Author Topic: need to save $ on home internet  (Read 4827 times)

teagnome

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need to save $ on home internet
« on: November 10, 2013, 03:26:48 PM »
I've found the links to lowering my cell phone bill but now I need ideas for anther front: home internet. There's not too many options where I live since we're in a smaller town. Slightly related is the home land-line bundled into our internet. My hubs is freaked out since reading an article my mom fwd about brain cancer and all with cell phones and I finally broke and said, "whatever, have the damn land line". Except it's one of "my" bills and between the land-line and not-that-high-speed internet, I'm paying $84 a month! Any help/ideas much appreciated. Where does one look up what internet service providers exist in which areas? TIA!!!!

iamlindoro

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2013, 04:17:14 PM »
How about canceling the landline and just getting a wired headset for the cell phone?  If the concern is the proximity to the head (which is frankly pretty unfounded/not adequately proveable) then the plug in headphones/mic should alleviate that.

You can use:

http://www.dslreports.com/search

to find service.  A lot of times you can threaten to leave the service for a competitor and they will extend a promo to you for some months, but you also need to be ready to actually cancel if you're going to play that game, too.  If there's competition in your area, then that's doable.  Really, the best savings would be by eliminating the landline, but if you can do that AND reduce the broadband bill, all the better.

arebelspy

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2013, 06:01:26 PM »
We pay $10/mo. for 10gb from FreedomPop.

Check the big providers and see if they offer service in your area - Cox, Comcast, Verizon FIOS, etc.

Evaluate how fast you need the internet to be, and then compare plans. 
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Derek

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2013, 06:52:33 PM »
You can have a free land line if you have high speed internet.  I have a device called Ooma.  Bought it 5 years ago ($120) and have not paid a dime since.  I think the new Ooma requires you to pay a small monthly fee ($1-2/month?).  It operates just like a regular phone.  You can even keep your old phone number and your cordless/wired phones will still work thru the device.  You can still call 911 if your internet goes out as long as you have a phone plugged into your wall.  As far as high speed internet most providers have an introductory rate special that you can continue to extend.  My provider (CenturyLink) eventually extended my rate for life (I guess they got tired of me calling).  They also have different prices for different bandwidth.  I pay $43/mo for 10 Mbps.  Don't pay for more than you need.  Also cut cable, get an antenna and netflix,amazon prime, or hulu.  You end up saving a lot more than you realize by cutting out cable due to the lack of commercials.  Companies would not pay for advertisement if it didn't work.  You will end up want a lot less unnecessary stuff that only makes you unhappier in the end.  Sorry to get preachy.

madage

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2013, 08:14:54 PM »
I've found the links to lowering my cell phone bill but now I need ideas for anther front: home internet.

Not sure what links you're talking about, but if you haven't seen anything about lowering your home internet, you haven't seen the Superguide. It's huge, but the information you're looking for is within the first seven posts.

You can have a free land line if you have high speed internet.  I have a device called Ooma. 

I also have an Ooma, though I won't buy another when my 2008-era hardware dies, for reasons that are listed in the afore-linked Superguide. The bottom line is that there are better providers around that allow you to use commodity hardware, rather than Ooma's proprietary box. In general, though, VOIP is a great way to go for home phone.

teagnome

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2013, 06:58:02 AM »
Also cut cable, get an antenna and netflix,amazon prime, or hulu.  You end up saving a lot more than you realize by cutting out cable due to the lack of commercials.  Companies would not pay for advertisement if it didn't work.  You will end up want a lot less unnecessary stuff that only makes you unhappier in the end.  Sorry to get preachy.
Preach on. We've never had cable and my honey put a giant antenna in our attic so we get the basic5 which we rarely watch because it's 90% trash. We stick to Netflix and good books. :) Thanks for the Ooma tip.
@madge: lol, thanks for the superguide link. It is what I was referring to re: cell phones but since at the time I was reading it for cell info, I hadn't noticed the internet info.
@arbelspy and @iamlindoro, thanks to both of you for your links suggestions too!
I'll update after perusing these avenues. Much obliged, all!

cats

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #6 on: November 11, 2013, 07:51:50 AM »
We also have freedompop (we shelled out for the slightly faster/pricier $15/month plan).  So far we've had it about 6 months and have been pretty happy.  We did have to buy a booster antenna (~$25) to make it a decent product.  If you don't stream movies or otherwise move large chunks of data back and forth.  We use it for browsing, occasional music streaming, and periodic photo uploads and are always under our 10GB limit (though sometimes not by much).  For movies, etc. that some people might be streaming through netflix, we just use the library (free!).

Daley

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2013, 08:56:38 AM »
Thanks for the Ooma tip.

I've said it before, and I've linked the math in the Superguide... there's a reason why Madage said what he did about Ooma. It does not make financial sense to use it, and can be cheaper to go with a non-proprietary VoIP provider in the long run (you get more calling features to boot). Ooma is a terrible financial investment for a VoIP provider, and they force you into vendor lock-in. It's not a wise choice if you're educated on what's actually available.

teagnome

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Re: need to save $ on home internet
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2013, 10:20:39 AM »
Thanks for the Ooma tip.

I've said it before, and I've linked the math in the Superguide... there's a reason why Madage said what he did about Ooma. It does not make financial sense to use it, and can be cheaper to go with a non-proprietary VoIP provider in the long run (you get more calling features to boot). Ooma is a terrible financial investment for a VoIP provider, and they force you into vendor lock-in. It's not a wise choice if you're educated on what's actually available.

Since reading and reviewing Madage's link to your Superguide tips, it makes sense that it's definitely not the way to go. I was just thanking for the input.