On the heels of Time Warner Cable announcing annual rate increases, AT&T is raising rates on its U-verse cable TV service.
Like Time Warner's cable customers, U-verse subscribers will see monthly increases of $3 to $5. U-verse rates go up Feb. 1, while Time Warner's will increase Dec. 27.
AT&T spokesman Joe Chandler said that for most customers this is the first rate increase since the company launched the service in June 2006.
About 2 million people nationally subscribe the the service that was launched in North Carolina 13 months ago. The company does not break out regional or statewide subscriber totals.
Chandler said the rates will pay for higher programming costs and expanded programs -- the same rationale provided by Time Warner for its rate increases.
U-verse rates for U100 and U-family packages will rise $5 a month to $54. Rates for U200, U300 and U400 tiers will go up by $3 to $67, $82 and $112, respectively.
DirectTV, a satellite-transmission service with 18.4 million customers nationwide, last raised rates in March. The average increase was 4 percent, according to the company. DirectTV doesn't have details on upcoming rate changes.
Dish, a satellite service with more than 14 million customers, did not respond to a request for rate details Tuesday afternoon.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), utilities (electric, natural gas, telephone) and telecommunications. His beat includes such publicly traded companies as Progress Energy, Duke Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, Tekelec, Cisco Systems, AT&T, among others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or 
