Initially, Time Warner Cable's attempt to fend of Google Fiber in Kansas City consisted of pooh pooh'ing the 1 Gbps, $70 service, trying to lock down local users into long-term contracts, and promising locals Twilight movie tickets not to switch. The company appears to have since changed tactics.
The company first started
offering 100 Mbps service to locals despite not offering it anywhere else. Now Google Fiber appears to have accomplished the impossible -- they've gotten Time Warner Cable to actually compete on price. According to a user who writes in to the
Consumerist, a user in the Kansas City region was given a price cut on his basic service tier, without having to even ask for it:
quote:
My latest cable bill was ~30% lower than the previous month. $29.99 vs. $44.94, for a savings — by their calculation — “of $23.96 this month.” My calculation is slightly different, I get a savings of $14.95, but lower is better. The line item has the note: “Enjoy your savings of $23.96 by subscribing to this package. (Offer expires 11/29/2014)” It doesn’t say anything about me having to do anything to get this rate, and the “package” they mention is the one I assumed I was using already. But the bill says $29.99, so that’s what I’m putting on the check.
It remains unclear if this price cut doesn't require a new contract, but at least Time Warner Cable is competing on price, something they very rarely have to do courtesy of limited competition. Throughout Google Fiber's short history Time Warner Cable has continued to insist that demand was not there for 1 Gbps service, and if it were -- the
company would offer it. Granted the company previously said the same thing about 50 Mbps, and that's slowly becoming the industry standard.