5 reasons your Internet bill keeps climbing

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Charter Communications' $55 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable (TWC) would give the merged company roughly a quarter of the burgeoning broadband market. But removing one more major competitor from the scene may do less for consumers, who have seen their bills for Internet service keep climbing in recent years. According to a Quartz analysis of public filings from Time Warner Cable, the country's second-largest cable provider, average monthly paid-TV costs have gone up only a dollar to $76.08 over the last two years. By contrast, over the same period the average cost of broadband has shot up 21 percent to $47.30 per month. Why is Internet service is getting more expensive, especially as cost of transmitting data online continues to plummet? There are five reasons your broadband bid keeps climbing:

  1. Wall Street. Big investors are pushing Internet service providers, such as cable and telecommunications companies, to boost profits. That's not easy in a mature industry like cable. While demand for cable is leveling off, it's rising for broadband services, giving providers room to raise prices.
  2. Cord-cutting. Cable companies are struggling to grow as more people drop paid-TV service in favor of streaming video over the Internet.
  3. Monopolies. Major Internet service providers generally work as monopolies in service areas.
  4. Video streaming. The growth in video streaming is not only reducing traditional and cable TV revenue -- it's also boosting the traffic loan on telecom networks.
  5. Upselling. Like other telecommunications service providers, cable companies commonly try to lure customers to spring for pricier packages.

5 reasons your Internet bill keeps climbing