How much does an internet connection cost?

Usually, there's no simple answer. Most companies offer a variety of prices depending on whether you bundle it with other services, such as cable TV or a phone line. And companies typically offer low introductory prices, which can rise dramatically after several months or a year.

CenturyLink appears to be trying something different. Its website offers a new set of simplified rates, which it calls a "Price for Life." They are available in parts of the Portland area now and coming soon to other CenturyLink markets, too.

CenturyLink's new prices

The company says these prices are valid as long as customers maintain their subscriptions. CenturyLink says it requires no contract, no subscription to an additional service (like phone or cable TV) and charges no hidden fees or installation costs.

*

40 megabits per second

: $55 a month

*

100 Mbps

: $65

*

1 gigabit

(1,000 Mbps): $85

CenturyLink charges an additional $10 a month to lease a modem or $100 to buy one.

Note: CenturyLink continues to offer other pricing plans.It appears these prices are available only where the company offers fiber-optic connections, an area that includes parts of Portland, Vancouver and Lake Oswego.

The new structure charges one price for each of three different speed tiers, with no introductory discounts, installation fees, or requirement to subscribe to an additional service.

There's no requirement to sign on for a particular period of time, and CenturyLink promises subscribers can keep those rates for as long as they want. CenturyLink promises "no hidden fees," though it does charge $10 more a month if you want to lease a modem from the company.

"Price for Life is currently rolling out this offer in all CenturyLink markets across the United States," CenturyLink Portland spokeswoman Rachel Montemayor said in a written statement. "It started in a few trial markets in June, and will continue to expand throughout the rest of the year."

You can get better prices from CenturyLink's rivals, but at slower speeds or with additional caveats.

For example, CenturyLink's new pricing tier offers connections at 40 megabits per second for $55 a month. Comcast offers a faster, 75 Mbps plan on its website for just $50 a month. But that requires a one-year commitment, and the price is only good for 12 months. After that, Comcast warns prices could go up $10 a month or more, and speeds drop to 25 Mbps.

CenturyLink appears to be betting that straightforward pricing will remove complexity for consumers - and reduce the number of complaints and questions to the company's call centers, according to Nick Del Deo, who covers the telecom industry for industry research firm MoffettNathanson.

"It tends to be relatively expensive to handle those" customer calls, Del Deo said. "Because of the simplification, they expected fewer calls to come, fewer pissed-off customers, less cost to make them happy."

CenturyLink may be taking a cue from the wireless industry, he said. Carriers like Sprint found consumers liked unlimited smartphone data plans, and the added cost of providing that unlimited service is lower than that of dealing with frustrated subscribers.

CenturyLink's new pricing comes amid a surge in complaints about the company to Oregon regulators. Some new subscribers say the company charged them more than it promised when they signed up, and CenturyLink is facing subscriber lawsuits over its billing.

But how did telecom pricing get so complex in the first place?

It's because the fixed costs of operating a telecom network are so high, Del Deo said. Companies spend a lot of money to build their networks - hundreds of millions of dollars in a city like Portland.

To maximize the return on that investment, CenturyLink wants as many people as possible to subscribe to its service. It wants to win customers away from Comcast, but without settling for less money from its current subscribers.

It's an open question whether the new pricing will be as profitable for CenturyLink as the old plans. The company appears to be hedging its bets: It continues to offer separate, bundled plans and other pricing structures.

At the very least, Del Deo said, the new initiative should produce fewer calls to CenturyLink's customer service and fewer exasperated customers.

"A lot of the complexity in these pricing plans drove confusion among the customers," he said.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699