Some Verizon Wireless customers are reporting data usage numbers spiked on their bills to unprecedented levels this summer, giving the cellular company’s bean counters a heaping helping of overlimit fees, charged when customers exceed their data allowance.

The phantom usage problem has become noticeable enough to win attention from the consumer reporter at Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer, who found her own family of four suddenly blowing past their shared 15GB a month, resulting in a $30 overlimit fee.

“My family’s data usage has mysteriously increased significantly every month since February, except for one month,” wrote Teresa Dixon Murray. “My family of four pays for 15GB a month. We’re grandfathered in the old More Everything family share plan. We typically were using no more than 10GB a month. But for the last six months, that has increased steadily — and inexplicably. 8.2. Then 9.7. Then 10.6. Then 12.7. Two months ago, we got alerts that we were nearing our allotment and managed to take care to avoid going over. Last month, despite our efforts, we went over by 1.057GB, and were charged an extra $30.”

Murray questioned why her family’s phones were burning through their data allowance in the middle of the night, while connected to the family’s home Wi-Fi.

A Verizon representative explained phones may be connecting to Verizon’s network because of a new feature installed on some phones, including the Apple iPhone, called “Wi-Fi Assist.” This feature, which could also be called “Verizon Profit Assist” automatically ignores the fact you are connected to Wi-Fi and switches back to the Verizon Wireless network if the phone determines your Wi-Fi connection is “poor.”

“So what’s the definition of poor? I guess Verizon and our iPhones decide that,” Murray questioned.

This feature can be switched off from your phone settings.

They are coming.

But that hasn’t always stopped the overlimit fees. Some customers report they still incur overlimit fees even after switching cellular data off when they reach a warning from Verizon they are about to exhaust their allowance. Verizon charges $10 in overlimit fees, even in instances where the offending extra usage amounts to .0001GB.

Verizon claims its usage meter only provides an estimate of usage, and there are instances where the warning comes too late for a customer to stop using data before they’ve already exceeded their plan allowance. Verizon’s solution is to sell a $5/month “family coverage” add-on that allows parents to monitor data usage before it gets out of hand. But Verizon doesn’t guarantee it will stop overlimit fees based on the measurements of usage it provides.

That add-on plan may or may not have helped Valarie Gerbus, who is now facing a $9,100 Verizon cell phone bill she is adamantly refusing to pay.

The suburban Tampa customer regularly paid $118/month for her cell phone plan, which included 4GB of data usage — an amount she never exceeded, at least until July. Gerbus was shocked to open her bill and discover her normal monthly bill now also included $8,535 in overlimit fees for using 569GB of data in a single month:

(Image: The Plain Dealer)

On July 21, Verizon sent her a text, notifying her that she had used nearly all of her 4 gigabytes of data. The text said she could get 4 more gigabytes for $20. Realizing that she had two weeks before the end of the month, Gerbus bought the additional data.

Within an hour of the purchase, she received another text that told her she only had 10 percent left on the data that she had just purchased. The next text message she received said she could change her plan to 8 gigabytes for an additional $20 a month. She said she bought that upgrade to ensure she didn’t have any data overages.

In a span of several hours, she estimates that she received 40 to 50 texts saying that she needed to purchase more data. She turned the notification off, believing that there had been a glitch in Verizon’s system.

Gerbus said she realizes now that she should have contacted the company at that point, but she didn’t, as she feared being placed on hold by a customer service representative.

She later went to work and planned on paying the bill online. When she found her online statement, it said she owed $6,480 for using 490 gigabytes of data. She was shocked.

“I told them that I won’t pay the bill,” Gerbus told the newspaper. “I can either wait until they take it to a collection agency or when they take it to court. Either way, my credit history will be ruined. I can go bankrupt here.”

Verizon said they are not aware of any widespread problem, but is looking into phantom phone usage at night and some of the more extreme examples of bill shock, where bills extend into the thousands of dollars.

Affected customers report the high bills are, in some cases, tearing families apart.

“It got to the point that we were battling in our family,” reported Lockport, N.Y. resident Tom Walker, who told the newspaper their data usage soared for no apparent reason. “We were really asking each other, ‘Have you been on Facebook too much? What have you been doing?’ We were trying to figure out who was using all this data.”

