Is a home internet connection even necessary?

[Cowardly Toaster]

My wife and I have not had internet at the house in the 18 months since we've been married. I saw it as an unnecessary expense at the time. As we approach a debt free financial situation, I question if we should upgrade to it.

We both have data on our phones, but even then we don't use a lot. We don't even use all our data most months, but the bastards at the cell companies have the data packages set up awkwardly so you upgrade. My wife has 10 gigs I believe, and I have a company phone. We have 1 TV show we like (The Vikings) but we just watch that at my parent's house on their sweet TV.

If we didn't have access to my parents WiFi, I would probably just use a coffee shop connection to down load our show.

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO. I just wanted to throw this out there for Mustachians to consider. Internet may be one for bill you can give the boot.

[CmFtns]

I would never ever consider not having internet at home but it depends on how often and what you use it for. I use it for looking stuff up, entertainment, video games, and a million other things and is one of the things I pay for that I get the most value out of.

It is not necessary because almost nothing is absolutely necessary but I don't think that anyone can argue that paying for internet is a bad purchase.

[MilesTeg]

My wife and I have not had internet at the house in the 18 months since we've been married. I saw it as an unnecessary expense at the time. As we approach a debt free financial situation, I question if we should upgrade to it.

We both have data on our phones, but even then we don't use a lot. We don't even use all our data most months, but the bastards at the cell companies have the data packages set up awkwardly so you upgrade. My wife has 10 gigs I believe, and I have a company phone. We have 1 TV show we like (The Vikings) but we just watch that at my parent's house on their sweet TV.

If we didn't have access to my parents WiFi, I would probably just use a coffee shop connection to down load our show.

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO. I just wanted to throw this out there for Mustachians to consider. Internet may be one for bill you can give the boot.

Home internet will pretty much always be cheaper than mobile internet. You're probably (though not definitely) better of ditching the mobile data and using home internet exclusively. In my area you can get home internet (12mbps) for about $40/mo after taxes/etc. A quick look at Republic Wireless and Ting tell me a 10gig plan even from cheap providers is $100/mo.

Would help if you would provide accurate numbers.

Plus you can stop mooching off your parents ;)

[Gronnie]

My wife and I have not had internet at the house in the 18 months since we've been married. I saw it as an unnecessary expense at the time. As we approach a debt free financial situation, I question if we should upgrade to it.

We both have data on our phones, but even then we don't use a lot. We don't even use all our data most months, but the bastards at the cell companies have the data packages set up awkwardly so you upgrade. My wife has 10 gigs I believe, and I have a company phone. We have 1 TV show we like (The Vikings) but we just watch that at my parent's house on their sweet TV.

If we didn't have access to my parents WiFi, I would probably just use a coffee shop connection to down load our show.

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO. I just wanted to throw this out there for Mustachians to consider. Internet may be one for bill you can give the boot.

Home internet will pretty much always be cheaper than mobile internet. You're probably (though not definitely) better of ditching the mobile data and using home internet exclusively. In my area you can get home internet (12mbps) for about $40/mo after taxes/etc. A quick look at Republic Wireless and Ting tell me a 10gig plan even from cheap providers is $100/mo.

Would help if you would provide accurate numbers.

Plus you can stop mooching off your parents ;)

Meh, home internet isn't exactly a finite resource, so not sure you can call it mooching.

However, I don't think I could do without a high speed connection myself. Then again, I am a computer engineer so tech is how I spend most of my time.

[Cowardly Toaster]

My wife and I have not had internet at the house in the 18 months since we've been married. I saw it as an unnecessary expense at the time. As we approach a debt free financial situation, I question if we should upgrade to it.

We both have data on our phones, but even then we don't use a lot. We don't even use all our data most months, but the bastards at the cell companies have the data packages set up awkwardly so you upgrade. My wife has 10 gigs I believe, and I have a company phone. We have 1 TV show we like (The Vikings) but we just watch that at my parent's house on their sweet TV.

If we didn't have access to my parents WiFi, I would probably just use a coffee shop connection to down load our show.

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO. I just wanted to throw this out there for Mustachians to consider. Internet may be one for bill you can give the boot.

Home internet will pretty much always be cheaper than mobile internet. You're probably (though not definitely) better of ditching the mobile data and using home internet exclusively. In my area you can get home internet (12mbps) for about $40/mo after taxes/etc. A quick look at Republic Wireless and Ting tell me a 10gig plan even from cheap providers is $100/mo.

Would help if you would provide accurate numbers.

Plus you can stop mooching off your parents ;)

The basic plan for internet here is $60/mo with 50 gigs. My wife's cell plan with 10 gigs costs $55/mo. Obviously you get better value per gig with the connection but there is no way we'd ever use that all. And maybe I'm just a millennial, but getting rid of the smart phones would be hard. They come in so handy.

I didn't start this topic to imply that anyone was wasting money on internet. It is a great value if you are using it to play games and watch shows or listen to music. Just sharing my experience without wifi as an idea for interested folks.

As far as mooching, my parents like our show too so they watch with us.

[MilesTeg]

My wife and I have not had internet at the house in the 18 months since we've been married. I saw it as an unnecessary expense at the time. As we approach a debt free financial situation, I question if we should upgrade to it.

We both have data on our phones, but even then we don't use a lot. We don't even use all our data most months, but the bastards at the cell companies have the data packages set up awkwardly so you upgrade. My wife has 10 gigs I believe, and I have a company phone. We have 1 TV show we like (The Vikings) but we just watch that at my parent's house on their sweet TV.

