At least three major ISPs have already announced significant price hikes for 2018. News of the increases come just days after the FCC voted to roll back net neutrality protections.
The timing of this couldn’t be worse. But maybe that’s not a concern for major ISPs. Accordingly, at least three major ISPs have now announced rate hikes for 2018.
That is, January, 2018. So customers have very little time to react, modify their plans, or even cancel their accounts.
Just this morning, Karl Bode of DSLReports caught wind of numerous increases at mega-ISP Comcast. But that is simply the latest in a string of planned increases by the likes of Cox, Frontier, and even DirecTV and Dish Network.
In all cases, these are increases for essentially the same services, with Bode noting that American will be stuck paying ‘significantly more money for the same service in the new year’. In many cases, the changes are padded into existing bills, with most consumers failing to see the changes.
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In the case of Comcast, increases are happening across the board.
That includes rates for conventional cable TV, but also a range of internet and internet-based services. “Even Comcast’s streaming TV service Instant TV, barely a year old, is seeing price hikes,” Bode noted.
“Users that subscribe to this service can expect to pay $3 to $3.50 more per month in the new year.”
Additionally, Comcast is jacking up its modem rental fees by 10%. “Modem rental fees will be bumped $1 to $11 per month, while missed payment fees are also being increased fifty cents to $10,” the report continues.
That’s likely the beginning of far broader increases.
Another major ISP, Cox, is increasing the rates for all of its internet service packages.
Here’s a quick rundown of those increases, based on a notice sent to Cox subscribers.
Starter will change from $34.99 to $36.99.
Essential will change from $52.99 to $55.99.
Preferred will change from $67.99 to $71.99.
Preferred 100 will change from $72.99 to $76.99.
Premier will change from $79.99 to $82.99.
That’s on top of a range of other increases affecting Cox’s cable TV packages, and are effective as of January, 2018. The rates were officially announced on December 9th, just days before net neutrality provisions were officially scrapped.
Similarly, Frontier Communications is tacking on a sneaky surcharge for internet customers.
Specifically, Frontier is wedging a $2 ‘Internet Infrastructure Surcharge’ onto most accounts. That includes promotional deals, which are advertised as being cheaper, but leave out a lot of hidden fees. “Beginning with this bill, customers not on an Internet Service term agreement, price protection plan or subject to other exclusions will be assessed a $1.99 per month Internet Infrastructure surcharge,” a Frontier notice states.
Other shoes dropping soon.
Both DirecTV and Dish are enacting heavy increases for most packages in 2018. At this stage, we’re not sure if packaged internet deals are getting affected (at least for 2018). Eventually, we’re betting they will.
We haven’t seen any (recent) changes from Charter, Verizon, and AT&T’s U-verse. But maybe they’re waiting until after Christmas.
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and here’s how to combat this in the ‘free market’ – do not buy it. If they have no customers they will change their pricing. This pricing change could have been planned for months and have nothing to do with your obsessive love of Net Neutrality. I say if the price is to high – cut the cable. Other companies will pop up and fill the void…. unless Obama put up regulations for private cable/internet companies.
Do you know what the entry costs are to get into a utility market?
Yeah, how has that competition thing worked, already? I have one (1) high speed Internet provider in my neighborhood: Comcast. Google talked about bringing Google Fiber to my neighborhood, but the telephone pole consortium that owns the telephone poles (AT&T, Comcast, and PG&E) wouldn’t let them run their fiber on the telephone poles to get to my house. And it’s impractical to set up your own parallel line of telephone poles, even if the city would give you a right-of-way to do so. So I’m sorta stuck here….
Oh thanks. I’ll just not have internet. Asshole
Thank you for your/my reply.
“qwerty” you realize that most states have maybe 1-2 internet providers? There isn’t enough competition for a free market to drive prices down. We pay higher prices for lower quality service here in the States than most countries have abroad.
Cool with my 2 choices, bunch of companies goona pop up. Sigh, go cut your own internet so we can ve rid of your trash typing
Amen! Power to the people through free markets
um so give me an alternative source for internet. These three hold an absolute monopoly in my state so thanks to the end of net neutrality im basically fucked.