Gerbus is almost thankful to pay Verizon Wireless a nearly $600 fee to exit her contract early as she switches to T-Mobile. Verizon’s engineers have no explanation for Gerbus’ bill, other than noting her phone contacted Amazon.com at least 400 times over a few days.

Providers with usage caps and usage-based pricing often consider their usage meters more reliable than their own customers, and when customers complain, many representatives trust the meter and insist on payment. When a customer like Gerbus complains about usage that is considerably above average usage, customer service representative are not always receptive.

“I told them that there was no way that I could have gone from 490 to 560 in a day,” Gerbus said. “The [Verizon] person said, ‘Yes there is.'”

The cable industry prepares for war over a watered-down set-top box reform proposal many companies initially supported.

You can’t please cable companies any of the time.

After months of an intense lobbying effort to kill Federal Communications Commission Chairman Thomas Wheeler’s set-top box reform proposal that would have created an open standard allowing manufacturers to compete for your box needs, the cable industry has declared war on the watered-down compromise released last week that many cable operators lobbied for as a suitable alternative.

“While we appreciate that Chairman Wheeler has abandoned his discredited proposal to break apart cable and satellite services, his latest tortured approach is equally flawed,” said Comcast’s vice president of government communications Sena Fitzmaurice in a statement. “He claims that his new proposal builds on the marketplace success of apps, but in reality, it would stop the apps revolution dead in its tracks by imposing an overly complicated government licensing regime and heavy-handed regulation in a fast-moving technological space. The Chairman’s new proposal also violates the Communications Act and exceeds the FCC’s authority.”

That’s a veiled threat Comcast may take the FCC to court if they proceed with the watered down reform policy now advocated by Chairman Wheeler.

Charter Communications, newly enlarged with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in its family, also issued a statement claiming the FCC will ruin everything:

“Enabling consumers to use apps instead of set-top boxes may be a valid goal, but the marketplace is already delivering on the goal without overreaching government intervention. The FCC’s mandate threatens to bog down with regulations and bureaucracy the entire TV app market that consumers are increasingly looking to for innovation, choice and competition.”

Sensing blood in the regulatory waters, the pile on from Congress and programmers that depend on their relationships with large cable operators was inevitable and quick:

The top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said Monday that he is doubtful.

Pallone

“While I commend Chairman Wheeler for working to solve this difficult issue, I’m concerned that this latest proposal will not work, particularly when it comes to licensing,” Rep. Frank Pallone (N.J.) said in a statement. “Ultimately, I’m skeptical that the revised plan will benefit consumers.”

(PRNewsFoto/Fido Cable)

You may soon have a choice of cable companies, but don’t expect any savings doing business with the competition.

South Carolina-based Sky Play, LLC has launched a new cable service it claims is available across the U.S., offering competitive broadband and later phone and television service.

The service, known as Fido Cable, is dependent on leasing access from cable companies including Cablevision-Altice, Charter-Bright House-Time Warner Cable, Cable One, Comcast, and Cox as well as telephone company AT&T.

“We believe that people deserve to select which internet company they would like to utilize as opposed to being stuck with one or two options of service from companies who constantly raise their rates and offer no thought of the customer they service,” said David Wheeler, vice president of Sky Play. “Fido Cable is available to everyone in every major city and surrounding cities throughout the U.S.”

The company’s claims about the aspirations of American cable subscribers may be true but after Stop the Cap! called the company and obtained price quotes, it is clear any savings doing business with Fido Cable are illusory at best. Fido has a single page website that needs work, including correcting “Cable Vision,” when it actually meant “Cablevision.” Details about service and pricing was scant, so we called the company to get prices for two large cable operators: Time Warner Cable and Charter.

The company claims it offers internet access today and will be offering voice services across its national footprint and television in “select cities.” For purposes of obtaining pricing information, we quickly learned our home city of Rochester, N.Y., is not select enough for Fido Cable.

