Most major cable companies have announced rate hikes over the past several months, and with ninety-five percent of Americans having access to only one cable provider, there's very little consumers can do about it. Unless migrating to a Thoreau/Walden lifestyle or signing up for satellite service appeals to them, cable customers are forced to endure continual, and many feel unwarranted, price hikes.

During the past six years cable rates have risen more than 45 percent, three times the rate of inflation. No other technology industry has seen such rampant price hikes; in fact many other industries are seeing significant price reductions, despite also having to deal with network expansion costs. In that same six year time period, wireless phone service costs have dropped 32 percent; long-distance telephone costs have fallen 25 percent.

Yet cable rates continue to climb skyward.

Time Warner Cable has announced plans to increase rates 7% for customers in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Charlotte, N.C. The company is expected to raise cable rates nationwide by an average of 6% next year, possibly more in their New York markets. Some Time Warner markets have seen a significant increase in Satellite sales in response to the hikes.

Cablevision is looking at rate hikes throughout their New York markets as high as 5.26% next year. Because of a distribution dispute over the YES sports network, the state Attorney General's Office has launched an investigation to determine whether Cablevision Systems Corp. violated antitrust laws. Dish Network has of course taken the opportunity to launch an advertising campaign targeting disgruntled Cablevision customers.

AT&T Comcast has announced rate hikes in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Indiana, and many other markets. The company recently announced six to thirty percent (depending on your package) hikes in the San Francisco Bay area as well. These customers are also considering satellite services (also see companion article). Particularly hard hit in San Francisco are customers who rent their cable modem. They now face a $14 hike, bringing their monthly total for high speed service to $60 per month.

Lafayette, Louisiana received a very special gift this year, being the only Cox cable market to witness three rate hikes this year alone. Other areas were lucky and only witnessed two. According to Dan Novak, Cox's vice president of programming and public affairs in San Diego, sports programming cost increases and network improvements are to blame, though it was a lack of network improvements that brought the company bad press several times this year.

According to a recent report by the Consumer's Union, the cable industry are modern-day Scrooges, continually pushing rate hikes on customers, particularly late in the year. "We think this is largely because cable companies have no real competition in their communities" says Consumers Union rep, David Butler. In fact, in communities that do have more than one cable provider (5% nationwide), prices are on average seventeen percent lower.

The cable industry, of course disagrees with the Consumer's Union's findings, or any such notion that geographical monopolies are the primary catalyst for continued hikes. The argument continues to be that content is the major culprit. Bev Greenberg, vice president of public affairs for Time Warner, blames the hikes on show business. "You are dealing with the sports world and the entertainment world," Greenberg said. "We all know about the costs of entertainers and athletes today."

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association shot down the Consumer's Union report, claiming it "overlooks a number of facts, including the constant escalation in costs of content; the recruitment, training and retention of qualified personnel; improvements in customer care and service; as well as the industry's ongoing investment in upgrading its plan."

According to the Consumer's Union, the costs incurred by content price increases and network improvements have been more than covered by the increase in advertising, pay-per-view services and cable modem services. At the end of a long day of finger pointing, consumers are still left pondering who's really to blame for their lighter wallets this holiday season; some beginning to wonder if they shouldn't just start reading more.