Green Bay area residents stormed Time Warner Cable’s offices late last week, but not to sign up for a new cable package or upgrade their Internet service.

Instead, they were there to grab their free green and gold “G Force” yard sign to celebrate the Green Bay Packers football team.

Initially Time Warner Cable planned to distribute 15,000 yard signs, but when they realized the demand exceeded supply, they ordered another 10,000, the bulk of which were distributed by Saturday afternoon.

The lawn sign promotion, which also prominently displayed Time Warner Cable’s logo, created minor traffic jams in communities across Wisconsin at times — the signs were handed out all over the state.

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WBAY Green Bay Time Warner Gives Away Signs 1-26-11.flv[/flv]

WBAY-TV in Green Bay covered the excitement.  (1 minute)

The Associated Press reports, and Stop the Cap! can confirm AT&T is allowing some of their long-standing customers to switch back to unlimited data plans, even if they gave them up after the company introduced cheaper, limited data plan options.

After our regular reader “PreventCAPS” sent word AT&T was relenting on some requests for unlimited data plans, we spent some time late this afternoon with Jim Scott, an AT&T customer from New Rochelle, N.Y. as he navigated his way through AT&T customer service trying to get back to an unlimited data plan.

“When AT&T offered customers new, cheaper data plans, I never knew those replaced the unlimited option and I thought I could save some money downgrading to a cheaper data option,” Scott told us.

But Scott discovered the plan allowances he got didn’t save him money at all, because he exceeded them.

“I am a contractor and I spend all day on my phone moving large image files and even video of work being done on the properties I manage,” Scott says.  “Two gigabytes didn’t cut it.”

Scott tried to switch back to his unlimited plan this summer, but was told he could not, as it was no longer offered.

Enter Verizon Wireless, which is keeping its unlimited service plan at least temporarily as it introduces the Verizon iPhone.  Verizon’s imminent iPhone has become leverage for customers who want to turn the tables on AT&T.

“Thanks to AT&T’s greed, I had already made the decision to dump them for Verizon when my contract ends in February,” Scott says. “AT&T works fine in this part of New York, and the only reason I am leaving is because they don’t have a wireless data plan that met my needs.”

We worked with Scott and suggested he threaten to cancel his AT&T service and walk his future business to Verizon Wireless.  We asked him to make sure to tell AT&T the reason he was planning to cancel his service was because of the end of unlimited data option.

On a three-way call with AT&T customer service, AT&T promptly offered to restore Scott’s access to its discontinued unlimited data plan.

“All I had to say was ‘Verizon’ and ‘iPhone’ and the customer service representative immediately starting clacking away on her keyboard, and I had my unlimited data plan restored in less than five minutes,” Scott said.

The AP reports the key to success is having been a previous subscriber to AT&T’s unlimited data option.  New customers who signed up after June 2010 never had that option, and AT&T has refused to offer unlimited data to these customers.

Because newer customers are under relatively new contracts, actually following through on a threat to drop AT&T is an expensive proposition with early termination fees still well into the hundreds of dollars.  For those closer to a penalty-free exit, AT&T recognizes many of these customers already have one foot out the door.

Jose Argumedo, of Brentwood, N.Y., told the AP he and a friend were switched to an unlimited plan recently after they called AT&T’s customer service. Both have iPhone 4s, and previously had earlier iPhone models.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel wouldn’t confirm the option to return to an unlimited plan.

“We handle customers and their situations individually, and we’re not going to discuss specifics,” he said.

Scott says he is comfortable with his iPhone, but getting back an unlimited data plan was more important than the handset.

“If I can use the iPhone as leverage against these guys, why not?” Scott says.  “They’ve had me under their thumb for more than six months now with overlimit fees — now the table is turned.”

Stop the Cap! advises customers who want to follow in Scott’s footsteps get organized before calling:

1. Be sure to note the number of years you have been an AT&T customer;
2. Explain you used to have unlimited data and now want that plan back;
3. Tell them you are prepared to drop AT&T, even at the risk of a cancellation fee, if they don’t restore your access to the unlimited data plan.

