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Note the wonderful statement by Verizon's spokesperson:
"In a marketplace like this, oftentimes the competitor won't respond by lowering prices, but will respond in other ways" such as offering discounts as incentives to keep its service, said Gierczynski of Verizon.

from: Pittsburgh Live

Monthly Comcast bills to rise 4.5 percent

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_544004.html

By Kim Leonard
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, December 22, 2007

Comcast cable customers in the region will see an average increase of 4.5 percent on their bills, starting Feb. 1.

The Philadelphia-based cable communications provider typically announces a price increase at year's end. Comcast said Friday that its bill for standard cable TV service with 72 channels will rise from $51.51 a month to $54.48, for example.

Although the increase is almost 5.8 percent, most Comcast customers subscribe to more than one service -- making the average bill increase 4.5 percent, said spokeswoman Jody W. Doherty.
She didn't have an average bill figure yesterday.

The changes "reflect the increased value of our services," she said, including a video-on-demand library with nearly 10,000 programs. Doherty said the company's high-speed Internet and digital-voice phone services will retain their current prices for the fifth consecutive year.

Comcast's popular $99 Triple Play package of phone, Internet and cable TV service for a year will remain in effect, she said. And customers who subscribe to more expensive bundled services will receive discounts of as much as $30, once those promotional prices expire.

The company's $129.99 bundle typically rises to $167 after a year, but with the discounts, the price will be $20 less. The discount on the premium bundle, which costs $159.99 for the first year, will be $30.

The company's price increases come as Comcast and other TV providers, including satellite service, face more competition.

Verizon introduced its FiOS TV service in some Pittsburgh-area communities in November on the fiber-optic network the New York-based telecommunications provider has built in several markets in recent years.

FiOS TV costs $42.99 a month for 135 video and 95 music channels plus other services. That price will rise by nearly 12 percent in mid-February, to $47.99, for new customers, spokesman Lee Gierczynski said.

FiOS TV is being sold in sections of about 40 local communities that have a total of almost 100,000 households, he said, and the company has secured about 65 franchises so far with municipalities. Cable operators need those individual agreements in order to offer TV service.

Doherty said Comcast has invested about $200 million locally over several years to upgrade products and customer service. The nation's largest cable provider has about 850,000 customers in its Three Rivers region -- Southwestern Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.

"In a marketplace like this, oftentimes the competitor won't respond by lowering prices, but will respond in other ways" such as offering discounts as incentives to keep its service, said Gierczynski of Verizon.

Dan Cohen, a local attorney who represents municipalities in cable-franchise deals, said he hopes the increased competition eventually will reduce prices.

In its announcement, Comcast cited a National Cable & Telecommunications Association report that phone competition in Pennsylvania among Comcast and other providers could save consumers $4.4 billion over the next five years.

Cohen said it's too early to gauge Verizon's TV impact in Western Pennsylvania. But in some eastern parts of the state, where TV service has been available for about a year, "my understanding is Verizon is starting to take greater market share than many analysts predicted."

Kim Leonard can be reached at kleonard@tribweb.com or 412-380-5606.