Comcast Jacks Up Cable Bills For Atlanta Customers With Second Price Increase In Year

If you have Comcast and live in the Atlanta area, expect to be paying more after Oct. 1, as the cable company is increasing rates — for the second time this year — on customers in the region by anywhere from 3% to 17%.

Most customers will see a flat increase of $3/month on their bill though the poorly named Digital Economy package will go up $5/month.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, after this latest increase the price of Comcast’s bottom-dollar service, Limited Basic, will have nearly tripled — from $10.83/month to $29.95/month since 2007.

The company says that customer who are currently paying promotional prices will not see a price increase until after their promotion is over. But judging by the mountain of complaints we’ve received over the years, we wouldn’t be shocked if some glitch accidentally jacks up the bills of these customers. So if you’re still paying a promo rate, pay close attention to your bill in the next few months to make sure you’re not overpaying.

“By and large, our customers remain loyal and continue to see incremental value in our service,” a Comcast rep explains, presumably while struggling to maintain a straight face. “We work hard to hold down the cost.”

The Kabletown rep says that customers in Atlanta got access to 15 new channels — like Disney Junior, ShopNBC and ESPN Goal Line — this year.

The question is, were customers really clamoring for these channels when they have hundreds of others they already don’t watch?

The AJC reports that DirecTV prices went up about 4% earlier this year, while AT&T U-Verse rates increased between 1.7% and 3.5%. Dish prices remain frozen into 2013. None of these providers say they have plans on another price increase in the Atlanta area this year.

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