ntl, Britain's biggest cable operator, confirmed today that it will raise subscription prices for some of its cable TV, phone and Internet access services.
The new rates will begin on June 1, 2004. Heres a round up of the price increase......
Cable Television
ntl's flagship digital cable service will see a £1 price rise, with the basic pack rising from £18 to £19, the mid-pack rising from £25 to £26, and the family pack going from £28 to £29. The knock-on effect will be a rise in the price subscribers pay for digital service including premium channels: the Sky Sports 1 & 3 pack is now 50p more, as is the Sky Sports 2 & 3 pack. The Sky Movies 1 pack rises by a full pound, while Sky Movies 2 actually drops by the same amount. The Sky Sports collection, including all Sky Sports channels, will rise by £2, and the Sky Movies collection rises by £1. The combined Sky Sports and Sky Movies premium pack rises by £2.
ntl said: "We have not increased our prices for over 12 months but I’m afraid it has now become necessary to do so. We hope you agree we continue to offer great value for money, particularly when comparing us with the competition."
Prices for all other digital premium channels remain the same, although the Hangama Pack will rise from £23.50 to £24.50.
All analogue TV prices have been held.
Internet
The 1Mbps broadband Internet access service is rising £3, now costing £37.99 per month. Prices for 150Kbps and 600Kbps access have not been changed. Xbox Live and PS2 Live are both dropping by £3 to £2 per month.
ntl explained: "Our 1Mb service is more expensive to deliver than our other Broadband products – and we must keep up with market prices."
Dialup Internet access is also affected. "Unlimited" service rises from £10 to £12.49 per month, while daytime and evening pay-as-you-go access increases by 2p and 1p per minute respectively.
Telephone
The majority of basic phone packages will not be affected by the June price rise. Phone and Surf will, however, increase by £2.49 to £30.99.
Many phone calling features will increase in price by 50p. These are: Call Barring, Call Divert, Call Waiting, Caller Display, Reminder Call, Voicemail Plus, and 3 Way Calling.
Commenting on this, ntl said: "We are holding our prices across most aspects of our telephone service. Where prices are changing, this is a reflection of the market environment and changes in how much it costs us to provide the service for you."
There was some good news on the telephony front, with call charges to mobile networks except "3" being reduced slightly.
The new rates will begin on June 1, 2004. Heres a round up of the price increase......
Cable Television
ntl's flagship digital cable service will see a £1 price rise, with the basic pack rising from £18 to £19, the mid-pack rising from £25 to £26, and the family pack going from £28 to £29. The knock-on effect will be a rise in the price subscribers pay for digital service including premium channels: the Sky Sports 1 & 3 pack is now 50p more, as is the Sky Sports 2 & 3 pack. The Sky Movies 1 pack rises by a full pound, while Sky Movies 2 actually drops by the same amount. The Sky Sports collection, including all Sky Sports channels, will rise by £2, and the Sky Movies collection rises by £1. The combined Sky Sports and Sky Movies premium pack rises by £2.
ntl said: "We have not increased our prices for over 12 months but I’m afraid it has now become necessary to do so. We hope you agree we continue to offer great value for money, particularly when comparing us with the competition."
Prices for all other digital premium channels remain the same, although the Hangama Pack will rise from £23.50 to £24.50.
All analogue TV prices have been held.
Internet
The 1Mbps broadband Internet access service is rising £3, now costing £37.99 per month. Prices for 150Kbps and 600Kbps access have not been changed. Xbox Live and PS2 Live are both dropping by £3 to £2 per month.
ntl explained: "Our 1Mb service is more expensive to deliver than our other Broadband products – and we must keep up with market prices."
Dialup Internet access is also affected. "Unlimited" service rises from £10 to £12.49 per month, while daytime and evening pay-as-you-go access increases by 2p and 1p per minute respectively.
Telephone
The majority of basic phone packages will not be affected by the June price rise. Phone and Surf will, however, increase by £2.49 to £30.99.
Many phone calling features will increase in price by 50p. These are: Call Barring, Call Divert, Call Waiting, Caller Display, Reminder Call, Voicemail Plus, and 3 Way Calling.
Commenting on this, ntl said: "We are holding our prices across most aspects of our telephone service. Where prices are changing, this is a reflection of the market environment and changes in how much it costs us to provide the service for you."
There was some good news on the telephony front, with call charges to mobile networks except "3" being reduced slightly.
