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Time Warner Cable Celebrates TV Rate Hike Season
TV, installation fees, DVR rental fees all seeing an increase
The Los Angeles Times notes that Time Warner Cable is sending users out a rather self-congratulatory information packet. In it, the company lauds a series of Time Warner Cable achievements before informing readers that they can expect a number of across the board rate hikes. Cable service in many markets is jumping 5%. An installer visit is jumping 50% to $30. The cost for installation of digital phone or broadband is increasing 65% to $33. DVR service is seeing a $1 hike.
quote:
Jim Gordon, a Time Warner spokesman, said the latest rate increase reflects higher programming costs as well as overall improvements to the company's service. "Throughout 2010, every one of our products has continued to see enhancements," he said. "We've continued to invest in products that add value to subscribers."
The hikes come as we're starting to see a small but significant trend of users leaving cable due to high prices. Not mentioned in the mailer or by Gordon is the fact that Time Warner Cable is among the slowest in upgrading its network to DOCSIS 3.0, something that's relatively inexpensive by the industry's own admission. Unrelenting price hikes in the face of a recession alongside lagging network improvements is only made possible by a lack of real competition. Time Warner Cable only sees telcoTV (FiOSTV, U-Verse) competition in a small portion of their overall footprint.

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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
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pnh102

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Shrug

Cancel it if you don't like it. This is a luxury service, and no one ever died from not having Cable TV.