So the AT&T would save me $120 for the first year, and would give faster speeds (which may or may not matter; and who knows if they will be the advertised speeds). But yes, possibly with an asshole company... though I'd at least be locked into the contract rate for a year, and then I can switch to toast.
Two things. One, your time is not worth zero dollars. Two, check your math and the fine print.
Some observations to consider about this plan before pulling the handle, that explains these two points:
AT&T may be selling "50Mbps internet", but note their fine print: "Max speeds may not be realized if 2 or more HD shows viewed at same time." Think about how much bandwidth two HD video streams utilize (10Mbps or less), and what this statement implies about what your actual real-world streaming throughput is going to look like.
Remember your complaint about Charter at the top of the thread...
I pay $65/month for internet, and it never even reaches the advertised speed.
[snip]
Whenever i complain about the speeds being low, they come out, waste my time doing all of the tests over and over, ultimately conclude that the speed is in fact low, repeat repeat.
[snip]
Ive been thinking of keeping a record of the internet speeds, to use as evidence.
It's also worth pointing out that for the most part, speed grades are an artificial construct by broadband ISPs to justify extracting even more money out of customers. Many other ISPs around the world in countries that have better telecom and infrastructure regulation just basically have one or two offerings at a reasonable price with the firehose open as fast as they can deliver it.
Your "$120 savings" is built upon the flawed logic of free installation, which AT&T is going to charge you $99 to do, and give you a $50 gift card some time down the line, costing you $49 plus the annoyance of a Visa gift card. Toast is also going to charge you
another $50 install fee at setup to switch, assuming they still have the 50% off install offer in a year. This drops the "savings" between the two down to either $70 or $20, depending on the install cost with Toast in a year (120-50=70) (120-100=20).
You'll also have down time and the hassle of switching from AT&T to "AT&T" switching to Toast. So long as you have service active with AT&T, you'll have some issues ordering new service from Toast, which means potentially needing to disconnect service before order or dealing with a lot of switching headaches and considerably more time on the phone with AT&T. Also, there's no such thing as same day install with vDSL service, and you will have to schedule an install up to a week in the future. Ask yourself if this potential service gap is worth even the $70 savings number.
Your time also isn't free. Remember...
...they come out, waste my time...
This plan is committing to not one, but two internet service installs, complete with all the sit-and-spin time wasting that comes with it. Assuming your time has value, is that second install worth even the $70 savings assuming you go with 18Mbps service with Toast over the course of two-plus years of under contract internet bills, yielding a total cost average of $2.92 savings per month? Especially when you consider the potential headaches, hassle and lost connectivity that may come with the switch from AT&T Residential to Toast (which is effectively using AT&T business service)? It's AT&T, this stuff never goes as smoothly as you hope.
Your "$120 savings" is also predicated on the idea that you'd use the 18Mbps speed package from Toast after switching, but given the above fine print from AT&T, it seems like 12Mbps would be a more realistic equivalent to the speed part that matters to you most given their statement. This alters your $120 savings idea over the first year down to a theoretical $48 monthly savings gap if you can actually get by with 12Mbps service, which given that additional install fee you didn't factor, now puts you at either
-$2 or -$52 savings going AT&T first depending on Toast's install fee in a year (48-50=-2) (48-100=-52).
Just some food for thought, applying some logic and reality to the situation. Hope it helps. All the best no matter what path you ultimately choose, but do remember that there's a difference between being cheap and frugal.
Edited for early morning brain dumb math error and clarity.