Adelphia increasing some rates 30%

BANGOR – Adelphia is increasing its cable television rates by as much as 30 percent effective Nov. 1 on the digital-channel and premium packages it currently offers. At the same time, the company is trying to convince customers to switch to one of four newly created digital service plans.

Prices of the basic cable plan, which offers about 20 channels, and the advanced cable plan, which offers about 70 channels, are not going up in November.

Digital service plans offered at a variety of rates can include additional channels, music programs, premium movie channels, pay-per-view sports, and PowerLink, Adelphia’s cable-Internet service.

The changes are among the last the cable company will be making to reduce the number of plans it offers on a national level. According to local Adelphia officials, the company wants to make its selections in each community it serves nationwide uniform. Adelphia serves 185,000 households in 132 communities across the state.

“We anticipate a drop-dead date [to switch to a new package], but it will be a while,” said Lorna Hart, projects support manager in Bangor. “The choice is much better than it’s been before.”

More than 80 versions of “personalized” letters were sent out recently to thousands of Adelphia customers who buy more than the basic cable package to notify them of the price increases.

“Maine probably has more versions than any other state” because of the number of different plans currently offered in each of the 132 communities served by the cable company, said Mary McLaughlin, Adelphia’s regional vice president of law and public affairs, from Massachusetts.

Adelphia informed its digital and Internet customers that they may want to switch from their current package to a new plan the cable company suggests is better suited to their viewing needs. A brochure that lists the new plans – called Bronze, Silver, Gold and Ultimate “advantage” or “value” paks – was mailed with each letter, but a listing of what digital channels are included in each plan was not.

Adelphia prefers having customers call to get personalized service, said Shawna Allen, Adelphia’s local marketing manager, during a recent interview. “We wanted consumers to call us so we could explain the packages to them,” she said.

Included in each letter was a toll-free number to call for information: 1-888-292-6037.

The telephone lines at Adelphia’s call center in Coudersport, Pa., have been busy, Allen said. She believes the personalized approach to helping customers understand what packages are available is working.

More than 90 percent of the customers who have called Adelphia about the digital-cable packages have switched to the new ones, said Gary Crosby, Adelphia’s general manager for Maine. The number of customers who have called was not available.

“For the first couple of days, sales numbers are up,” he said. “People are migrating over to the new packages.”

All of the state’s 132 municipalities where Adelphia sells its cable services were notified of the rate changes. None has the authority to regulate Adelphia’s rates, but they do monitor the company’s price for basic cable service.

Norman Heitmann, Bangor’s city solicitor, said Thursday his office was informed of the rate changes and has not received any complaints from Adelphia customers about them.

McLaughlin said the price increases cover increases in the company’s expenses and were approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge. Adelphia is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while it reorganizes its finances and comes up with a plan to emerge from protection from creditors.

McLaughlin said the company is being charged more by networks for the programming, and that the price increases pay for “the value” customers receive from cable television. For the price of a selected package, “you have a month’s worth of entertainment,” she said, in comparison to the prices for movie tickets or any other form of entertainment.

“That’s huge,” she said.