Comcast users in various parts of the country have already gotten (or may soon get) a lovely holiday present from their ISP—a seemingly inexplicable increase in the cable modem rental fee, from $8 to $10 per month.

Eric Studley, of Boston, who posts on reddit as Slayer0606, first pointed out the increase on Tuesday. After reading Studley’s post, Ars encouraged readers who rent Comcast modems to check their bills and found that the increases seem to have taken place as far back as October 2014, while others took effect as of December 20, 2014 and January 1, 2015.

The company did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.

Comcast has been publicly accused many times of pricing shenanigans. In October 2014, a San Jose (California) man sued Comcast after claiming that it got him fired from his job at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) after a year's worth of billing disputes.

Ars has confirmed such cable modem increases in not only Boston and Indiana, but also in Houston, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Miami Lakes, Florida; and San Mateo, California.

Other readers in the Twin Cities, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Tacoma, Washington; Farmington, Connecticut; Palo Alto, California; and Philadelphia reported no changes to their monthly bill. Indeed, my own Comcast bill in Oakland, California, notes that such an increase would take effect as of January 1—however I own my own modem so don’t pay a rental fee.

See Page Four

Michael Giannopoulos, another Ars reader in Boston, chimed in with his thoughts by e-mail: "Confirmed 25% increase effective 12/20/2014."

Studley explained to Ars by e-mail that he wanted to initially use the company’s gateway, as it would be cheaper than buying his own.

"With this price increase, it's no longer true," he wrote.

"The ‘Broadcast TV fee’ also rose 115 percent from $1.50 a month to $3.25. I know it seems like this is not a lot per month, but by the end of my contract I will have paid close to $40 more than I originally believe I would pay according to my contract."

Here’s the customer service chat transcript that he provided:

Elyza: Going back to your concern, Eric, as I checked your account, I am indeed seeing here the new charge for the modem which is for $10.00 already. We understand that no one nowadays wants to see prices increase in our monthly expenses but We continue to add value by making technology and service improvements. I am sure that Comcast has sent notices to our customers of upcoming price adjustments. We want to ensure that you are aware of any changes on your services or pricing so there are no surprises. Elyza: And indeed, as I checked your bill last Billing Date 11/24/14 Elyza: On Page 4 of 10, the notice was sent to you before the increase was applied.

As he added by e-mail: "So on page [four of 10] on a bill that I automatically pay each month they ‘notified me.’ I don't think that's fair."

The Boston man told Ars that he had filed formal complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Communications Commission.

At least John Oliver is now slightly cheaper?

Drew Stewart, an Ars reader in Bedford, Indiana, also sent Ars his seven pages' worth of Comcast price updates, showing that as of January 1, 2015, he too will be paying $10 per month to rent his cable modem.

Such other changes include a "Broadcast TV fee" increase from $1.50 to $3.25 per month, an increase of the "Downgrade of Service" fee from $12.05 to $12.40 per month, an Hourly Service Change rise from $33.20 to $35.80. To be fair, there were some small decreases as well, such as $15 monthly for HBO instead of $20.

Stewart told Ars he thought these changes were "pretty clear."

"Did I read it only after I noticed that my December bill had gone up? Yes. Is that Comcast's fault? I don't think so," he said by e-mail.

When Ars pressed the point that the increase seemed like pure profiteering, Stewart responded: "True, true. But it's Comcast, I'm used to arbitrary rate increases. ;-)"

Comcast customers can eliminate this fee entirely from their bill simply by buying and using their own: for example, a new DOCSIS 3.0 modem sells for $70 new on Amazon, which would pay for itself in under a year.

In a related story, a Comcast customer in Sacramento recently posted an 11-minute YouTube video of a phone call painstakingly outlining his attempt to get a previously promised price honored.

In September 2014, a new Comcast executive said that improving customer service was his "number one priority."

UPDATE Wednesday 1:25pm CT: In an e-mail to Ars, Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas said "some markets are seeing those price changes," as a way to offset "investments in our network and technology."

There are three key benefits to leasing versus buying. First, leasing is like having an insurance policy on the device: if anything happens to the hardware, then we will replace it for no charge. Second, since it's our device, we can provide troubleshooting and advice, like how to set up a secure network and a firewall or how to set up parental controls as well as how to connect wireless printers. If you buy your own devices (cable modem and wireless router), then you'll have to rely on your device manufacturers to provide that same level of support. The third reason is obsolescence: if you lease from us, then we will notify you when your device needs to be replaced so you have the peace of mind of knowing that you have up to date equipment.

He also pointed readers to a list of approved modems if Comcast customers prefer to buy their own.