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Charter Spectrum TV customers will pay at least $94 a month for cable television starting this October, thanks to a sweeping rate increase that will hike the cost of TV packages, internet service, equipment, and fees. Internet customers will soon face a base price for internet service of just under $70 a month.
Cord Cutters News quotes an anonymous source that claims the rate increases will begin in October, and will impact just about every plan except phone service.
The most striking increase is the Broadcast TV Fee, charged to recover the costs imposed by local TV channels. After increasing the price by $2 earlier this year to $11.99, Spectrum customers will now be required to pay $13.50 a month — almost $1.50 more. The Broadcast TV Fee alone will soon amount to $162 a year, just to watch TV stations you can receive over the air for free. Just a year ago, the average Spectrum customer paid a Broadcast TV Fee of $8.75 a month.
A Spectrum receiver is considered required by most customers, and starting this fall, it will cost $7.99 a month to lease one (up about $0.50 a month).
Cable TV packages are also getting more expensive:
- Spectrum TV Select: $72.49 a month (was $64.99 a month)
- Spectrum TV Silver: $92.49 (was $84.99)
- Spectrum TV Gold: $112.49 (was $104.99)
Internet customers will not escape Charter’s rate hikes either. The entry-level package — Spectrum Standard Internet (100 or 200 Mbps in some areas), will increase $4 a month to $69.99. If you use Spectrum’s equipment for Wi-Fi service, your price is increasing $5 a month to $75.99.
Although the rate increases are significant, they are not outlandish when compared with the regular internet-only prices charged by other cable providers:
- Comcast: 150 Mbps (a 1 TB cap applied in most areas) costs $80 plus $13 gateway rental fee = $93/mo
- Cox: 150 Mbps (a 1 TB cap applies in most areas) is priced at $84 a month plus $11 modem rental fee = $95/mo
- Mediacom: 100 Mbps (a 1 TB cap applies) costs $95 a month plus $11.50 modem rental fee = $106.50/mo
Note: Gateway/Modem Rental Fee can be waived if you purchase your own equipment. Prices are lower when bundling, and you may get a better deal threatening to cancel or agreeing to a term plan.
One Wall Street analyst, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin, predicted in 2017 that the cable industry would use its market power to nearly double rates consumers paid just a few years ago, which for most would mean an internet bill of at least $100 a month.
“We have argued that broadband is underpriced, given that pricing has barely increased over the past decade while broadband utility has exploded,” the researcher said in 2017.
Customers should watch their September bills for Charter Spectrum’s official rate increase notification. Customers on promotional or retention plans are exempt from increases except the Broadcast TV Fee and equipment charges until their promotion expires.
Customers that bundle multiple services will pay slightly lower prices as a result of bundling discounts, but the overall price increase will still be noticeable to most customers.
Cord-cutting is likely to accelerate dramatically because of Spectrum’s TV rate hikes, as customers reassess the value of a basic cable television package that is nearing $100 a month.
You have got to be kidding! Cut the cord! No one wants to pay money for a BUNCH of channels they do NOT watch!
Still waiting on fiber in my area. By the end of the year they say.
CANT. COME. SOON. ENOUGH.
Fubu is good.
@ Linda Kremer: It’s a racket driven by the channel owners. If you want ESPN in your lineup, then, by contract, Spectrum must also cram all those junk channels owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications down your throat. Same goes for Discovery and TLC, as those channel owners require in the contract with Spectrum to cram their junk channels down your throat. This is why people like myself and others CUT the CORD! Why pay $1,400 annually for JUNK!
I’m sure my legacy TWC ELP Internet plan will also be hit by the $5 increase, bringing it to just short of $30/month. Sadly the only other competitor(and I use that term extremely loosely) CenturyLink doesn’t seem to even try to compete, they still only offer DSL in my area.
Would love it if my local electric COOP would get into the ISP business.
