Cox Cable customers in Arizona, Florida and beyond face a significant rate hike for cable, broadband, and phone service in 2013 according to a notification from the company. Rates are going up for most individual services, although customers in selected package bundles or on promotions will avoid increases for now.

Cox claims “increasing programming expenses” and the “rising costs of doing business” are responsible for the forthcoming higher bills.

In Arizona, Cox’s prices change as follows:

Cox TV and Advanced TV:
Cox TV Essential will change from $60.79 to $63.99.
Advanced TV will change from $62.59 to $63.99.
Preferred TV will change from $69.59 to $73.99.
Super Mix will change from $69.59 to $70.99.
Premier TV will change from $80.59 to $83.99.
Ultimate TV will change from $122.58 to $125.99.
Advanced TV standard definition receivers will change from $6.99 to $8.50.

Plus Package fee will change from $10 to $5. (only decrease)
Variety Pak will change from $7.00 to $10.00.
Sports and Information Pak will change from $7.00 to $8.50.
Single premium channel rate will change from $14.99 to $15.00.
Two premium channels rate will change from $23.49 to $25.00
Three premium channel rate will change from $31.99 to $34.00.
Four premium channel rate will change from $39.49 to $42.00.

Telephone:
Cox Digital Telephone Essential will change from $19.99 to $21.99.
Voice Mail will change from $7.99 to $8.99.
To comply with federal regulatory guidelines for the Access Recovery Charge, the FCC Access Charge will increase by $0.12. Toll Restriction will change from $2.75 to $1.49.
Simply 5 Long Distance will change from $3.99 to $4.95.
For information on other telephone rate changes, please visit Cox.com

Internet:
Starter will change from $25.99 to $26.99.
Essential will change from $37.99 to $39.99.
Preferred will change from $53.99 to $55.99.
Premier will change from $64.99 to $67.99.
Ultimate will change from $94.99 to $99.99.

(Thanks to ‘BryanInPHX’ for compiling the changes.)

In Florida, Cox customers will pay $68.49 for “Advanced TV” service — nearly $70 for what some would consider “basic cable.” Equipment is going up as well.

Advanced TV standard definition receivers increase from $6.99 to $8.50 a month. Advanced TV High Definition and DVR receivers rise from $7.99 to $8.50.

Many Cox Internet customers in Florida will also pay between $3-4 a month more for their broadband service.

Rogers Communications customers have a New Year’s surprise arriving in their mailboxes as eastern Canada’s largest cable company announces it is boosting rates effective Jan 24.

Many Rogers broadband customers will be paying an additional $3 a month for usage-capped service. Some of the steepest rate increases are reserved for budget-minded customers who only want the basics.

Those subscribed to Phone Essentials, Cable Digital Plus and Internet Lite face a 6.7 percent rate hike, which translates into $8 a month or $96 a year. One thing not increasing is Rogers’ usage allowances.

Rogers Rates Up, Up, and Away

• Phone Essentials up 7.0%
• Phone Favorites up 5.2%
• Phone Deluxe up 4.6%

• Cable Basic up 2.9%
• Cable Digital Plus up 5.7%
• Cable VIP up 2.9%

• Internet Lite up 7.8%
• Internet Express up 6.1%
• Internet Extreme up 4.8%
• Internet Extreme Plus up 4.2%

Rogers Communications isn’t exactly hurting. Their profits have been accelerating every quarter over the last year:

• Q4 2011: $327 million profit
• Q1 2012: $356 million profit
• Q2 2012: $400 million profit
• Q3 2012: $466 million profit

Image courtesy: Rick

Rogers’ customer Sunfox, who lives in Markham, Ont., and provided the breakdown, is purely tongue-in-cheek about Rogers’ quest for more of their customers’ money.

“I mean clearly something had to be done,” he writes on Broadband Reports’ Rogers Forum. “Any reasonable person can see that $1.5 billion profit in 12 months isn’t anywhere near enough, so it was time to significantly increase rates for their customers.”

Customers who want out can follow these instructions provided by Rogers:

Affected customers who wish to respond to the rate increase notice may call us at 1 888 ROGERS 1 (764-3771).

Residents of New Brunswick who do not wish to accept any applicable rate increase may choose to cancel the service(s) affected by the rate increase(s). Any applicable early cancellation fee, device savings recovery fee or service deactivation fee will apply.

Residents of Newfoundland and Labrador and Québec who do not wish to accept any applicable rate increase may choose to cancel the service(s) affected by the rate increase(s) without any early cancellation fee by sending us a notice to that effect no later than 30 days after the rate increase(s) take effect, as indicated in the rate increase notice.

