It appears Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) may be feeling the competitive pressure from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Fiber TV, despite the company's continued assertion that the service's impact has been minimal. According to BroadbandDSLReports, TWC customers in Kansas City are reporting that the cable provider is giving them a price cut on their basic service tier, although it's unclear if the price cut is directly related to Google's service.
Google Fiber TV is offering customers 1 Gbps of symmetrical fiber service for $70 per month in the Kansas City market. BroadbandDSLReports said one consumer said his latest cable bill was 30 percent lower than the previous month and he received a message at the end of his bill: "Enjoy your savings of $23.96 by subscribing to this package. (Offer expires 11/29/2014)."
At deadline, Time Warner Cable had not responded to requests for comment on this report. However, during yesterday's earnings call, COO Rob Marcus maintained that the impact of Google's Fiber TV rollout in the Kansas City area has been "de minimis," noting that Google is offering the product to few subscribers. "Most of the action is going to happen towards the back half of this year," Marcus added.
Time Warner has said there is little demand for 1 Gbps service so far. At a conference in December, Marcus told attendees that if there were a demand, the company may eventually have to increase its speeds to compete with Google Fiber, adding they would be able to do so if the demand arose.
Google Fiber has, thus far, only rolled out in a handful of communities in the two Kansas Cities (Kansas and Missouri).
For more:
- See this BroadbandDSLReports article
Related Articles:
Time Warner Cable to deploy 'souped up DVR' in second half of 2013
Google Fiber puts old ad in new Super Bowl slot
Google Fiber 'not a hobby,' exec says during earnings call
Google Fiber locked in new battle with Time Warner Cable