The issue I have is, they say I am paying for 100 MBPS but even after a tech came out, we could never get more than 40 MBPS. I have tried it at all hours of the day and even at 3am to see if it was just bogged down but nothing changed. They changed out my modem, changed all my wiring etc, nothing increased my speed. So I now have to pay $840 a year for less than half the speed that is advertised? I am disabled and do not work and when I complained, they stated I could… Read more »
I have the 18$ internet and I get 30 and its more than enough. We have about 10 things hooked to it and it works fine. I can not tell a difference between it and the normal plan. You should try it.
I asked about it and they said you have to be on food stamps or some other low income program to qualify. I told them I am on disability and they said that does not automatically qualify you. So what is your secret so I know if it is worth asking again?
You should enter your address online and see if it comes up. I was told I didn’t qualify either but when I looked on their website I in fact did. My friend checked her address last week and she was eligible as well. You’ll have to select internet only and then scroll down to the bottom.
Drop to a lower package if you can’t get it fixed. You are getting ripped off
One year, I had to exchange modems and routers 7 times in 4 weeks. No exaggeration.
That is because when you bring in a bad modem or router they clean it up do a basic test (maybe) and pack it back up and give it to the next sucker. I got 3 bad modems in a row and the one I have now keeps locking up
Spectrum still can’t deliver 100 for internet speed. They have unfair price increases agianst the customers. Their modem is crap my phone and internet drop or is out. they want more money deplorable. There are 40 states they rip off the consumers month after month. They never send in the mail what the internet and bundle cost are there suppose too. Specrum is the worse monopoly in America.
If there is any good news to all this, Spectrum does not require a contract so you / we / I can leave any time we want. The bad news is, that means switching to another company that does require contracts, a deposit, installation fees, and equipment fees. So basically we are trapped for now.
When is enough , enough ? Has TV and the internet become so important that we are willing to keep paying these outrageous increases ? Let’s look at the percentage of this new round of increases , now let’s ask when was the last time you got this kind of increase in your pay ? I haven’t , since I am on a fixed income and now that spectrum wants me to pay more for less , I am going to have to look for a better deal ( how about you ? ) . They give us cut rate… Read more »
TBH yes it’s that important. Most would switch but some of us have 1 option. The second att is available I won’t look spectrums way again for 10-15 years
Same here. Only one option for internet, and the way my house is built, my cell phone service doesn’t penetrate walls too well. I’m filing complaints with the FCC to disallow cable companies to monopolize areas.
Start by cutting the cable TV out and using other services or find a better alternative. Furthermore, if you can find cheaper and reliable internet you’re not going to need 200 MBPS anyway as you can get by with half of that. Plus in many cases Spectrum doesn’t run full internet services or has bad lines to your homes to begin with. Even in our neighborhood mostly built up during the 1990s and early 2000s the cable lines are limiting speeds to about 70 MB speeds even though we are already paying for 100 MB at our location. Furthermore stop… Read more »
Unfortunately, in my location, Spectrum is still my best Internet option because the only other broadband option is AT&T. At least I’m able to save by streaming YouTube TV instead of having cable TV.
We’ve estimated savings of several hundred dollars a year by doing such so every penny you can save is other money you do other things with more important than paying for overpaid executives that make stupid decisions. Interestingly enough in January to March 2018, Spectrum lost 122,000 cable TV subscribers. No recent data but I suspect that they will lose many more customers when they continue to screw their customers. The only good thing about them is they have no contracts which is another cable/cell/dish tv type of scam where you are locked in but they can provide crappy service.
I can’t believe still buy TV. Use a it’s antenna and call it a day
Paying $80.00 just for internet now…..!! Unbelievable
That part about “customers on promotional or retention plans are exempt from increases” isn’t true. I am on a promotional retention rate of 44.99 for Spectrum Internet and my October bill arrived with a rate of 49.99. Called Spectrum to complain, was told my rate is $20 off current retail rates and 49.99 is my new rate and there’s nothing I can do about it. That is not what the retention agent told me when I was given the rate. Can you imagine them saying that? “ok sir, I can give you a rate of twenty dollars less than current… Read more »
Same here and they justify it by saying That I still have the $20 promo credit. But I corrected them by saying you just took out $4 from that credit with this increase. Spectrum does NOT HONOR their promos. Shady as hell this company.
