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Time Warner Cable has finished the rollout of TWC Maxx upgrades in New York and Los Angeles and will likely finish in Austin by the end of this year, delivering free broadband speed upgrades up to 300Mbps and a better television experience.
Unless you live in Kansas City, Dallas, San Antonio, San Diego, Hawaii, Charlotte or Raleigh, there will likely be no reinvention of broadband service for you, with top speeds still “maxing” out at just 50/5Mbps at the beginning of 2016.
While Time Warner Cable customers have seen the company’s top premium speed stagnate at 50/5Mbps in many parts of upstate New York, South Carolina, western Ohio, and Maine for several years, TWC Maxx communities will see Standard Service speeds start at 50Mbps and rapidly increase from there. The differences in speed and price paid for broadband in Maxx markets vs. non-Maxx markets is staggering.
The average Time Warner Cable customer in Los Angeles will pay a promotional price of $35 a month for 50/5Mbps service. In upstate New York and other un-Maxxed areas, the price for that speed is $70 a month — twice as much.
Some customers in Los Angeles are being provided rent-free cable modems while subscribers in other cities continue to pay $6 a month.
There is speculation Time Warner Cable has set a conservative upgrade schedule for Maxx upgrades with the understanding the company will probably no longer exist long before the end of 2015, becoming a part of Comcast sometime early next year. Whether Comcast will continue the Maxx upgrade program is unknown, but it is doubtful — Time Warner’s maximum cable broadband speeds in Maxx markets are considerably faster than what Comcast offers most of its own customers.
TWC MAXX is a tremendous value.
I’m currently spending $46.97 (including taxes) per month for 100mbps TWC internet service.
I’ll be furious if the TWC/COMCAST merger results in the loss of MAXX service!
I’ve actually been pretty happy with TWC customer service and the internet service they get to my house, so I’m against the merger.
I emailed the California Public Utilities Commission to let them know that (they are reviewing the merger) and heard back from them that they aren’t even taking public comments regarding their decision on the merger! The only way to comment is to file a formal comment!
This seems weird. I thought the CPUC was supposed to be looking out for consumers interests, but they don’t even let us comment? Phillip– What do you think?
Seven areas isn’t exactly an “only” proposition; remember that TWC upgrades entire markets at a time. So when Austin was upgraded, so was Fredericksburg and Smithville, TX, both of which are a ways away from AUS but are in the same market. THe upgrades didn’t all happen at the same time, but the delta was only a few months. Does that leave some territories out of the loop at the moment, like El Paso and COrpus Christi (here in TX), or upstate NY? Yep. Will they get Maxx upgrades, or something like it, in the near future? Not sure. But… Read more »
Here in upstate New York, part of the northeast division, there is a pretty clear line between different metro areas – Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Albany, etc. We don’t really have many overlapping large cities. It’s safe to say that if they were to choose Buffalo, it would include Niagara Falls and the suburbs of Buffalo and that would be it. Rochester is an hour drive to the east and there isn’t a lot to connect the two cities except a football and hockey team. 🙂
I wouldn’t be holding my breath for any upgrades in the northeast except for NYC.
Yes, it is amazing how TWC can suddenly bump the service speed up from 20 Mb/s to 100 Mb/s for the same fee, when Google crews come along. Milan though must be on a limited period trial offer or special bundled deal – my bill for that 100Mb/s service (no TV) with modem rental, fees and taxes is $78.59. Also most home routers, designed for 100 Mb/s networks, will limit speed to about 67 Mb/s – to get more you will need to replace your router with a Gigabit switch. You can save $5/month by buying your own cable modem… Read more »
I am on a special promotional rate which kicked in last June when TWC MAXX upgrades went live in my neighborhood. I used the “twitter method” to get my bill knocked down from $69 to $47. I don’t have any other TWC services and own my modem.
I’ll repeat the process when my promotional rate expires.
I’ll be on internet easy street with or without Google Fiber as long as the COMCAST/TWC merger is blocked by the U.S. Government. 🙂
What is the twitter method exactly? Looking to get Time Warner setup in South Austin tomorrow.
I got the Max Upgrade to TWC here in South L.A. I had a promotion for $60 with taxes in November. I was able to get it reduced to $38 per month starting this December. This is for Internet only. In my area, TWC faces no meaningful competition above 25 mbps. I own my own modem, but I rent one of there’s. The Max modem router combo made into a pure bridged modem only.