Customers that buy the company's most popular Internet package can now download content at 15 Mbps, up from 10 Mbps, Time Warner said. The upgrade will take affect automatically later this month, but you can can tap into the faster service now by resetting their modems and rebooting your computers.

Meanwhile, PC World reports today that Time Warner subscribers are beginning to see a new $3.95 charge on their bills, a new rental fee for cable modems. That charge, which apparently can't be avoided even by buying a modem, only went into effect in November in some locales, meaning the fee is just showing up now.

Well, with faster download speeds arriving—New Yorkers are getting the upgrade now, the rest of TWC's customers are also slated to receive the faster service this month—the secret surcharge may be easier to swallow.

Now if they could only get the service van to our apartment 50 percent faster.