As noted the other day, Charter Communications has decided to add a new $1 “Broadcast TV Surcharge” to user bills, in order to offset the cost of network affiliates demanding higher carriage rates. Despite being simply the cost of doing business, the company is tacking the fee below the line to keep the advertised rate the same.

Worse perhaps, Charter tells Stop The Cap that “Charter Price Guarantee” and contract customers (who are supposed to have their rates locked) will also see the hike:

A Charter representative we contacted claimed the company will impose the fee on all customers, including those on contract, because of a clause in the terms and conditions which says, “The guaranteed price does not include the cost of installation and equipment, any applicable franchise fees, taxes or late fees, or costs for other ancillary services that you may order.”

Except one user e-mails us their latest bill with a notification of the new fee, and it claims contract customers and price guarantee customers won’t be impacted at least until their contract is up. We’ve reached out to Charter to clear this up but have a feeling Charter misspoke, given that promising customers a fixed rate then imposing a rate hike disguised as a below the line fee would be valuable fodder for class action attorneys.

Burying the cost of business in below the line fees so they can jack up consumer bills (but leave advertised rates the same) is bad enough.

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Last week Charter gave their customers a bit of good news by informing Broadband Reports that the company has no plans to impose metered billing, or for that matter even enforce their recently created “soft caps.” The company dropped another bit of good news on customers this morning, by announcing a suite of new speed upgrades for users.

According to a new Charter website and Charter employee Eric Ketzer, the company started bumping their “Express,” “Plus” and “Max” speed tiers last week, and users need to power cycle their modem to see the faster speeds.

The company’s Express tier used to be 5 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up, and is now 8 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. Charter’s Plus tier has gone from 10 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up to 16 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up. The company’s Max tier has gone from 20 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up to 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. Prices may vary based on regional competition, but Charter’s website lists the tiers’ introductory new-contract price points at $30, $40, and $55 and respectively.

Ketzer confirms to Broadband Reports that the freshly-upgraded 25/3 Max tier is being powered by DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades, so you will need to upgrade your modem to one that’s DOCSIS 3.0 compliant. Ketzer also confirms to us that this faster speed should be available in all markets, which suggests that Charter has been a very busy company since they exited from bankruptcy late last year. As a related aside, Charter’s latest earnings report shows a company on the mend.

Looking for something faster than 25 Mbps? Charter unveiled 60 Mbps service in St. Louis last year for $139.99 ($129.99 bundled), and Ketzer tells us the company does have plans to expand that service into additional markets. California should be next to see the high-end service, but the company isn’t providing specific dates for the launch.

As always, you can find Charter user opinions and speed tests of the tiers in our Charter forum.

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Charter Communications continues to battle with the companies lenders, who are trying to prevent the bankrupt cable company from exiting bankruptcy so they can appeal a court ruling approving the reorganization. Creditors have been fighting against Charter’s reorganization plan all summer and fall, primarily because they don’t like the pre-bankruptcy interest rates agreed to in the deal. “Hundreds of millions of dollars of additional interest and would put at peril the entire plan,” Charter attorneys claim in court filings.

Last week Charter executives indicated that a post-bankruptcy Charter would explore price hikes and metered billing for the company’s customers.

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