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Time Warner Preps High End 'Signature Home' Bundle
$190/month includes your technician showing up on time

We recently noted how Time Warner Cable was testing new lower priced cable TV tiers that don't actually offer much value. They only save you $10 for one year off better tiers that include 80 more channels, can't be bundled with other services for a discount, can't include DVR service, and other restrictions. One analyst claims this is effectively a PR stunt "designed to fail;" pitching lower income (or foreclosure victims) that are cord cutting with faux low rates and restrictions -- designed to make it easier to upsell them more expensive services as soon as possible.

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More interesting to Time Warner Cable are their high return customers, and to that end the company is prepping a new "Signature Home" bundle for $190 a month. We noted recently the tier is being tested in Charlotte, and includes a large HD TV bundle, unlimited VoIP and 50 Mbps service. Bloomberg discovers the service also comes with technicians that actually show up at a specific time:
quote:
Time Warner Cable Inc. is set to try a new pitch for customers: No more waiting for the cable guy. There is a price, however. The second-largest U.S. cable operator will set a specific service appointment time for customers who pay $189.95 a month for a new premium package. The plan, dubbed "Signature Home," is being tested in Charlotte, North Carolina, and will roll out nationally within a few weeks, Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt said in an interview.
This new Signature Home tier (which is $180 according to the Charlotte website) is only being deployed in markets where Time Warner Cable sees serious competition. Unfortunately, Time Warner Cable doesn't see serious competition in most of their markets, which is why they're among the slowest carriers when it comes to DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades, and why their TV "price cuts" aren't much in the way of actual value. It's also probably why they have the mindset that a technician showing up on time requires a steep premium.