Fido Cable (which has no relationship with the Canadian prepaid mobile provider “Fido,” owned by Rogers Communications), says internet and voice plans start at $39.99 a month, but not for TWC or Charter customers.

In fact, Fido does not seem to offer any new customer promotional pricing. Their quoted rates were consistently higher than their cable company hosts charge their own customers. No wonder cable operators allowing Fido to compete using their systems are not breaking any sweat over the “competition.”

For instance, Fido charges a $120 installation and $15 modem fee for both Time Warner Cable and Charter customers. The representative claimed the modem fee was a one-time charge and customers were allowed to supply their own equipment. In comparison, both Charter and Time Warner Cable agreed to waive any installation fees for new customers. Time Warner Cable charges a $10 monthly modem rental fee and Charter includes the modem in the price of its service.

Fido Cable charges $65 a month for 15/1Mbps service. Time Warner Cable’s equivalent plan costs $59.99 a month for the service and modem rental (deduct $10 a month from TWC’s price if you buy your own modem). A 50Mbps plan from Fido costs $120 a month, but it’s $119 a month from Time Warner Cable (again, deduct $10 if you supply your own modem).

For Charter customers, a 60/4Mbps plan is priced $59.99 direct from Charter, but if you choose Fido Cable you will pay $5 more a month: $65. A 100/7Mbps plan from Charter is priced at $99.99, or you can pay Fido $105.

Here are more details about Fido internet plans we obtained today:

Time Warner Cable Service Areas

• 10/1Mbps: $55
• 15/1Mbps: $65
• 50/5Mbps: $120

Charter Cable Service Areas

• 60/4Mbps: $65
• 80/5Mbps: $99
• 100/7Mbps: $105

A 2-year price guarantee applies to all pricing.

As the Sept. 20 date for Charter’s introduction of new plans for Time Warner Cable customers in California looms, the Los Angeles Times published an impenetrable channel change notification applying to customers across San Diego and Los Angeles markets (the latter also being a significant service area for Charter all along).

We dare you to read it.

More accessible lists of channel changes were also published for Texas customers, and you can find them below the massive text box.

Legacy Charter customers will benefit because the smaller cable operator is taking advantage of the much larger volume discounts Time Warner Cable negotiated for both their customers and those belonging to Bright House Networks. That means you can eventually expect a lot more harmonization of channel lineups if you are an existing Charter customer, probably more in line with what Time Warner Cable customers have received all along. One interesting addition that may be coming back to Time Warner Cable customers is the former HDNet, now rebranded AXS TV. Time Warner Cable gave HDNet and HDNet Movies the boot back in May 2009 when contract negotiations broke down over price. In its place, Time Warner Cable added much cheaper networks like MavTV, The Outdoor Channel, RFD-TV and/or The Sportsman Channel.

There is speculation Charter chose Texas and Southern California first to introduce Charter Spectrum because the two cable companies have co-existed nearby in both states, sometimes operating in their own territories in the same metropolitan region. That may have made integration efforts easier than in states like New York, where Charter operates only a few forgettable cable systems, some now only being upgraded to support broadband.