Residents of Ontario who do not wish to accept any applicable rate increase may choose to cancel the service(s) affected by the rate increase(s) without any early cancellation fee, device savings recovery fee or service deactivation fee, as applicable, by sending us a notice to that effect no later than 30 days after receiving the rate increase notice.

Comcast customers in New Hampshire are facing a rate hike for cable, broadband and phone service on Jan. 22.

Basic cable rates are going up nearly 6 percent, from $23.02 to $24.60 per month, but expanded basic customers will enjoy a slight decrease from $46.11 to $45.35.

Most customers signed to a Comcast bundle will see slightly larger increases — around $5 a month — for triple play packages. Comcast blamed the rate increase on increased technology expenses, bringing faster Internet service to customers, improved customer service, and more on-demand online viewing.

Customers on price-lock agreements, promotional plans, or other contracts are unaffected until those agreements expire.

Local officials around New Hampshire say their hands are tied. Cable operators enjoy almost complete power setting their own rates as they see fit. The largest competitors for Comcast in New Hampshire are satellite dish providers, and those rates are increasing as well.

Image: schvdenfreude

Chattanooga Comcast and AT&T U-verse customers will need to open their wallets a bit more in 2013 as both the cable and phone company have announced new rate hikes that are now taking effect. But not everyone will pay more. Customers of EPB Fiber, which offers up to 1,000/1,000Mbps broadband and is a service of the publicly-owned electric utility is keeping prices stable until further notice.

Comcast customers face new increases averaging 4% in 2013 — $5 a month for Triple Play customers, several dollars more for broadband, and around $1 for basic cable service. Customers on promotions are unaffected until the temporary pricing expires.

AT&T U-verse customers will see price increases as much as $9 a month for television and broadband service.

Chattanoogans who ditched both private providers for the public option are sitting pretty with absolutely no rate increases to pay at this time. Although negotiations with programmers are ongoing, and costs are rising, EPB says it won’t raise any rates unless it becomes absolutely necessary. The utility takes rate increases very seriously, bringing them directly to its board of directors for approval.

Comcast and AT&T said the introduction of new services and increased programming costs contributed to their need to increase rates. Comcast says it has kept rates for its Xfinity service stable since 2010, a claim that doesn’t explain away its 4% rate hike in January 2012. AT&T said its supplier and labor costs also contributed to price increases, which also includes a broadband television surcharge.

If this seems like déjà vu, it could be because both AT&T and Comcast raised rates exactly one year ago this month. AT&T was the worst offender last year, boosting TV prices between $2-5 a month, equipment fees by $4-7 a month for broadband, and a $3 rate hike for its unlimited calling landline service. In comparison, EPB said it had no immediate plans to raise TV, broadband, or phone prices last year either.

EPB Fiber is the only Chattanooga telecom provider not raising its prices.

Customers facing rate increases can find an easy way to avoid them: threaten to take your business somewhere else. Retention agents are on the lookout for customers considering moving to another provider, and will usually slash rates to keep your business. Don’t want to argue your way to a lower rate or just want to say goodbye to Comcast and AT&T? Stop the Cap! highly recommends EPB Fiber, the most technologically advanced option in Tennessee, priced fairly with a proven track record of reliability.

A lot of Chattanooga area residents have already considered their options:

“Comcast is complete garbage,” writes one former customer. “Horrible product, even worse customer service. My Internet went out daily. I switched to EPB as fast as I could and have never been happier. I wouldn’t have Comcast again if it was free for the rest of my life.”

Another former cable customer reminds Comcast competition makes all the difference. He switched to EPB as well:

“Keep your Xfinity Comcast, you treated me like dirt when there was no other choice for cable. Now that I have that choice, I’ll never consider you again.”

The largest share of your cable bill in 2013 will go to cover just one genre of television programming: sports.

Leo Hindery, Intermedia’s managing partner, claims $50 of your monthly cable bill will cover networks like ESPN, YES, NFL Network, and a wide range of national and regional sports networks, whether you watch them or not.

Appearing on Bloomberg TV’s “Bloomberg Surveillance,” Hindery says there is no end in sight for sports programming-related rate hikes. They have increased 16% in just the past two years.

Hindery noted in the beginning sports cable networks largely covered national, pro teams. But the newest wave of networks cover collegiate sports, at prices nearly as high as ESPN charges its cable affiliates. With just about every major sport now sporting its own cable network, the possibilities and the accompanying rate increases are endless.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Bloomberg Hindery Cable Sports Fees 50 Per Month in 2013 12-20-12.flv[/flv]

“Next year, we will pay directly or indirectly something on the average of $50 [a month] for sports which we didn’t ask for,” Hindery said. “It’s not a-la-carte, it is part of the bundle.”  (4 minutes)