I had the same issues as the OP with Charter. Starting May 2012, I signed a 2-year contract for 30Mbps internet for $35/mo. At the end of that, the rate was set to increase, I called, and got another year of the introductory rate which was now $40/mo. Then this year, I was informed that the rate would be increasing to the non-introductory $60/mo. I called 3 separate times, and was given the same answer, no lower speed is available, and no promotions are available for my address. So I called one final time to actually order the disconnect, got the same answer as before, but this rep told me that after 2 months, Charter considers you a new customer, so she said to check in 2 months later and see what is available. So what I have done is that I got Freedompop for the home, the 10Gb plan. The modem will be obsolete in November when Sprint eliminates Wimax, and while the initial offers were $90 for the modem, when I didn't complete the registration, I got an email offering the modem for $20. We are using that for 2-3 months while curtailing our internet usage significantly (I didn't keep track, but I estimate we used about 50Gb between online videos, phone updates, etc.; now we update phones when on various free WiFi networks, watch less TV, etc.). My 2 months will be over mid June, so I'll call Charter and see what I can get. I admit I'm not saving a huge amount of money doing this, especially given the hassle.
For my area, cheaper ATT DSL was available, but once you add the equipment charge and the extra fees (Charter seems good about keeping fees to a minimum, I only paid about $1.50 in additional taxes/fees on top of the $39.99 charge), it was nearly $50, and for much slower internet; also my prior experience with ATT DSL was suboptimal compared to 3 years of Charter).
An additional option which we considered but didn't do (this time) is just have DW order service. Her last name is different, but even if it wasn't, might work. Or might not, we didn't try or ask.
