Highland Communication Services’ cable TV rates went up May 1

By Editor | June 4, 2026 |

By Charles Bolinger

Editor • If you live in Highland and subscribe to the city’s cable television provider, Highland Communication Services, you may have noticed a change in your bill this month.

Highland’s City Council approved a rate hike at its March 16 meeting.

Angela Imming, director of the city’s technology and innovation department, recommended the increases to Mayor Kevin Hemann and the council back in February.

“As the video industry continues to modernize and shift delivery platforms, networks are experiencing rising operational and content costs,” she said. “These increases are typically passed through to service providers and have averaged between 3% and 5% annually. Despite these pressures, HCS charges roughly 15% less than our competitors, Spectrum and YouTube TV.

She said the most recent rate adjustment for Victory TV was a 7% hike in January 2025. The increase is needed to offset ongoing financial losses within the video service product. Estimated revenue for fiscal year 2025-2026 is $947,201, while projected content expenses for the same period total $1.247 million, resulting in an approximate loss of $300,000, or 24%.

Victory Basic TV is now $42.68 per month; Victory Family TV comes in at $98.86 per month; and Victory Plus TV is $105.60 a month. Residents also have the option to buy the Streamers’ Dream package, which comes in three bundles:

60 Mbps bundle is now $60.66 per month
80 Mbps bundle is $70.65 a month
100 Mbps bundle is $80.64 per month

Whole-home DVRs start at $5 per month for 100 hours and $8 per month for 300 hours. Victory TV streaming is $10 for the first one and $1 for each additional television.

The following prices are monthly:

For business customers, the business basic service offers a local line $20.99 + .02 per minute for long-distance.

Commercial Internet service begins with business essential 20 Mbps for $27.95.

In addition, Imming recommended the city approve a $1 rise in the city’s wire maintenance price from $2 to $3. It is designed to protect customers from unexpected repair costs. Under this program, repairs are completed at no additional charge when fiber lines are damaged by animals, impacted by storms, or when internal wiring experiences normal wear and tear. The service started in March 2019 and it has not seen a price increase since.

For more information, visit Highland Illinois’ website at www.highlandil.gov/departments/technology_and_innovation/rate_sheet.php