Cox Communications plans to raise the price of its most-popular tier of service to $48.99 a month, an increase of $3.04, or 6.6 percent, as of Aug. 1.

The company is also raising the price of limited basic service, its digital tiers and premium movie channels such as HBO, Cinemax and Showtime.

This will be the first increase in Standard Service since 2006 when rates went up by $3 or about 7 percent.

Cox said the August increases have been driven by higher costs for energy, programming and other operating expenses.

“We have held the line on Limited Basic pricing for the past several years, despite steep increases in fuel, power and other operating costs,” said Doreen Studley, vice president of marketing for Cox Communications New England.

“The impact of rising utilities and gasoline costs is pushing prices higher for many consumer goods and services. Like many other companies, we cannot continue to absorb all of these increased costs.

“With more than 8,000 network miles to power and hundreds of vehicles on the road each day, escalating power, fuel and other economic pressures are having a direct impact on the company’s retail pricing,” Studley said.

Cox has traditionally been the dominant cable provider in Rhode Island, but Verizon Communications now offers cable television service in most areas of the state. Cox also faces competition from Full Channel TV Inc., which provides service in Barrington, Bristol and Warren.

The companies and state cable regulators no longer publicly release the number of customers each company has, saying that information is proprietary. Thomas Kogut, a spokesman for the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, the agency that regulates cable television in Rhode Island, said yesterday he could not release the total number of cable subscribers in the state, based on an earlier ruling by the agency’s administrator that the subscriber-count information was proprietary.

The monthly charge for Cox’s optional digital cable packages will increase $1.04 or $2.04, depending on the level of service. The Digital Gateway package will increase to $5.99, from the current rate of $4.95. Digital Choice will increase to $14.99, from the current rate of $12.95. DVR service will increase $2 a month to $11.99.

Premium channels, including HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and Starz, will each increase by $1.04 a month to $13.99.

Cox said that customers who have signed up for Cox’s MAX Bundle promotion, or have an existing contract, will not be affected by the rate increases.

The company said that wholesale costs of programming –– the fees it pays for permission to broadcast its shows –– have increased more than 18 percent over the past two years for its standard-service tier. Wholesale costs for digital services have increased by 44 percent, the company said.

Cox said it has added 21 cable networks to its digital tiers and expanded its high-definition lineup to include 39 channels over the past two years.

Cox’s new pricing pushes its basic digital tier of service higher than a similar tier offered by Verizon, according to rates Verizon filed with the DPUC in February. After the August increase, Cox will charge $60.13 for Digital Gateway plus Standard Service and equipment rental. Verizon charges $53.98 for its FiOS Digital TV service and standard definition set-top box rental.

Source: Cox Communications

Rates do not include cable box and remote control rental of $5.15, or the monthly 50-cent public access fee

tbarmann@projo.com