Consumers benefit from competition between phone companies and cable operators when it comes to broadband pricing, but this is not true of prices for television services.

In a report published market research firm Pike and Fischer earlier this month notes that cable broadband prices remained stable, although operators have been increasing speed. The company attributes this trend to greater competition from Verizon all-fiber network, Fios, which offers Superfast broadband at competitive prices.

The average price of cable modem service, which remained unchanged at about $ 40 to $ 45 a month, the company said. Here, even as a standard cable modem at speeds which rose an average of 3 megabits per second in 2004 to 10 Mbps and 15 Mbps today. Some markets even have the opportunity to receive 50 Mbps.

“As Verizon has rolled out Fios Internet and TV services to more and more communities, the market has witnessed an increasingly diverse and price data rates and cable operators respond to FiOS launch (and to a lesser extent, similar services from AT & T and Qwest Communications) at All markets in a market basis, “Mitchell Shapiro, contributing analyst Pike and Fischer said in a statement.

At the same time, consumers do not look all the same pricing benefits of competition when it comes to their television services. Cable TV prices continue to rise. For example, Time Warner plans to expand its Triple Play Starter Pack to $ 116.95 from $ 114.95, while its service standard will go from $ 43.25 to $ 46.30 in most areas, according to the rate card distributed to customers. Some promotional prices lower for new customers.

Time Warner reported a representative Times Herald-Record, the newspaper serving New York Hudson Valley, that the price hikes due to rising programming and operating expenses. Cablevision will also raise its cable TV prices by an average of 3.5 per cent, “the Times Herald-Record also reported.

AT & T and Verizon, which offer TV service in some areas to compete with cable, have also been raising rates and is expected to raise them again in early 2009. In October, AT & T increased its bid for three new high-definition channels for $ 5 a month. And now, some clients receive e-mail, notifying them that beginning Feb. 1, 2009, the monthly fee for multiple services will be increased, according to Engadget. For instance, DVR Set Top Boxes will cost $ 7 a month instead of $ 5 a month. And the movie package price will rise from $ 15 to $ 20 a month. And Paquete Espanol package will be increased from $ 10 to $ 15 a month.

Verizon plans to rate hikes have not been announced, but they are likely to wait. In February this year, Verizon raised the price of its Fios TV Premier tier at 12 percent. And word on the street is that the company is likely to raise rates again in early 2009.

Federal Communications Commission has been examining the rise in the price of cable service for some time. But nothing was done to curb prices.

Of course, consumers can look for alternatives. As more Americans who have suffered from economic recession, some turn to the Internet and over-air-TV as a free alternative. But the broadband providers galimatias could soon put on these free alternatives, because they impose restrictions on services, such as bandwidth caps and excess charges.