Legal Notices: Time Warner Cable’s agreements with programmers and broadcasters to carry their services and stations routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, but in order to comply with applicable regulations, we must inform you when an agreement is about to expire. The following agreements are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future. 5 StarMax East, ActionMax, Azteca America, Cinemax, Cinemax East, Cinemax On Demand, GMA LifeTV, GMA PinoyTV, HBO, HBO 2, HBO 2 East, HBO Comedy, HBO East, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO On Demand, HBO Signature, HBO Signature East, HBO Zone, Max Latino, MoreMax, MoreMax East, MovieMax East, Music Choice, Outdoor Channel, POP, TeleN, ThrillerMax, TV One, YouToo, KBEH DT7 Tele-Romantica, KEYT ABC. In addition, from time to time we make certain changes in the services that we offer in order to better serve our customers. The following changes are planned: On or around September 20, 2016 the following changes will be made. The following services will added: AXS TV, channel 299; One World Sports, channel 414; SonLife Broadcasting Network channel 470; Retroplex, channel 622; HD Net Movies, channel 640; Cable Noticias, channel 839; ULTRA Docu, channel 849; Tele El Salvador, channel 861; Super Canal, channel 870; Telemicro, channel 871; TV Dominicana, channel 872; WAPA America, channel 874; Antena 3 Internacional, channel 877; Ritmoson, channel 911; Telehit, channel 912; Ultra Fiesta, channel 915; Ultra Familia, channel 918; Ultra Kidz, channel 919; Semillitas, channel 922; BabyFirstTV SAP, channel 928; Baby TV SAP, channel 929; Nat Geo Mundo, channel 931; HITN, channel 933; Mexicanal, channel 935; El Garage TV, channel 936; Ultra Macho, channel 937; TBN Enlace, channel 946; Ultra Mex, channel 983; Ultra Cine, channel 984; Ultra Clasico, channel 985; Crime & Investigation, channel 137; pivot, channel 115; Family Net, channel 468; MoviePlex, channel 620; IndiePlex, channel 621; RFD-TV, channel 297; Lifetime Real Women, channel 174; Military History Channel, channel 141. Additionally, in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach the following services will be added on the channel number listed. Estudio 5 842, Multimedios 843, Teleformula 845, Sur Peru 853, TV Chile 855, Caracol 856, Nuestra Tele 857, Centroamerica TV 860, Ecuavisa Internacional 865, TV Venezuela 867, Bandamax 910, Discovery Familia 924, AYM Sports 962, Cine Mexicano 972, De Pelicula Clasico 979, De Pelicula 980 and Viendo Movies 982. The following services will be added on the additional channel number listed. Each will also remain on the current channel number. Air Force Village West – Lakeview – Perris; Chino – Pomona – San Bernardino County; March Air Force Base & Moreno Valley and Hemet: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, GSN 96 and SEC Network 97. Beaumont-Redlands-East San Bernardino and Rialto: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, GSN 96, SEC Network 97, Oxygen 98 and LMN 99. Temecula: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, GSN 96 and SEC Network 97. San Bernardino – Ontario: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and Oxygen 98. San Gabriel Valley: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 31, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and GSN 98. Brea, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Yorba Linda: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 31, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95 and SEC Network 97. Anaheim: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 31, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, GSN 94, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and TCM 99. Buena Park, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Santa Ana: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 20, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93 and SEC Network 94. Antelope Valley & Edwards Air Force Base: NBCSN 35, Investigation Discovery 76, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, FOX Sports 1 96, SEC Network 97 and Animal Planet 98. Santa Clarita (East) & Tujunga: Investigation Discovery 44, NBCSN 59, National Geographic 68, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and Animal Planet 98. Beverly Hills: WGN America 16, NBCSN 69, Investigation Discovery 95, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, FOX Sports 1 96, SEC Network 97 and Animal Planet 98. Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles: Animal Planet 10, Investigation Discovery 34, NBCSN 70, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, SEC Network 97 and GSN 98. Calabasas: Animal Planet 10, Investigation Discovery 34, NBCSN 50, Disney Junior 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, SEC Network 97 and GSN 98. City of Los Angeles and Marina Del Rey: Animal Planet 10, WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 34, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96 and SEC Network 97. East San Fernando Valley: Animal Planet 10, WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 34, Oxygen 52, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96 and SEC Network 98. West Hollywood: WGN America 16, Animal Planet 20, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, SEC Network 96 and Investigation Discovery 98. Agoura-Moorpark-Santa Paula: Animal Planet 12, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, Oxygen 97 and SEC Network 99. Camarillo, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley: Animal Planet 12, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 94, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, Oxygen 97 and SEC Network 99. Oxnard & Port Hueneme: Animal Planet 12, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 94, SEC Network 96 and Oxygen 97. Ventura: Animal Planet 12, FOX Sports 1 44, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 94, SEC Network 99, BBC America 96, and Oxygen 97. Hollywood – Westchester and Inglewood: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97, SEC Network 98 and GSN on 99. Claremont: Cartoon Network 57, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, BBC America 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Homeland & Romoland: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97, SEC Network 98 and GSN on 99. Costa Mesa: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, BBC America 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Tustin: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, GSN 94, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Artesia: Cartoon Network 57, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Fox Business Network 86, Animal Planet 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Bell & Cudahy: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Carson: Fox Business Network 36, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96 and Velocity 97. Cypress & La Palma: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, SEC Network 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96 and Velocity 97. Harbor, Lomita: Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96 and Velocity 97. Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, BBC America 87, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Lakewood: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, Velocity 97 and NBCSN 98. South El Monte: Fox Business Network 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, SEC Network 98 and GSN 99. Canyon Country and Santa Clarita & Stevenson Ranch: NBCSN 34, Fox Business Network 66, Investigation Discovery 67, National Geographic 69, Animal Planet 76, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, SEC Network 80, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 95, BBC America 96 and GSN 97. San Fernando: NBCSN 34, WGN America 35, Fox Business Network 66, Investigation Discovery 67, National Geographic 69, Animal Planet 76, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, SEC Network 80, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 95, BBC America 96 and GSN 97. West Valley: WGN America 35, Fox Business Network 66, Investigation Discovery 67, National Geographic 69, Animal Planet 76, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, NBCSN 80, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, and BBC America 96. Orange County: National Geographic 72, Investigation Discovery 73, GSN 74, Animal Planet 75, SEC Network 76, NBCSN 77, Velocity 78, FOX Sports 1 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92 and FX Movie Channel 93. Torrance: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 66, Animal Planet 71, National Geographic 72, NBCSN 77, FOX Sports 1 79, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91 and Velocity 92. South Bay: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 66, Animal Planet 71, National Geographic 72, NBCSN 77, FOX Sports 1 79, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, Velocity 92 and FX Movie Channel. San Marino & South Pasadena: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 59, National Geographic 72, Animal Planet 75,NBCSN 77, Velocity 78, FOX Sports 1 79, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93 and Fox Business Network 95. Santa Monica: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 59, Animal Planet 71, NBCSN 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, SEC Network 96 and SEC Network 97. Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach: WGN America 20, Investigation Discovery 54, Animal Planet 61, NBCSN 69, FOX Sports 1 72, Velocity 77, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, Disney Junior 96 and GSN 97. EVINE Live will move from channel 15 to channel 194 in Beverly Hills, Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Calabasas, City of Los Angeles, East San Fernando Valley, Marina Del Rey and West Hollywood. It will move from 16 to 194 in South Bay and Torrance. It will move from 20 to 194 in Air Force Village West – Lakeview – Perris; Beaumont-Redlands-East San Bernardino; Bradbury, Glendora, La Verna, San Dimas; Chino – Pomona – San Bernardino County; Hemet – Temecula; March Air Force Base & Moreno Valley; Rialto; San Bernardino – Ontario and San Gabriel Valley. It will move from 24 to 194 in San Marino & South Pasadena. It will move from 28 to 194 in Artesia, Bell & Cudahy, Carson, Cypress & La Palma, Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities and South El Monte. It will move from 29 to 194 in Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook and South Los Angeles. It will move from 31 to 194 in Harbor, Lomita, Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington; Hollywood – Westchester and Inglewood. It will move from 33 to 194 in Lakewood, Santa Clarita (East) and Tujunga. It will move from 36 to 194 in Agoura-Moorpark-Santa Paula; Camarillo, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks; Claremont; Costa Mesa; Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County; Homeland & Romoland; Oxnard & Port Hueneme; Simi Valley; Tustin and Ventura. It will move from 37 to 194 in Orange County. It will move from 38 to 194 in Antelope Valley & Edwards Air Force Base. It will move from 39 to 194 in Anaheim, Brea, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Yorba Linda and in Buena Park, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Santa Ana. It will move from 42 to 194 in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch; San Fernando and West Valley. It will move from 45 to 194 in Santa Monica. It will move from 49 to 194 in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach. It will also remain on 487 in all lineups. HSN will move from 8 and 81 to 176 in Artesia; Bell & Cudahy; Carson; Claremont; Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook; Costa Mesa; Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County; Cypress & La Palma; Harbor, Lomita, Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington; Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities; Hollywood – Westchester; Homeland & Romoland; Inglewood; Lakewood; South El Monte; South Los Angeles, Santa Clarita (East), Tujunga and Tustin. In all other lineups it will move from 81 to 176. It will also remain on 483 in all lineups. QVC will move from 6 to 159 in Antelope Valley & Edwards Air Force Base; Artesia; Bell & Cudahy; Carson; Claremont; Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook; Costa Mesa; Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County; Cypress & La Palma; Harbor, Lomita, Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington; Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities; Hollywood – Westchester; Homeland & Romoland; Inglewood; Lakewood; South El Monte; South Los Angeles and Tustin. It will move from 14 to 159 in Agoura-Moorpark-Santa Paula; Air Force Village West – Lakeview – Perris; Anaheim; Beaumont-Redlands-East San Bernardino; Beverly Hills; Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles; Bradbury, Glendora, La Verna, San Dimas; Brea, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Yorba Linda; Buena Park, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Santa Ana; Calabasas; Camarillo, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks; Chino – Pomona – San Bernardino County; City of Los Angeles; East San Fernando Valley; Hemet – Temecula; Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach; March Air Force Base & Moreno Valley; Marina Del Rey; Oxnard & Port Hueneme; Rialto; San Bernardino – Ontario; San Gabriel Valley; Santa Monica; Simi Valley, Ventura and West Hollywood. It will move from 24 to 159 in Santa Clarita (East) and Tujunga. It will move from 39 to 159 in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch. It will move from 48 to 159 in Orange County. It will move from 51 to 159 in South Bay and Torrance. It will move from 68 to 159 in San Marino & South Pasadena. It will move from 98 to 159 in San Fernando and West Valley. It will also remain on 480 in all lineups. Jewelry Television will move from 83 to 188 in all lineups. I will also remain on channel 499.

