Charter has been testing a 16Mbps/2Mbps tier in Texas since last year, and while the company has been vague with us about precise release dates, Charter phone techs have spent much of the last year telling our users that the faster speed would be arriving any day now. Charter is now circulating an e-mail to customers that at least acknowledges the 16Mbps "Max" tier exists, and that it's coming "later this year":While this may change, we've learned that the tier should cost users $69.99 per month if bundled with basic TV, and $79.99 without TV. While last November was supposed to be the original launch date, we're now hearing that the broadest launch should occur in April. Given Charter's limited finances, this tier will only be deployed in select location where competition warrants.