Why are phone rates increasing?

• Ritter Communications’ phone rates (and the rates of our predecessor, Millington Telephone Company) have not increased in over 30 years. While rates have remained the same, the cost to maintain the network has increased.  To enable continued maintenance and upgrades to the network, including new wiring, switching equipment, and replacement of network elements that can be up to 50 years old, rates must increase to ensure reliable phone service.
• Ritter’s rates, although increasing $3.35 in January, are still highly competitive and much lower than those offered by AT&T in the neighboring Memphis market. For comparison, AT&T’s basic phone service is a $25.00 per month, plus taxes and fees. This includes no calling features and no long distance. AT&T also charges a one-time activation fee of $49.00.  Ritter’s increase to $18.00 (not including taxes and fees) is 28% less than AT&T’s local price.
• Any variability in your monthly costs for telephone service in the past 30 years, has resulted from changes in taxes and fees which Ritter is required by law to collect on behalf of various regulatory agencies. Ritter does not benefit from these increases as these funds are passed through directly to the appropriate government agencies.

Will my Internet rate be adjusted?

• We are increasing rates for customers currently subscribed to our DSL Lite service. However, the rate increase will be accompanied by an increase in Internet speed from the current 256kbps to a new speed of up to 3Mbps, or an 11-times increase in maximum speed.  The new rate for these customers will be $45/month. All other DSL customers will see a DECREASE in their price, and some customers will receive an INCREASE in their speed from 1.5Mbps to a maximum of 3Mbps, or from 6Mbps to a maximum of 8Mbps. For an explanation of why Internet speeds are variable, please see below FAQ question 'Why is the Internet speed I am getting inconsistent with the speed I subscribe to.'
• No rate adjustments are being made for customers with Cable Broadband Internet

2016 Ritter Pricing and Speeds by Internet Type:

Many factors can affect actual Internet speeds received by the customer.   The speeds listed are the maximum that can be expected under the rate plan listed.

NOTE: As illustrated above, there is a disparity between prices and speeds on the DSL network vs. the Cable network. The DSL network is older, more costly to maintain and has technological limits on the Internet speeds that can be delivered using that technology. There are finite network facilities available on DSL where cable is a less Limited technology. If you are unsatisfied with the speeds or pricing of your DSL Internet service, it may be possible to switch to our Cable Broadband service, as our Cable network overlaps our DSL network for about 80% of our service area.  Call us and we can check your address to see if our Cable Broadband service is an option for you.

Why are Cable TV rates increasing?

• While we endeavor to hold prices as low as possible, annual adjustments are necessary primarily because of the rising cost of the video content we distribute to you over our Cable network. In fact, these content fees – which Ritter pays to content originators like Viacom, ABC/ESPN, AMC Networks, and others including the companies that own local broadcast channels - have been increasing at 3½ times the rate of inflation.   Our practice has been to absorb a portion of those increases and pass along the remainder to our customers.
• Part of the cost problem is the forced bundling of wholesale cable channels. AMC, Viacom and others require local cable companies like Ritter to buy programming in bundles; consumers want AMC, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, but in exchange for the right to carry those “popular” channels, content providers like AMC and Viacom force cable companies like Ritter to also buy and distribute channels like BBC, IFC, MTV and VH1 – even though Ritter customers may not want them, and despite federal survey data showing that most  consumers really aren’t interested in 50, 100 or 200 channels.  So cable companies like Ritter and our customers pay ever-increasing rates for popular channels to subsidize less watched programming.  Multiply that by hundreds of channels we have to carry, and the result is retail pricing that is rising across the industry.

• There are many variables that affect actual Internet speeds received by our customers that are outside of Ritter’s network control, creating fluctuations in each customer’s experience and restricting our ability to guarantee that any Internet speed will be available at all times.  This is standard across our industry and not a reflection of Ritter’s capability or service levels.   Examples of factors that can create these inconsistencies include:
  
  
  • Number of internet devices being used in your home simultaneously;
  • How these devices are being used (bandwidth-intensive uses like streaming Netflix, online gaming, FaceTime video calls or YouTube downloads, versus less-intensive usage like Internet surfing or email) and how many concurrent sessions are in use (playing an online game while also streaming music on Pandora);
  • The number of customers using the network simultaneously, and whether their usage is light (email) or heavy (Netflix or gaming); and/or
  • The Wi-Fi configuration, placement of the Wi-Fi router, and possible interference such as microwaves, halogen lighting, fluorescent lighting and even the type of insulation in your home. And, your Internet experience will be only as fast as the slowest path between you and your destination device.
• Customers should expect to always receive at least 60% of the Internet speed they subscribe to, and in most cases, much more than that. If you are experiencing lower than this benchmark, please contact our 24/7 Help Desk at 888-336-4466 for more technical and specific troubleshooting.

 Why does Ritter restrict competition in the marketplace?

• Ritter does not have the ability to restrict competition. Competitive cable TV providers are able to enter the markets we serve at any time subject to their ability to obtain a franchise agreement with the local city or county authorities.  Competitive telephone companies are free to compete with Ritter if they are able to get a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) license from the state.  The decision to enter a particular market area is up to the discretion of any potential competitive service provider and would be partly based on the expected cost of building a second network in our service area and an estimate of the extent to which it could compete effectively with Ritter.    The absence of other service providers in any Ritter service area, including Tipton County, is based solely on decisions by those service providers – NOT on any restrictions placed on competition by Ritter Communications or by any regulatory prohibitions.

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