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Comcast raising prices on Xfinity broadband plans

Most customers will see their bills go up by $3, including those on promotional contracts.

Most customers will see their bills go up by $3, including those on promotional contracts.

A Comcast technician works on a utility line in an undated photograph.
A Comcast technician works on a utility line in an undated photograph. (Photo: Pixabay/Creative Commons)

Several months ago, Comcast said it was rolling out a speed increase across most of its popular broadband Internet packages, a move that many saw as a generous gifting of faster download and upload connections as the cable giant continues to deploy its next-generation fiber service.

Turns out, that broadband speed increase wasn’t as generous as customers and tech reporters were initially led to believe.

On Tuesday, Comcast began notifying its Internet customers that their bills will go up by as much as $3, starting in January 2023. The price increase will impact all plans Comcast currently offers, including its Gigabit and Gigabit Extra plans, as well as those who receive voice-over-Internet (VoIP) phone service as part of their package.

According to Comcast, the cost of the following packages will increase on January 1, 2023, with customers seeing the new price reflected on their upcoming bill that month:

  • Connect: $63 a month (up from $60)
  • Connect More: $73 a month (up from $70)
  • Fast: $83 a month (up from $80)
  • Superfast: $93 a month (up from $90)
  • Gigabit: $103 a month (up from $100)
  • Gigabit Extra: $110 a month (up from $113)

A fee for internet or voice equipment rental will also increase by $1, with customers paying $15 a month to lease Comcast Internet equipment, though customers enrolled in XFi (which is not seeing a price increase — at least, not yet) will still have their equipment included as part of their service agreement.

Comcast customers who are currently on a promotion will also see their bills go up. Across most promotions, Comcast offers a discount (like a $30 service discount or $20 off Comcast’s XFi perk) that is locked in for a set amount of time — typically between 12 and 24 months — and while the discount is guaranteed through a certain date, the price of service is not. Those who are getting discounts simply need to add $3 to the price of service to figure out their new charges heading into the new year.

In a letter to customers, a Comcast spokesperson said the fee increases were needed to offset the cost of delivering the company’s next-generation fiber-based broadband service.

“As we strive to bring you the best services possible, we must also periodically review our prices and update them in response to increases in expenses impacting our services,” the spokesperson wrote.

Comcast said some customers might be eligible to offset the fee increase by enrolling in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a government subsidy that reduces the cost of home broadband Internet service by $30 a month, or $75 a month if they live on designated Tribal lands.

In addition to the broadband fee increase, Comcast says it is also raising some surcharges for its legacy pay television customers, including those who are using the company’s new X1 boxes.

Starting in January, the company said it will raise the regional sports fee in most areas by $2 to $5 a month, depending on where a customer lives and what channels they receive. In parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the sports fee will go up from $13.45 a month to $15.85 a month, while others will see their fee go up from $13.80 a month to $17.25 a month. (Those who receive Sacramento Kings games will see the lower increase, while residents in areas that receive Golden State Warriors games will see the bigger increase.)

The broadcast TV fee that Comcast collects to offset the cost of providing local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations, among others, will also increase by a few dollars a month in some areas, Comcast warned.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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