Texas customers: Selected channel notification announcements begin after the jump.
… Continue Reading

Thanks to one of our readers who also happens to be a TWC employee, here is the latest update to Charter/Spectrum’s list of first year promotions, taking effect in California and Texas (9/20) this month.

We expect it will be rolling out to other TWC and BH regions over the next few months. Unless you are compelled to change packages, if you are on a current Time Warner Cable or Bright House promotion or retention deal, we recommend you keep it until it expires. You can then enroll in one of these promotions, almost certainly at these prices, extending the length of your savings.

We expect Charter’s retention department to deliver a tougher line on retention packages and promotions than Time Warner Cable gave customers. Once these promotional prices expire, your rates will step up each year for two years thereafter until you reach the “rack rate” — Charter’s regular pricing. Your ability to secure new customer pricing again will probably require you to bounce between providers or cancel/come back as a new customer. I am told by long-time Charter customers that Charter’s retention prices are usually not as good as new customer pricing.

We have some corrections to our earlier coverage on this last month: broadband-only customers will pay a promotional rate of $39.99 a month for the first year for 60Mbps service, $79.99 a month for 100Mbps service (100Mbps or 300Mbps in existing TWC Maxx territories), not the $60/99 rack rate. We have received word Earthlink will continue to be another option for customers to consider for broadband service, which can be a good way to secure extended promotional pricing. Another change: phone service is now an extra $10 a month, not $20, as part of a triple play package. We notice Charter only lists free calling to U.S. numbers on this sheet. Time Warner Cable includes free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, India, The EU, Norway and U.S. territories. We are unsure if this represents an omission or a downgrade. Also, the Wi-Fi fee is waived for Spectrum Ultra, which corrects our earlier piece where we thought this fee would apply to both broadband packages. Multi-DVR service pricing is still confusing on this chart. We’ve heard Charter intends to ditch TWC’s Whole House DVR service and give subscribers the option of multiple standalone DVR units instead. DVR pricing is: $4.99 for each DVR box + an $11.99 DVR service fee (if you have only one DVR). If you want multiple DVRs, they are each $4.99 a month with an all-inclusive monthly service fee of $19.99, regardless of how many extra DVR boxes you rent.

Obviously, we will be looking for money-saving opportunities for our readers once we get a better handle on Charter’s way of doing business.