Photo of a Comcast van
Broadband cable provider Comcast is raising rates once again across the board, with its price for Internet service notably spiking.
The company’s Performance Internet plan, which provides download speeds of as much as 100 megabits per second, will rise from $74.95 to $77.95. Its Blast! plan, which provides speeds of up to 300 megabits per second, will increase from $94.95 to $97.95.
The cost for renting a broadband modem will increase as well, from $13 per month to $14 per month.
Television fees will increase, too, and more dramatically than Internet prices. The monthly charge for broadcast TV channels such as NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox will increase by more than 50%, from $8.25 to $12.70. In 2016, consumers paid only $5 per month for this service.
Comcast is blaming this particular rise to programming costs from local affiliates and other broadcasters. They say that these costs have more than doubled since 2006 and that, while they have absorbed some of this cost, they cannot absorb all of it.
This does not mean that the company is at all struggling, as in the last quarter alone it reported an operating profit of nearly $6 billion, with an operating profit margin of almost 40%.
Like with the cost of broadband modems, Comcast is also increasing the costs of TV boxes as well, from $2.50 per month to $4.60, and the cost of a remote will rise from $0.18 to $0.40.
But not all Comcast customers will see rises in prices, at least not right away. The company is not raising the prices for those who have promotional packages, as these are locked in for a specific term. Though, once this term is over, these customers will certainly see the increases.
Comcast customers are not the only ones who will soon see increases in prices for Internet and TV services. Hulu has announced that it is rising the monthly price of its Hulu + Live TV service by $10 in the coming year. AT&T is raising prices, too, for its DirecTV customers.
Not to worry as their level of customer care will also improve. Ha!
I’m in the middle of a promotional pricing 1 year term and Comcast raises the regional sports and tv broadcast fee on me. They got me in a 1 year term agreement expiring in august 2020 and how can they do that? Tomorrow I’m bringing back my cable box to Comcast and fighting my contract to be waived. I been an 8 year customer. Shame on me.