Time Warner Cable customers in the Carolinas will soon pay $90.49 a month for digital cable television, including one set-top cable box. Customers who buy broadband, television, and phone service will see their monthly bill rise to $167.89.

The rate increases will not initially apply to customers on term contracts or promotional pricing until those terms expire. Others will begin to pay higher rates in March.

Almost 70 percent of Time Warner Cable’s eastern North Carolina subscribers have digital cable TV. The rate increase for television-only service amounts to an extra $5 a month or $60 a year. Triple play customers will also pay an extra $5 a month.

Time Warner’s last rate hike, not including the introduction of a $3.95/month cable modem rental fee last fall, was in late 2011.

Although Time Warner claimed increased programming costs were responsible for the bulk of the rate increases, the cable company keeps adding more channels. In 2012, Time Warner added NFL Network and NFL RedZone, both costly sports networks. In the last few months, Time Warner added an additional 30 channels to the cable lineup in the Carolinas, including a number of new HD channels and barely watched networks including Retirement Living Television and Magic Johnson’s Aspire TV.

A rate change notice mailed to customers in the Carolinas will include exact pricing changes applicable in different communities, but customers in Fayetteville and surrounding parts of the eastern Carolinas will see these changes starting in March:

• Broadcast cable: From $16.19 to $17.99
• Cable programming tier: From $53.30 to $54.50
• Basic cable: From $69.49 to $72.49
• Digital tier: From $10.68 to $9.01
• Basic cable, when bundled with standard Internet and/or home phone unlimited nationwide: From $68.99 to $71.99
• Digital cable includes basic cable, digital tier, digital equipment and Navigator interactive guide: From $85.49 to $90.49
• Digital cable when bundled with standard Internet and/or home phone unlimited nationwide: $82.49 to $85.49
• Basic cable, standard Internet and home phone unlimited nationwide: From $162.89 to $167.89
• Cable card: From $2 to $2.50
• Digital equipment primary outlet: From $6.82 to $8.99
• Navigator interactive guide: Not applicable to $2.17

Customers affected should consider reviewing our tips on how to fight for a better deal from Time Warner.