Albany

State regulators believe some Time Warner Cable customers could see their Internet and cable TV bills more than double under the company's proposed $45 billion merger with Comcast.

Although the two media giants say no rate hikes are planned, staff at the state Public Service Commission, which is reviewing the merger, say Comcast's most basic TV and Internet offerings are more expensive than Time Warner Cable rates.

PSC staff are most concerned that after the merger, Comcast will dump Time Warner Cable's cheapest Internet offering, known as its "Every Day Low Price" service, which sells for $14.99 a month.

Comcast's cheapest Internet package, called "Economy Plus" and has slightly faster download speeds, sells for $39.99 a month.

Staff at the PSC also compiled data that shows Comcast's most basic TV service costs between $17 to $20 a month, while Time Warner Cable's basic TV package ranges from just $8 to $20 a month.

Comcast offers a $9.95 Internet service called "Internet Essentials," but it is only offered to low-income households that have been without Internet service for several months.

"Time Warner's lowest-priced offerings... represent choices for New York consumers," PSC staff wrote in an Aug. 8 filing in the case, which will be voted on by the commission on Oct. 2. "Any loss of these services would likely result in consumers paying more."

Because of that, staff are recommending a list of conditions be placed on the merger that would cost Comcast roughly $300 million.

The deal is expected to have a significant impact on cable TV and Internet services in the Capital Region, where Time Warner Cable, which has 2.6 million customers across the state, is the dominant cable TV operator. Comcast has had virtually no New York state presence to date, with just 23,000 customers in Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties.

The merger isn't expected to be completed until the middle of next year, so any changes to services that Time Warner Cable customers get likely wouldn't take place until 2016 or the end of 2015 at the earliest.

In a joint response to PSC staff and others who have commented in the case, Comcast and Time Warner Cable say that New Yorkers shouldn't assume that their rates will increase and that Comcast must first study the "significant competition that it faces" before making any decisions on prices.

"Fears of rapid or unreasonable rate hikes are therefore simply unfounded," the two companies state in the filing, which was filed with the PSC on Aug. 25.

Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said the company doesn't want to comment beyond what it has provided the PSC.

"We'll let the filing speak for itself," she said.

PSC staff believe the commission should require Comcast to expand its "Internet Essentials" program to include more low-income Time Warner Cable customers in New York state that might not otherwise qualify for the $9.95 rate, a move that PSC staff estimates would cost Comcast $45 million.

In addition to other conditions regarding employment levels and customer service, PSC staff also wants Comcast to spend $50 million expanding its broadband Internet network connections to rural areas, where Internet service can be scarce, as well as businesses, industrial parks and public facilities such as schools and libraries.

lrulison@timesunion.com • 518-454-5504 • @larryrulison