A year or so ago my local cable operator from whom I had only been purchasing Internet service for some years sent a representative ostensibly to check my Internet service. I was a bit puzzled by this as I was not aware of any problems but acquiesced. After a bit of theater somewhat foiled by the fact that I was running Linux and my window manager was xmonad the representative offered me a deal where I would pay less per month for combined TV and Internet services and I was assured that my Internet service would not be impacted in any way. I was very confused and refused the offer based on a general feeling of suspicion.

A few weeks later another representative came to my door and did not bother with claiming to check my service quality. He simply offered me the same deal. I pointed out that it made no sense to me. He then admitted that the cable operator was negotiating a deal with Time Warner Cable to merge with them and they wanted to inflate their subscriber numbers. That at least made some sense to me so I agreed.

Some months later the regional cable operator effectively ceased to exist and I now got bills from TWC. I forget the exact timing but either just before or just after this my monthly billing for cable services increased significantly and I called to cancel the television services I never used which returned the total to approximately the original amount.

Aren't TWC and Comcast in talks currently (I believe the FCC may also be involved)?