If a representative is unable to make the switch, or doesn’t have information about how to switch you back, ask for a supervisor or hang up and call back.

The Vancouver Sun‘s Gillian Shaw reports consumers in British Columbia, Alberta, and beyond are about to pay more for their Internet service, and consumers across Canada are not pleased.

Shaw, who isn’t affiliated with Shaw-the-cable-company, notes changes by a federal regulator could mean the end of unlimited broadband service across the country.

Steve Anderson, founder and national coordinator of the Vancouver-based OpenMedia.ca., which also fights for Net Neutrality protections in the country, thinks “usage-based billing,” a core component of Internet Overcharging, has struck a nerve.

“Bell, Rogers, and Shaw have been given the green light to determine how we pay for Internet,” Anderson tells Shaw.  “If this decision goes unchecked, broadband is about to cost much more for Canadians.”

Anderson tells the newspaper more than 40,000 consumers have signed the group’s petition opposing the pricing schemes, and many Canadians are taking the matter to their member of Parliament.

“It is a really interesting grassroots community that has sprung up around this. Basically they said enough is enough. They are drawing a line in the sand and saying ‘we are not going to take this anymore, this is where it stops.’”

Shaw also talked to Stop the Cap! about the pricing schemes:

“We have consumers who pay good money to receive broadband service, now they have to think twice about everything they do online in case they expose themselves to over-limit fees,” said Phillip Dampier.

“How many people measure how much they are using online?” said Dampier. “If you have kids that are teenagers and you are sharing an Internet connection, can you imagine the battles when the bill arrives – ‘Who ran up the bill?’

“If you thought cellphone bill shock was bad, imagine you have two teenagers living at home who are on the Internet all the time.”

Dampier said usage explanations by companies, such as Shaw’s graphic that shows 15 gigabytes of data equals 105,000 emails are useless for the average consumer.

“Shaw says these are generous; that’s all nice, but nobody needs to send out 105,000 emails. But what they do need to do now that Netflix has come to Canada is video streaming and you can blow through these usage limits a lot faster using online video.

“If you have Shaw’s lite service you can get through four movies tops, that’s it — no more emails for you, no web pages, or you can, but watch out, you’ll get a big bill at the end of the month.”

If you use Verizon’s forthcoming iPhone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, be prepared to pay $20 a month for a maximum of 2GB of usage per month.

Many smartphones have built-in capabilities to serve as temporary hotspots to let you use your Wi-Fi capable equipment on Verizon’s wireless 3G network.  But that doesn’t mean Verizon will let you use it for free.

The so-called “personal hotspot” enables up to five Wi-Fi equipped devices to share your connection, but not too much.  If you exceed your 2GB plan allowance, the overlimit fee is a striking $20 per gigabyte.  Those fees come in addition to your usual Verizon voice and data plan charges.

Verizon is not singling out the iPhone for the expensive data plan.  The pricing is equivalent to what Verizon charges for a similar service on its other smartphones, according to Brenda Raney, Verizon Wireless’ executive director of corporate communications.

Ft. Wayne, Indiana

Outrage over enormous price increases for Frontier’s fiber optic television service in Indiana are being met with little more than a shrug of the shoulders by one company executive, who seemed to dismiss as an afterthought the state-of-the-art FiOS network it acquired from Verizon.

Frontier Communications’ president of its Midwest division, Don Banowetz, has been making the rounds with Fort Wayne-area reporters over news the phone company intends to boost prices for its FiOS TV service by $30 a month for most customers.

But Banowetz has done little to defend the price increases or the fiber network the company acquired with its purchase of landlines from Verizon.

“Look, we bought the whole company, right? All the assets. The FiOS part was part of that, so it was part of the deal,” said Banowetz.  “We couldn’t ride the previous arrangement. So in essence, it was what it was.”

WANE-TV reporter Aishah Hasnie seemed stunned with Banowetz’s response, finally asking what customers should do if they can’t afford the rate increases.

“Get DirecTV,” came the reply.

