it takes time to print the letters/bills they send to tell you about it.
And you know what, I hate sports. When I think about it, the fact that I have to pay much more for cable to get “expensive sports programming” I never watch and don’t care about really pisses me off. And if they told me they were increasing my bill for those sports channels I never watch.. well I don’t think I am capable of hating TWC more than I do already, but I suppose they can always prove me wrong. And yeah, I know that how its always worked. It still annoys me.
TWC has “the Carolinas” as one region, so anything happening in the North will also happen in the South and vice versa. Not to mention the stretch of Virginia that is serviced from Greensboro. They pretty much view it as a single state.
One thing not mentioned is ESPN is guilty here. ESPN’s purchase of the BCS rights and move exclusively to cable (and probably PPV Championship Game) means they will raise their per-subscriber fee by a dollar again. Huge raises were made after Monday Night Football and other major events. To beat the broadcast networks, ESPN can promise the extra cash the networks can’t.