Time Warner Cable customers in central New York will face paying higher cable bills next month as the company boosts rates.

The cable operator is raising prices on a range of services and equipment. Most customers on double-play or triple-play packages of phone, Internet, and television service will see increases of around $3 a month. Cable TV-only customers will pay $5 more.

Time Warner has been testing its new Navigator cloud-based interactive cable guide on selected set top boxes in Syracuse (and Charlotte, N.C.) The newest software also comes with a significant monthly fee for the enhanced service — $2.79 a month, in addition to usual equipment rental fees. As Time Warner rolls the new set top equipment out to other cities, customers will pay around $11 a month for the boxes, up from $9.50.

A spokeswoman for Time Warner says two-thirds of its customers in central New York are enrolled in promotional packages and are exempted from rate increases until their current package expires.

Others are not waiting for the rate increase to take effect and are departing for Verizon FiOS, where available. Syracuse resident Bill Venson is one of them.

“[When I] dropped off Time Warner Cable’s equipment at their office, I wasn’t even asked why,” he comments to the Syracuse Post-Standard. “The clerk just gave me a receipt and didn’t even tell me to have a nice day. That speaks volumes.”

Unfortunately for many Syracuse residents, Verizon FiOS remains out of reach. Verizon canceled expansion of its FiOS fiber to the home project, leaving service only available in a handful of suburbs outside of the city.

Moffett

Craig Moffett, who regularly questions telecom executives about why they have not implemented consumption billing or usage caps as a broadband revenue enhancer, has exited Wall Street’s Sanford Bernstein after a decade.

Moffett is one of the most quoted Wall Street telecommunications analysts in the business and financial press, and his regular browbeating of executives for higher prices on broadband service have earned him a reputation of being pro-cap and anti-consumer.

Moffett is also one of Wall Street’s biggest critics of infrastructure upgrades, particularly Verizon’s fiber to the home network FiOS, which he called too expensive and not worth the investment. In a battle between cable operators and phone companies, Moffett regularly takes the side of the cable industry. Cable operators have enjoyed lower capital costs and have successfully raised prices on profitable broadband service, even as providers move to limit customers’ monthly usage.

The Wall Street analyst is reportedly launching his own Wall Street research firm sometime this spring and has poached several employees of Sanford Bernstein to get started.

Time Warner Cable is sending apology letters to former customers acknowledging the company’s cable service has not always lived up to expectations, but improvements have been made that ex-subscribers should consider.

The effort is part of a $50 million marketing campaign that will push a 30-day money back guarantee and claims their competitors’ promised savings have not materialized.

“The Better Guarantee”-campaign will target customers who have dropped the cable operator in favor of competitors that include AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS.

Although both AT&T and Verizon offer attractive introductory rates, Time Warner Cable says the savings disappear after the promotion expires. The company’s new ad campaign will attempt to entice customers back with offers of lower rates, a $200 reward card, and better service, including faster broadband speeds and new products like online apps for video streaming and home security services.

The New York Times reports the campaign was announced one week before the cable operator releases its latest fourth quarter earnings, which may show a growing number of customers canceling their cable television service. Jeffries & Company forecast Time Warner will report 140,000 subscribers lost during the last quarter, up from 129,000 in the same quarter of 2011.

Customers are invited to sample Time Warner’s offerings for 30 days. If they don’t like the service, the company will send their money back.

That may not be enough. The American Consumer Satisfaction Index has top-rated Verizon FiOS for three years in a row. Time Warner Cable received a below average, but improving rating.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/TWC The Better Guarantee 1-21-13.flv[/flv]

Time Warner Cable’s new television ad promoting its “Better Guarantee.”  (1 minute)

Although Verizon Communications has stopped expanding its FiOS fiber-to-the-home service outside of areas it already committed to serve, its gradual rollout continues in Philadelphia.

Gradual is right. On Kalos Street in the Wissahickon section of Philly, it all depends on which side of the road your house resides. Odd-numbered customers were in luck this week as Verizon took its marketing efforts to the street, with a temporary tent emblazoned with Verizon’s logo installed on the sidewalk, giving pedestrians a few minutes of warmth from a portable heater.

FiOS tent (Courtesy: J. Chakars/WHYY NewsWorks)

Inside the tent, would-be customers are given a preview of the fiber optic service and some free gifts just for stopping by on the cold winter night. Those who took Verizon up on its offer walked away with free ice skating tickets. Those that didn’t got a refrigerator magnet and a tote bag as consolation prizes.

Verizon’s sales force, braving the weather, has made inroads in the city that is home to Comcast’s corporate headquarters.

Joanne Weill-Greenberg told WHYY/NewsWorks she called Comcast to deal for a lower rate and Comcast refused to match Verizon FIOS’ introductory offer. She is now an ex-Comcast customer, and not just for the money. She explained FiOS offers channels Comcast does not carry, and because FiOS also carries Comcast’s regional sports channel, there is nothing holding them to the cable company.

The Verizon tent does not stay in any one location too long.

In a few days, they will relocate to another neighborhood that is now primed for fiber upgrades from the phone company.

Pennsylvania residents can just be thankful the winter weather has not gotten brutal enough for Verizon to deploy its inflatable igloo.

The case involves late fees charged to Frontier FiOS video customers in the state of Oregon.

Frontier Communications FiOS video customers that paid late fees for service in the state of Oregon may be entitled to a partial refund after the telecom company settled a class action case.

The settlement, announced today will cover both current and former customers.

Some key points:

• Customers that are potentially included in this class action settlement will receive a separate notice in the next 60 to 90 days;
• The separate notice will include additional information and instructions regarding steps they can take if they are eligible for a refund;
• A claims administrator will be identified and responsible for providing notices to former and existing customers;
• Customers must wait until they receive a notice regarding the settlement from the claims administrator which outlines additional steps that must be taken.

The company was accused of unjustly charging and collecting late fees for video customers whose payments were processed late as the company assumed control of the FiOS service from Verizon Communications.

An internal memo sent to Frontier employees and obtained by Stop the Cap! suggests the company is expecting calls from customers inquiring about the settlement. Other than telling employees to express empathy, company officials have asked customer service representatives to avoid speculating about the case and referring customers to forthcoming communications from the settlement administrator within the next two to three months.

The lawsuit only covers Oregon residents.