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Our friends at Broadband Reports have managed to get at least one confirmation of a leaked slide from an internal company presentation outlining major changes in Comcast’s broadband service and speeds, but initially only in areas where Verizon’s fiber to the home network FiOS has given the cable operator a run for the money.
The biggest changes will be price reductions for customers signed to triple play packages and fast speeds from the cable company. Comcast sees an opportunity to exploit Verizon’s recent price increases for its FiOS broadband offerings, and hopes new, lower-priced broadband will hold and possibly even win back customers.
The new pricing is anticipated to take effect in early 2013 in FiOS areas, but “most of Comcast’s markets” will see these prices by the end of next year. Customers who do not bundle other services will pay a $15 surcharge.
As Karl Bode points out, Verizon’s rate increases have made FiOS a difficult sell for standalone basic broadband. Verizon FiOS’ entry level 15/5Mbps service is now priced at $70 a month.
The new pricing information does not include references to usage caps. Comcast has announced it is testing 300GB usage caps with overlimit fees in some markets.
- Comcast Basic (5/2Mbps): $29/month
- Comcast Performance (25/5Mbps): $49/month
- Comcast Preferred (50/10Mbps): $69/month
- Comcast Extreme (100/25Mbps): $99/month
- Comcast Premier (300/75Mbps): $119/month
“Customers who do not bundle other services will pay a $15 surcharge.” Hmm, let’s see, if I bundle my high-speed internet ($99 a month), and basic cable ($60 a month), my total bill would be $159 a month. But if I don’t bundle and pay the $15 surcharge, my bill will be $114 a month. Seems like paying the stupid surcharge would be an even better deal than the dumb cable channels Comcast offers. Now I don’t like the idea of this stupid surcharge but i’d rather pay the surcharge and save a little bit of money than be forced… Read more »
There are a lot of people who agree with you. The surcharge is a completely artificially-generated barrier to discourage broadband-only customers. For “a few dollars more get a lot more with our bundle” is the mentality at work here, and it works for them, not customers.