Cable Rates Ready to Jump: Charter Set to Raise Costs on Movie, Family Packs As Market Reforms Loom in Near Future

By Erik Derr, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

Jan. 4–VICTORVILLE — Cable customers looking for rate decreases after the state’s new telecommunications competition law went into effect the first of the year may be surprised by bigger bills, at least in the near future. Charter Communications, the primary cable and Internet service provider throughout the High Desert, has announced across-theboard fee increases for all but a few service options. Tom Tomkins, vice president and general manager of the company’s Inland Empire region, said the increases, slated for Feb. 1, are needed to cover ongoing improvements to its service infrastructure. Charter, the nation’s third-biggest cable company, last raised service fees at the beginning of 2006. The company is raising the cost of its popular “Movie” and “Family and Information” tiers, from $5 to $10 per month. Charter’s BIG package will go up from $56.99 to $61.99, while the biggest package will rise from, $74.99 to $84.99. The Sports and Latino tiers will continue at $5 a month, whereas monthly costs for basic cable service will be increase by $1.45 and expanded basic service by 55 cents. The Feb. 1 rate changes will not affect customers who previously purchased promotional deals. Tomkins said his company, the sole cable franchiser in Victorville and Hesperia and the majority provider in Apple Valley, provides services to an estimated 140,000 customers throughout the Inland Empire. Of those customers, upwards of 95 percent have purchased more than one service. As well, 78,000 of Charter’s Inland Empire customers use high-speed Internet. California’s cable deregulation law, signed by the governor and enacted Jan. 1, clears the way for phone companies like Verizon and AT&T to obtain cable franchise agreements for the entire state, instead of contracts for each city or county. The legislation is designed to streamline the permitting processes companies will still need to follow in individual jurisdictions. The effects of the law likely won’t be felt for some time. Although the law is in effect now, full compliance won’t be required of municipalities until the beginning of 2008. And there are hints that cities may challenge the legality of the law. Charter has been the only cable franchiser in Hesperia and Victorville for nearly 15 years. But, that isn’t because the company managed to shut out other competitors; rather, no other companies opted to go through the permitting processes, said officials from both cities. “Nobody else has applied,” said Victorville City Clerk Carolee Bates. But, Kevin Laverty of Verizon Communications hints that may soon change. “We are engaged in a multiyear build of our fiber-optic network and…will begin to build in Victorville this year,” he said. Verizon, which recently began offering digital services in Apple Valley and has penetrated an estimated 15 percent of the digital data market in California overall, has announced it will also begin development in selected new homes in Hesperia.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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