Internet increase for no reason
Wrong. The reason is because they are greedy, so it did increase for a reason.
GREED
Monopolistic abuse. Industry needs to be reorganized
In literally the same month that this price hike happened, I received multiple letters and emails from Spectrum stating “We have increased your internet speed at no cost to you” and “So we unleashed a speed increase to 200 Mbps at ZERO cost to you.” Funny how they manage to do that “at no cost” at the exact same time they randomly increase costs.
That’s 4 increases in the past year alone
Heyyyyy Sam. I am Mohesha from that there customer service you know. So in reference to your comment, our response is, hey 4 increases is better than 5. Holler ! And we need that money cause a gurl has to get her nails and hair did up.
Sadly the customer base will not band together and cancel service. If only the customers would rebel price would drop. Nothing has improved same old BS.
That is easier said than done. Believe me, I have checked all my options and unfortunately, they are as bad if not worse. Spectrum knows this. Also everyone else has a contract so even if you left ( and everyone still needs internet ) if Spectrum offered you a deal to come back you are out of luck unless they buy out your contract.
Can’t wait to switch to AT&T fiber. Then switch back to Specturm when AT&T raises the promotional price. Then go back to AT&T. Wash rinse and repeat.
What BS…. Nothing but corporate greed…. $70.00 is nothing but price gouging. I hope and pray that Spectrum and all the cable providers go out of business. So Sick of your corporate GREED!
That’s because there are no competitions for the cable internet company. Spectrum has consolidated with the charter and raising the prices annually.
“They’re not outlandish compared to what everyone else charges.” Charter still says they’re “priced competitively”. In comparison to what? It doesn’t make sense to compare other internet providers when there is no remote choice of other providers, except for slow, crappy DSL. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when carriers who provide certain necessary services are allowed to monopolize areas. No choices equals constantly increasing rates, extremely poor customer service, and financial anxiety as no knowing what your bill will be. When you make your complaints about the price, stick entirely to that subject. Don’t mention the word service,… Read more »
Here is the current lawsuit against them it is a class action lawsuit
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/internet-speed/are-you-receiving-the-spectrum-internet-speed-that-was-advertised/
Enjoy your 3 months increase from me because come spring im getting rid of it.
I am 59 years old and have never ever subscribed to any cable tv of any kind “ever” in my life. I live in a small town about 35 miles north of St. Louis Missouri along the Mississippi River. All my life I’ve live here in this same small town, and I have only watched tv using an antenna. Yes, it does get annoying sometimes when the reception isn’t perfect due to an electrical storm or when it’s windy outside, but it’s not terrible. I’ve learned to accept it. I cannot fathom spending hundreds of dollars on cable tv each… Read more »
I did that as well last year. The problem is, they will only do that for you one time in the life of you being a customer. I am not paying $70 just for internet and only get 30 mbps out of 100. I tried to call and cancel and get another deal and they said ” well keep us in mind in the future”.
My spectrum just went up is it going up again?
Everyone disconnect from their trumped up prices!!!!
I just cut my service when I saw it went from the 45 or month to $70. Lol
They are just testing price points. What a bunch of greedy b$*#*#.
After 25 years of being a loyal Charter client, I am done. Rate increases, poor service, the worst customer service in history, being on hold forever, and “what I consider” a crooked monopoly. We are dropping Charter TV immediately. If our government ever stops the monopoly and allows a viable internet provider in, we’ll drop Charter internet too. Did anyone know according to reliable sources their CEO was the highest paid CEO in the country a few years ago and they spend over $10 MILLION per year on lobbying to keep their monopoly going? Take a look!
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/lobbying?id=D000000672
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-charter-ceo-20170317-story.html