I have antena tv. More than enough. Cell phone with unlimited fro Verizon
I too just got antenna!! Works great. CUT THE CORD!
Cutting the cord doesn’t solve the internet problem.
This is EXACTLY what Repugnicans are about – throttling progress to line their own pockets. If you don’t understand this after 40 years, you’re a complete idiot = trump voter.
Yawn.
That sounds great, but I still need internet. I have two providers where I live. Comcast and AT&T. That’s it. I don’t have any TV services, but I need internet. Next great idea please…
Except that in many ways, the internet is a ‘quasi-necessity’. For many people and businesses, and therefore not unlike other utilities such as water, electricity, and traditional telephone lines. Businesses more and more depend on internet service to function. So do ordinary citizens. Ordinary people now depend on the internet for health information, public notifications, and other basic services.
So it is very cute to say, ‘cut the cable’ as if consumers of the internet simply were all using it to watch Netflix, but this has nothing to do with reality. Even cable cutters DO NOT cut their internet service; they cut their cable TV ENTERNATINMENT service.
‘qwerty’ does not seem to fathom how people actually USE the the internet, and therefore does not even vaguely understand why net neutrality is important.
If it’s as essential as water, it needs to be regulated and costs controlled.
just as in water, the more internet you use the more you pay. Makes sense.
qwerty
The “just don’t buy it ” mentality is SO 1970s. You may be too young to remember the arab oil embargo, the deregulation of the air lines, the break up of AT&T or Cabbage Patch dolls. Or now, with the California huge 12 cents a gallon, gasoline state sales tax increase . All have brought out cry’s of “just don’t buy it “. That stance, has Never worked. Someone screaming “don’t buy it”, “they” will drop it back as soon as nobody buys it….well that aint gonna happen- people Will buy it, people Will pay more, people Will adjust and adapt to the new reality and go on with their, albeit, more expensive lives.
-History is a mean taskmaster-
There shouldn’t be combat in a free market. Everybody should always have something to benefit at all times. And this is still not a free market, you dumb cuck!
That will not work, mostly due to the fact that most people only have one service provider in their area, also people in this day and age need internet for their work or school as more systems are put in place together with the internet.
Cutting the cable isn’t the answer. I did, but I’m paying over $86 for just 15ms Internet speed – only a few dollars less than someone with 400 ms speed. They are raising Internet speeds because of the cord cutting. They are punishing everyone for “cutting the cord”.
Actually, since the do not buy the ability to get a job and communicate idea is a load of garbage, the real solution seems to be tax payer based internet. Everyone pays a tax for a group like lightcrest to come in and use existing / install fiber. The monthly fee drops significantly and there are no extra charges due to the death of net neutrality. Overall, these companies are more streamlined and not the kind of QA nightmare that would give the founders of CASQ and ISTQB a heart attack. If Comcast and the others actually knew what QUALITY meant, they could charge, in Comcast’s case, 100% less (2 teams on every project/musical chairs at the top with no clear quality vision/ etc === load of crap).
Dumbass
Umm, to put it gently, you are clueless. Are you in the least bit familiar with the infrastructure costs that is required for internet groundwork… Even companies like Google have struggled to enter markets due to the high start up costs and difficulty recouping it. Almost every cable provider has an established monopoly in the area they operate. In the mean time, during the year or so in between when we cancel our internet when we cancel our internet and the magic internet providers appear, how exactly do you expect people to function when I would presume a majority of jobs and school require internet access?
Nothing to do with net Bill passed this is fake news people
So, Rob, when you say it’s fake news, you must mean it’s false that they are raising their rates. But it appears that that is actually, well, true. So you are saying, instead, that the amazing correlation between the net neutrality repeal and the rate increase is, well, just an accident? And I have a bridge to sell you.
so internet is no longer a utility as defined under net neutrality and isp’s are totally deregulated and you think rate hikes have nothing to do with these facts? you are a special kind of stupid aren’t you.
The article never said it was from the loss of net neutrality rules.
Frontier bought out our Verizon service last year. They are the only FIOS/high-speed provider in my neighborhood. My husband works from home for a major company. We have to have internet service if he wants a paycheck. Now, the nickel and diming of the services begins…
It started long ago
It’s unrelated to the net neutrality repeal.
