BANGOR – Customers of Adelphia Cable will see an increase in their monthly bills next month, but they’ll also have new channels added to their television lineup.

Adelphia’s basic cable service will remain at $10.30 per month to receive the major networks and Maine PBS.

Charges for the “family” package, however, will increase $4 a month, from $21.05 to $25.05. A number of premium services also will increase next month, all by $1 or $2 per month.

Gary Crosby, Adelphia’s area manager for much of northern and eastern Maine, said Wednesday that the rate increases became necessary because the cost of operations has increased over the last two years. Over the same period, Crosby said, there have been no rate increases for cable service. The new charges will begin appearing on statements with the Feb. 7 billing cycle.

Crosby said the expansion of channels means Adelphia will offer more than 300 channels to their customers. While basic cable will remain the same, the family package will add eight new channels, including Animal Planet, Court TV and the Travel Channel.

About 100 new channels will be added all together to the company’s packages, including an assortment of French, Spanish and other foreign language channels. The new channels are expected to come online Feb. 21.

The selection of new channels for Maine is based on a combination of viewer requests made within the state and the results of marketing studies of national audiences, Crosby said.

Adelphia serves about 60 percent of Maine’s cable customers in more than 220 communities. It’s range stretches from Windham to Madawaska and out to Calais and Bethel, Crosby said.