AfterDawn: Tech news

As cable TV falters, broadband prices go up

Written by Matti Robinson @ 20 Oct 2017 1:13 User comments (2)

As cable TV falters, broadband prices go up

Cable TV has been in decline for quite some time and there's no reason to believe that cord-cutting is slowing down any time soon. Netflix et al have just made this particular entertainment sector better, and there's no going back to clunky DVRs.
While internet based television, or streaming media in general, is becoming more popular you still need the means to acquire the content. That's where cable companies usually come in trying to force you into home phones and TV packages to drop your internet prices to reasonable levels.

The U.S. is largely divided into areas controlled by either Spectrum, formerly Time Warner Cable, or Comcast. So often you have no real choice where you'll get your internet from.

And unfortunately for most of us that means that you might be facing a fairly steep rise in prices in the near future.

According to Investor's Business Daily cable companies are looking to increase internet prices to keep up with the profits that have been suffering because of decline in cable TV subscriptions.



Comcast and Charter Communications (Spectrum) report Q3 results next week and according to analysts we'll see a further decline in TV business. According to Morgan Stanley cable as a result companies hiked the internet-only plan prices as much as 12% from year prior to an average of $66/mo.

A Jefferies analyst, Mike McCormack, says companies have pressure to increase the prices even higher and you might see broadband prices reach $80 or more. Average price for internet within all customers, including bundles, is currently $49.

You'll still see lower prices for new customers with special deals but rest assured that after the introduction period the prices go up, sometimes 1.5x or even double – read the small print.

If by any chance you happen to be one of the lucky who have a choice that isn't a cable company, it might be worth checking their prices at this point. Google Fiber, obviously being one of the better options, has recently expanded.

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2 user comments

120.10.2017 13:26

We here in the US are getting so f*cked in this respect!

Anywhere else in the developed world, you get twice the bandwidth at half or a third of the cost.

It's a monopoly in a large percentage of this GOD-forsaken country often controlled by the most hated company in America...Comcast. Otherwise, if you're lucky enough to actually have a choice between Comcast, WOW or Uverse, which really isn't "lucky" considering the shittiness of those three, then you're in decent shape.


I can assure one thing for certain, our founding fathers are rolling in their graves at how this P.O.S. country is run. Price fixing, monopolies, lobbying....frankly a world that is a terrible place to bring new life into.

228.10.2017 13:47

Originally posted by hearme0:
We here in the US are getting so f*cked in this respect!

Anywhere else in the developed world, you get twice the bandwidth at half or a third of the cost.

It's a monopoly in a large percentage of this GOD-forsaken country often controlled by the most hated company in America...Comcast. Otherwise, if you're lucky enough to actually have a choice between Comcast, WOW or Uverse, which really isn't "lucky" considering the shittiness of those three, then you're in decent shape.


I can assure one thing for certain, our founding fathers are rolling in their graves at how this P.O.S. country is run. Price fixing, monopolies, lobbying....frankly a world that is a terrible place to bring new life into.
It's no better in Canada as far broadband usage goes and costs...... We get screwed 3 ways to the corner every time we turn around.... North America in general has the highest broadband costs in the world. I lived in France for 4 years a while back, you could get phone service (free long distance in France), HD TV and high speed internet for the equivalent of about $40 per month. Coming back to Canada was a rude awakening cost wise.....
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 28 Oct 2017 @ 3:42

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