Net neutrality only stops discriminatory access to data (that is, all services online are equally brought to you).
Price hikes are just that, price hikes.
Review “Supply and Demand”. When you have only one choice in a region, it’s not a choice. Such areas are effectively monopolies. That seldom works out to the subscriber’s advantage.
So it’s purely coincidental? You’re a fool.
So what you’re sayin’ Jacob is we will pay More for Less. Thanks for your clarification.
The only option out of this mess for right now is for towns and cities to create their own Internet providers outside of the Corporate Monopolies. Many small towns and even a few large cities like Chattanooga and Colorado Springs throughout the U.S. have done this despite lawsuit threats and blustering from Comcast and their ilk that it wouldn’t work. It can be done, it’s not that hard.
The end of Net Neutrality has opened the door for this kind of preditory behavior by these companies. As they are no longer bound as a utility they will continue to take advantage of their customers. They will charge special fees to access content they don’t own Just like those of us that supported net neutrality warned all of you they would. Trust me folks this is just the first shot. When you are using comcast as your isp and suddenly you cant access Youtube, or it takes an hour of buffering to see a video just remember its your own damn fault for supporting the end of net neutrality.
Yeah, it will be those who support the END of Net Neutrality who will be at fault. We NEED it! Why can’t you people get that!? Do you know how many people are lower and middle-class? Do you THINK they can afford these kind of increased prices? DO YOU!? If not, then be quiet. You have NO idea what you’re talking. This affects ALL of US!
Headline: “Huge Increases! OMG OMG OMG!”
Content of article / reality: “Small increases, only barely more than inflation.”
This is indicative of nothing except that prices occasionally increase. Article amounts to click-baiting and baseless agenda mongering.
Mine just dropped from $90 a month to $45 a month guaranteed for life! Thru Century link!!!!
Golly it’s too bad we got rid of net neutrality everything else we give the government goes up in quality and down in price ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha
I bought my first modem years ago. Don’t pay the monthly charge, wise up.
I predict an influx of piracy.
I say cut cable TV all together we dont need it. Can get everything from the internet. Internet only packages without the TV bullshit is much cheaper. Put cable and satelite TV out of business.
The reason people cannot “beat” the ISPs is because they don’t want to work together. If enough people (say 50%) in a given area were to cancel their internet service at the same time, I guarantee you the single company serving that area would respond accordingly. No business can take that big of a hit and still ignore their customers.
That’s only even possible in an area where 50% of people don’t need the internet to do their jobs.
Why no mention of the Netflix price increase or the ridiculously high price of the iPhone X?
OIC, this is an article about dominant broadband carriers. So why include Frontier, a rural carrier that’s barely getting by?
Comcast is NOT “… jacking up its modem rental fees by 10%.” IF they were, it would be going to $1.10. An increase of $1 to $11 is not a 10% increase, it’s a 1000% increase. Granted, $1 is 10% of $11, but the rates aren’t going up to $11 from $10 (that would be a 10% increase to $11) – they’re going up to $11 from $1. $11 is 1000% of $1.
Rates increased under NN and will continue to rise because the cost of doing business rises. Simple economics – no prioritizing, no throttling, etc. Get over yourselves.
As a consumer of internet service for many years ago, the only time I’ve seen a downward price adjustment was when I changed service providers. Upward creep has been the rule. What’s new?
I’m disabled was with cox internet over 10 years I’m below the poverty line by several thousand dollars a year. I’m on the net 24/7. My increase for internet only was to go from $78 to $198 a month in October. Pleaded with cox for lower rates they didn’t care. Searched the internet for a solution..found a program for the poor . I now pay $13 a month and my speed is the same as Cox was with no caps or throttles. Cox tried to convince me for over 30 minutes not to leave but I’d already bought my equipment that works over the Sprint line. After I’d cut the cord Cox tried to offer me deals but they cant beat PCs For People for low income. Until the government seizes control of the internet and offers free wifi as other countries have done the population of the poor will grow . But the government has been bought and paid for so expect this country’s downward spiral to continue.
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