Starting February 18th, customers who subscribe to a FiOS TV basic package will see their rates go by up $12 per month. Customers who subscribe to other FiOS TV packages will see a $30 increase. The increase does not affect customers under a price protection plan.

That kind of price increase would normally provoke blanched faces in a corporate boardroom over fears of a mass exodus of customers.  But not Frontier.

“The FiOS TV part of our business is actually a very small part of our business. It’s about three percent of our revenues,” said Banowetz.

But Frontier’s satellite package, pitched as an alternative, brings plenty of tricks, traps and other hidden fees inside the box.  In addition to signing a two-year service commitment with DirecTV, customers also have to sign a three-year “price protection agreement” with the phone company, which is another way of saying “contract.”  The total price adds up:

• Customers opting for Frontier’s “free TV” promotion will face a three-year contract term with a $400 early cancellation fee;
• Frontier’s satellite TV promotion has a three-year contract term with a $300 early cancellation fee;
• “Care and handling” fees amounting to $69.99 apply to the “free TV” offer;
• A $34.99 Frontier “video setup fee” applies to customers getting satellite service from the phone company;
• DirecTV requires customers to pass a credit check and sign a contract with a 24 month commitment;
• If you change any aspect of your programming package, you may forfeit the “free service” offered as part of the promotion.

In northwest Washington state, Frontier’s rate increases are alienating the company with one member of the state’s congressional delegation.

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) sent a letter to Frontier complaining about the huge rate hikes, telling the company it needs to find better alternatives for many of his constituents who cannot install a satellite dish.

“Folks in Northwest Washington are concerned about the future of cable service offered through Frontier Communications, and rightly so,” said Rep. Larsen. “I am calling on Frontier to offer consumers better and more affordable options for cable service in the region.”

Rep. Larsen’s letter to Frontier Communications:

Dear Mr. Mason:

I am writing to express concerns that I share with many of my constituents in Northwest Washington about Frontier’s plans for cable service in our region. The Everett Herald recently published an article, “Switch to a Dish or pay more, Frontier tells FIOS customers,” that highlights some of the problems that people in Northwest Washington have with Frontier’s announcement that it will alter the existing framework of its fiber-optic television service. Specifically, Frontier’s decision to offer its customers a choice between continuing with their current FIOS television service—with a rate increase of 46 percent or switching their cable television service to the satellite provider DirecTV.

I am concerned with Frontier’s decision to substantially raise its cable television rates for its existing customers in the Pacific Northwest. Last September, Frontier Communications Chief Executive Maggie Wilderotter was quoted in The Oregonian newspaper stating that Frontier would distinguish itself from larger cable companies by holding down prices for its customers. I find it troubling that less than six months later Frontier is dramatically raising its cable television rates.

Additionally, it is problematic that Frontier has not offered an adequate alternative to those customers who live in apartment complexes where the installation of satellite dishes is prohibited and therefore cannot take advantage of the option to switch their cable service to DirecTV. — Rick Larsen, United States Representative, Washington State, 2nd District

Stop the Cap! reader John says he has sent a letter to CEO Maggie Wilderotter protesting the rate hikes and imploring the company to find a programming co-op to join.  Smaller providers need not pay “rack prices” for cable programming.  Municipal providers, family owned companies, and small independent cable operators have enjoyed substantial programming discounts through group buying power.  Frontier apparently is trying to negotiate for video programming on its own, a fatal mistake that has brought on this month’s rate hike.

If you want to help educate Frontier about how to run their business properly, here is their contact information:

Frontier Communications Corporation
3 High Ridge Park
Stamford, CT 06905-1390
Phone: 203-614-5600
Fax: 203-614-4602
[email protected]

When writing or calling, don’t forget to tell them to abandon their Internet Overcharging schemes — no usage caps or limits on Frontier broadband, or you will take your business somewhere else.

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WANE Fort Wayne Frontier Frustration 1-24-11.flv[/flv]

WANE-TV in Fort Wayne delves into Frontier Frustration as angry customers react to news of enormous rate increases.  (2 minutes)