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Time Warner Cable has begun notifying western New York cable subscribers their rates are going up, effective in about three weeks.
The cable company includes the notification in customer bills arriving throughout December and early January in the Rochester and Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.
The new prices are the result of higher programming costs, the development of new innovative features, and continued investment in our infrastructure and investment.
Rates for Road Runner, Time Warner’s broadband service, are increasing as much as five dollars per month. This represents the third increase in broadband rates for Time Warner customers in the last 13 months, and should finally bury any notion the cable operator needs to implement Internet Overcharging schemes to recoup usage costs. Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner Turbo package was priced at just under $50 a month two years ago. Today, the same service costs $64.90 per month for standalone customers — a $14.90 increase.
2011 Pricing: Turbo - up to $64.90, Standard - up to $54.95, Basic - up to $37.95, Lite - $25.99
Customers on bundled service packages will see rate increases of around $5 for a digital cable-only package, $7 for a cable-broadband package, $6 for a cable-phone package, and $9 for “All the Best” which delivers cable, phone, and Internet service. Those with multiple televisions will see a doubling of rates for each additional TV hooked up to digital cable (was $0.50, now $1.00), a $0.16 decrease in the monthly rental cost of a traditional cable box, and a $0.04 increase in the cost for the remote control.
A rate increase for the Rochester, N.Y. area
Existing and new customers might find a year of savings with the company’s current Triple Play $99 promotional offer, which some report to be good for existing subscribers adding additional services. For one year, subscribers will pay $33.33 each for broadband, video, and phone service (you must take all three). For a subscriber with cable and broadband, adding the phone service actually will cost you nearly $20 less per month, even if you never bothered to use it:
Choose the speed that's right for you at the price that's not.
2011 Rates
- Watch N Surf: $118.99 per month
- Triple Play Promotion: $99 per month
Customers are reminded Time Warner’s retention agents are authorized to provide discounts and better offers to those threatening to take their business elsewhere. If your rates are increasing, it might be a good time to threaten to walk and see what kind of offers the cable company provides to get you to stay.
Share your views and retention offers in our Comment section.
“We’re losing more customers from our cable television services than we’re adding!” warns executive A.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll just raise the rates on our existing customers to cover it.” replies executive B.
Meanwhile, customers everywhere ask “Can we have more choice in service options so we can save some money and still buy your service?” and all they hear in response are crickets on the warm summer night under the stars……..
I just compared the price list above with what I received in my most recent bill and there are some differences. Does it depend on the town one lives in? I’m in Greece. Current rates are the same, but some new rates are different. Your basic rate stays the same at $10.50. Mine increases to $12.00 Your standard service increases to $65.45. Mine increases to $63.95. Your digital home terminal decreases to $6.84. Mine increases to $7.99 Your remote increases to $0.34. Mine increases to $0.50. I have the watch and surf package along with a DVR. I am charged… Read more »
Yes, Charlie. Each suburb has their own franchise agreement. It sounds like they are moving money around between the Basic and Standard tier. Note you can’t have standard without basic, and that roughly $1.50 disparity largely disappears when you add the two package prices together for both areas.
The DVR rate hike already went into effect about two months ago, so they saw no need to raise it again. I also see premium channels remained the same. Considering the eroding customer base for those channels, they didn’t dare raise it again.
“The new prices are the result of ….. the development of new innovative features” ….as opposed to OLD innovative features? “….and continued investment in our infrastructure and investment.” What kind of nonsense is this? Since when are customers supposed to pay for investment up front? And if it’s for past investment, where is the improved infrastructure that should have been evident to customers? The NEW INNOVATIVE features have not benefited me on broadband and they have cut down my choice of TV channels on any set where I don’t have a cable box. And what is the second reference to… Read more »
The article states “adding the phone service actually will cost you nearly $20 less per month, even if you never bothered to use it”. I just spoke with Timw Warner about this, and as it turns out – that special offer to new customers does not include equipment charges. The actual total ends up being about $144 a month agfter equipment. A current customer can upgrade to that package for about $134 including equipment …..of course that means you are paying more for the addition of phone. I was unable to get my bill lowered at all, I apparently did… Read more »
What equipment charges are they talking about? I know TWC has different prices for different regions, but $44 in equipment charges could cover a lot. What exactly are we talking about and how does that compare to what you are now paying? In Rochester, for example, we don’t pay modem rental fees — in fact they won’t let you buy your own modem and use it locally (and why would you if there was no fee for the rental). I am assuming most of the equipment is set top boxes? As for being shot down by one rep, that isn’t… Read more »
I think the fees were for phone equipment (for the talk/watch/surf) and the cable box.
Be persistant Ian, just because one call center rep turns you down doesn’t mean the next will. Try a slightly different tact, or just make that 2nd call and if you’re lucky you get a good rep you can deal with.
As an update: I got my antenna up, my TVs set up to be connected to PC, Wii, whatever I need to watch the shows we want. I called TWC to cancel and did not even get a hint of an offer for a lower price, a different package, or anything to get me to stay. I had an extremely cocky representative who continuously repeated about how many channels I got and how many of them were HD…..even after I told him I only watch 9 channels – 5 of which I get free over the antenna. I did tell… Read more »
this is the 5th increases since sept 2009!
twc are raising there prices every quarter
each quarter they lose more and more customers
each quarter twc share prices dividends riss by the increase it charges it’s customers
twc does not care about it’s customers
no TV provider cares about it’s customer
salaries in the uSA have not rissen for over 10 years and yet prices are going up and up
how the hell can TWC justify charging $42.99 for unlimited (limited) home phone? they are nuts
VONAGE IS TRUELY UNLMITED and International for $14.99
TWC MORONS
Obviously we need a hell of a lot of regulation to stop the cable industry from raising it’s fees
The regulatory policies under which companies like Time Warner operate in NY State could not be more pro-businessess and anti-consumers. TW did a hughe raise in prices at the end of 2009. Now this year they and Sinclair started an early public public relations war both knowing that the consumers would be screwed again but they did a real good propagandistic blame the other theater. What bothers me is not really that price increase. What bothers me is the impunity they enjoy for doing anything they want, at any time they want, while I do not have the choice to… Read more »