Author Topic: Home Internet Options  (Read 2884 times)

aceyou

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Home Internet Options
« on: April 04, 2017, 07:17:12 PM »
Hello All. 

My comcast provider just upped my cable internet to $65/month without letting me know. I find this to be way to high for internet, but I don't know what my other options are. 

I live in Michigan on the West side of the state.  Here's my questions for anyone who has insight:

1.  What is a reasonable rate to pay for home WI-FI (we surf the web and use it for streaming some shows off amazon prime, both from our computers and from our tv/roku setup downstairs.  We need WI-FI good enough to reliably do those things).

2.  What are other options besides the local cable monopoly (we don't pay for any tv or landline phone, and there's no way I'm bundling them into a package because they are worth nothing to me). 

3.  What are some good strategies for getting comcast to give me the lowest rate possible.  If I can just pay less without the hassle of switching, that'd be great. 

Thanks everyone, my goal is to take care of this by the end of this week.  Unnecessarily large recurring bills give me a pit in my stomach and must be corrected!!!!!!

Daley

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Re: Home Internet Options
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2017, 08:02:50 PM »
Unfortunately, there's no alternative ISPs that piggy-back over Comcast's cable anymore. Your only alternative is going with some form of DSL...

Speaking of, are you in AT&T U-verse territory? If so, give TOAST.net a look. 6Mbps vDSL for $38/month, $50 install, simple terms of service, good support department, only a 12 month contract, no modem rental fees despite having to use their modem/router combo, no price increases after going month to month.

6Mbps is plenty for streaming, though right at the edge of full HD quality for a single stream (you really don't need HD video). That said, an extra $6/month with TOAST will double the speed, though.

As for WiFi access, the provided equipment will have an integrated router and WiFi hotspot. Most of them aren't great (blame AT&T for this, not TOAST.net) but are usable. They can be a hassle to properly bypass to use your own equipment if you don't know how to do networking, but it's not impossible. If you use VoIP services, you'll definitely want to put their equipment into bypass mode and use your own router.

As for your three questions:

1) WiFi reliability depends more on local interference and the channels you select for the network more than anything else. As for a rate to pay for home internet, the going national rate these days is creeping up. $50 is sadly considered the low end anymore. (TOAST is a bargain if you can get it.) It's worse if you're in a monopoly region, especially Comcast.

2) Bundling is never a bargain anyway, so I'd never recommend it in the first place. It's a sucker's game... but you'll find that Comcast games things to where internet bundled with basic television will usually give you the cheapest prices. It's absurd.

3) Monopoly ISPs with no competition and terrible customer service are really putting the screws down these days. Try to be polite and prepared with the patience of Methuselah, but also be prepared to cancel and lose service. If you play chicken and don't blink and you get the right agent, you might be lucky to save a couple bucks. It's a hard path. Good luck!

Davids

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Re: Home Internet Options
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2017, 04:22:17 AM »
Try to call comcrap and get on a new 12 month promo rate. That's what I pretty much do every 12 months. Depending on the promo you could be anywhere from $29.99 - $49.99 per month.

FindingFI

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Re: Home Internet Options
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2017, 07:48:37 AM »
We have few if any other options for internet besides Comcast as well, so every 12 months my boyfriend and I swap who holds the account.  When the promo ends, we cancel the account and then a few days later sign up in the other's name as a new customer with the promo rates and start the 12 month clock again.  Since the modem and router are ours, there's no equipment to return or have delivered.  Right now we have 25 Mbps for $39.99. 

They do also offer a plan for 10Mbps at $49.95/month which is not a promo rate and won't jump significantly at the 12 month mark that might be a good option for never having to deal with huge price changes again.

OthalaFehu

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Re: Home Internet Options
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2017, 07:57:24 AM »
Aceyou,

I too am in Western Michigan and my options suck. There are no buried DSL lines near me so I have to use internet over the airways. I pay Verizon $130/month for 16 GB of data and my home phone. I wish I had a comcast option. Good luck.