Author Topic: I'm such an idiot!  (Read 5593 times)

SMMcP

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I'm such an idiot!
« on: February 05, 2013, 10:42:01 AM »
Now that I am trying to practice Mustachianism, I've been taking a look at all my spending.  I just discovered that I have been paying $7.49/month to rent an internet cable modem from the cable company for the last 5 years.  That's $450 spent for a modem that's available at Bestbuy for $59.99!  Gee, why didn't I realize this sooner.  I bet the vast majority of cable customers are doing the same thing (nice profit for the cable company).   Needless to say, I'm taking that modem back to the cable company and buying my own.

DoubleDown

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2013, 10:49:06 AM »
I'll try to be first with the response!!!

NOOOO!!!! Ditch the cable entirely, and use an HDTV antenna for over the air broadcasts, + Netflix or whatever. You will save a ton and not miss crappy cable TV.

SMMcP

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2013, 10:52:24 AM »
I have the cable for high speed internet, which I need for work, etc.  If there is a less expensive option for that I'm open to suggestions. 

DoubleDown

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2013, 10:59:01 AM »
Oops my bad! -1 Internets for me.

Instead, let me say congratulations on getting rid of that modem!!

Jamesqf

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2013, 12:56:45 PM »
I have the cable for high speed internet, which I need for work, etc.  If there is a less expensive option for that I'm open to suggestions.

Me too.  I have cable internet, but don't even own a TV. 

One suggestion, if you've been a customer for several years, is to check out their current pricing/speed plans.  I've had cable internet since it first became available here, at least 5 years, and had been paying the same old $55 or so per month for the original service level.  Was having some network speed problems* this summer, and in checking out possible causes found that I could "upgrade" to a package that offered twice the speed for about half the price.

*Which I eventually traced to one of my desktop machines that I only power-on when testing MPI code.  Apparently the network card was self-powering off the cable (or drawing vampire power?), causing the router to drop everything to the default 10 Mbs speed of the powered-off card.  Unplugged the cable, and everything on the internal net is back to 1G.

RoseRelish

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2013, 09:15:27 AM »
Yeah, buy your own modem. I've had mine for 4 years now - a savings of over $350! Well worth the $50-60 bucks.

GuitarStv

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2013, 09:36:46 AM »
The interesting thing about cable/telecom companies, (at least in Canada) is that they treat their worst customers the best.  Calling and saying you're planning on cancelling is almost guaranteed to get you a year long rate reduction of 30 - 40%.

BlueMR2

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2013, 10:15:41 AM »
I have the cable for high speed internet, which I need for work, etc.  If there is a less expensive option for that I'm open to suggestions.

See if you can get a UNE DSL circuit.  You'd have to decide if the speed will be sufficient.  If it is, you should be able to save anywhere from $5-50 off your cable (depending on plans available in your area).  I'm worst case, way out at the end limit, but I still get 1.2 Mib/s (on what would be a 3 Mib/s circuit if I was in the normal distance), which has turned out to be plenty for telecommuting (I remote desktop into a machine at work over a VPN, so I'm just pulling back screen updates).  Price is half that of "normal" cable Internet and $5 a month less than 1.5 Mib/s "basic" cable Internet.

destron

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2013, 10:49:26 AM »
I have actually been wondering about this for a while. I looked it up online, and my cable internet provider does easily allow you to use your own modem and stop paying their ridiculous rental fees. Argh! Wish I had not been paying that $7/month for the last three years. Just ordered a Motorola SurfBoard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem online for $90. At $7/month, that will pay for itself in 13 months. According to online testimonies, people report getting better and more stable internet speed as well. We will see!

anastrophe

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2013, 10:49:46 AM »
I made the same mistake, but it was some kind of rent-to-buy thing and when I canceled my service (now I share wireless with my neighbors in the next apartment over for $19/month) Verizon told me to keep it, it was an old model.

But not so old I couldn't sell it to some college kids on Craigslist for $40:)

Daley

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Re: I'm such an idiot!
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2013, 11:11:18 AM »
See if you can get a UNE DSL circuit.  You'd have to decide if the speed will be sufficient.  If it is, you should be able to save anywhere from $5-50 off your cable (depending on plans available in your area).  I'm worst case, way out at the end limit, but I still get 1.2 Mib/s (on what would be a 3 Mib/s circuit if I was in the normal distance), which has turned out to be plenty for telecommuting (I remote desktop into a machine at work over a VPN, so I'm just pulling back screen updates).  Price is half that of "normal" cable Internet and $5 a month less than 1.5 Mib/s "basic" cable Internet.

Dry loop prices vary wildly, and usually are only a good deal in Verizon regions, as AT&T's dry loop prices are insulting and they won't allow reasonably priced third party providers like DSLExtreme without phone service on the line as well. The problem with the regulatory mandate regarding certain ILECs providing dry loop service is that they didn't specify that anyone could provide it, just that it had to be available.

As for cable modems and ISP service, I know the superguide seems to get the most attention from cell phone switchers, but there's a whole section on service speeds, cable and DSL modems, and networking equipment.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!