Updated: Comcast Hiking Cable-Modem Fee to $5 From $3 Monthly Nationwide
Operator Cites Cost for DOCSIS 3.0 Equipment for Increase
by Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 9/15/2009 4:35:54 PM
Comcast this fall will increase the monthly lease fee for cable modems to $5 nationwide -- a 66% increase over the current $3 monthly fee -- which the operator said is necessary to offset the cost of rolling out next-generation services such as DOCSIS 3.0.
In a statement, Comcast said: "We continually invest in providing customers with next-generation equipment and technology that delivers advanced voice and Internet services with enhanced capabilities. Our costs for this new equipment will increase by 167% over the next two years. As a result, we will increase modem equipment charges by $2."
Comcast said the increases will occur market-by-market but in general will begin this fall.
Alternatively, customers may opt to purchase a cable modem instead of leasing one; for example, Motorola's SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 costs about $100 from retailer Fry's Electronics.
The operator has started notifying customers in California and Washington state of the rate increases, which will go into effect in those states in October. For cable TV service, the average rate increases in California and Washington will range from 1.6% to 2.7%.
At the end of June, Comcast reported 15.3 million high-speed Internet customers. That means the operator would stand to generate more than $200 million in additional annual revenue from the increase in cable-modem fees, assuming at least two-thirds of all subscribers lease modems from Comcast.
Comcast is aiming to deploy DOCSIS 3.0 to 40 million of the homes passed in its service areas by the end of this year, with full coverage by 2010. The cable modem technology allows for higher connectivity rates by "bonding" multiple 6-MHz channels together: Comcast offers a top tier of 50-Mbps downloads for consumers and earlier this month launched a 100-Mbps service for businesses in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
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Todd,
Thank you for the great info at 5 AM EDT. Do you sleep or are you on 24/7
Eli Bensky - 9/17/2009 3:05:18 PM EDT -
Yes, DOCSIS 3.0 modems are designed to be backward-compatible with previous DOCSIS standards.
Here's a link to a list of cable modems approved for use with Comcast's high-speed Internet service:
customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?seoid=Which-cable-modems-are-approved-for-use-with-the-Comcast-High-Speed-Internet-service
Todd Spangler - 9/17/2009 4:59:53 AM EDT -
If I buy a 3.0 modem, is it compatible with Comcast's service?
Eli Bensky - 9/16/2009 11:20:31 PM EDT -
Nicholas - thanks for your comment. I've updated the story with a more conservative estimate of the number of Comcast subscribers who lease cable modems, using a rough industry measure of two-thirds of all HSD subscribers.
Todd Spangler - 9/16/2009 4:21:32 PM EDT -
This article should have estimated how many Comcast customers were actually renting modems from the company rather than using their own. Then they could accurately come up with the correct numbers to the extra revenue generated by the hike. Note, in some Cox areas, the renting fee is around $8 and in other areas they don't even rent out any modems. They sell them for $50-$60.
Nicholas Pilotte - 9/16/2009 5:57:49 AM EDT
Comcast Hikes Cable-Modem Fee to $5
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