If we didn't have access to my parents WiFi, I would probably just use a coffee shop connection to down load our show.

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO. I just wanted to throw this out there for Mustachians to consider. Internet may be one for bill you can give the boot.

Home internet will pretty much always be cheaper than mobile internet. You're probably (though not definitely) better of ditching the mobile data and using home internet exclusively. In my area you can get home internet (12mbps) for about $40/mo after taxes/etc. A quick look at Republic Wireless and Ting tell me a 10gig plan even from cheap providers is $100/mo.

Would help if you would provide accurate numbers.

Plus you can stop mooching off your parents ;)

The basic plan for internet here is $60/mo with 50 gigs. My wife's cell plan with 10 gigs costs $55/mo. Obviously you get better value per gig with the connection but there is no way we'd ever use that all. And maybe I'm just a millennial, but getting rid of the smart phones would be hard. They come in so handy.

I didn't start this topic to imply that anyone was wasting money on internet. It is a great value if you are using it to play games and watch shows or listen to music. Just sharing my experience without wifi as an idea for interested folks.

As far as mooching, my parents like our show too so they watch with us.

Oh, looking at your badge you're living in Alaska. Your numbers make sense there, but don't really reflect what more populous/developed areas have. Your experience is the inverse of most folks through a combination of cheaper home internet rates and more data usage. Generally it's much more cost efficient to keep just the smallest mobile data plan and only use mobile data when absolutely necessary. We typically use a couple hundred GB per month (primarily streaming but also things like system and game software update downloads) which is much cheaper than cable but would be spectacularly expensive with mobile data.

Doubtlessly though there are others like you guys out there with a usage footprint and internet cost structure where mobile only is a viable thing.

[hunt2eat]

I switched from having Tmoble data to home internet and Republic Wireless and saved ~$35 a month for better/faster/reliable internet.  Its been a great decision.

[rosylenm]

I agree.  Home internet was about $67/month when we had it and we only used it at night/on weekends in addition to mobile phones ($88/month).  Now, we are only using mobile for about $78/month for two users and are still able to watch programs on computer (mobile hotspot allotment and larger screen).  It also helps that we supplement with shows/movies via our super awesome public library. 

[frugalfelicia]

I've considered cutting home internet as a way to save more money, but I've managed to justify the expense so far, LOL!

I pay $39/month for internet.

I use it for:
-keeping in touch with family/friends out of town (email/facebook chat instead of expensive long-distance phone calls)
-getting free stuff (I belong to a number of online groups ie Buy Nothing group, freecycle etc)
-managing side hustles (posting/emailing re childcare and tutoring gigs, etc)
-checking real time public transit schedules (saves me time as I'm not waiting at a bus stop for half an hour)
-looking at flyers to plan grocery shopping (ie which stores have the best deals this week)
-putting books and movies on hold at the library (free entertainment)

Probably other money-saving or time-saving things as well that I'm forgetting.

Could I do without it? Sure. But at this point it's worth the expense.

[jtraggie99]

Depends on your needs I guess.  I work for a software company and work from home often.  I save money on gas and wear and tear by cutting down on commuting (although I don't live far from work).  I would not be able to do that without internet access at home.  Also, I have two kids and we stream netflix a lot, although we don't actually pay for it (we share my parents account).  And on top of that my internet bill runs me $48 a month, so all in all it's a necessity for me.

[prognastat]

I use internet for a bunch of things that help me save money:
- It replaces my cable subscription and saved quite a bit of money that way.
- It allows me to have a lower data plan on my mobile plan.
- It allows me to avoid the international calling/messaging costs of keeping in touch with my family abroad by using data based apps with WiFi instead.

These things probably save me about $100-$150 each month.

[alsoknownasDean]

Depends on your data usage.

I did think about going from a $30 prepaid mobile plan to a $50 SIM-only plan (with 10-15GB) and tethering for my data, but then I've got the issue of paying per gigabyte if I go over, and whether my Chromecast audio would continue to work.

I'd like to have cheaper home internet though. My current plan is $60 a month and I get 250GB of data. Currently I use about 40GB per month on my home internet connection. Unfortunately I'm not able to get fixed internet for under about $50 per month (probably requiring a new 24 month contract), and I get a decent service with my current provider, so I'm staying on my current plan until I move later this year.

I might try going mobile only once I move. If it doesn't work out for me, there'll be plenty of internet providers wishing to sell me a service.

[Car Jack]

The cable companies make it very hard to unbundle service.  We have phone (don't need), internet (need) and TV (don't need).  We use a roku and a chimney antenna that pulls in well over 50 stations.  The last go around for contract with Fios, I was determined to lose tv and phone.  Well, because the speeds are very limited for internet only, our choice was slow as a snail, which would absolutely not work for us and speedy mcSpeedy at a whopping $5 savings over the tripple play at an intermediate speed that we could live with.  We went to the cheapest tripple play plan and let out a sigh that they won again.

I'll also note that we are way off the road and so no copper provider would pay for a trench to run their cable.  That was quoted as at least $4k 15 years ago, so today would be more.  I'm not paying $4k just to go to someone like Comcast.

[Goldielocks]

My wife and I have not had internet at the house in the 18 months since we've been married. I saw it as an unnecessary expense at the time. As we approach a debt free financial situation, I question if we should upgrade to it.

We both have data on our phones, but even then we don't use a lot. We don't even use all our data most months, but the bastards at the cell companies have the data packages set up awkwardly so you upgrade. My wife has 10 gigs I believe, and I have a company phone. We have 1 TV show we like (The Vikings) but we just watch that at my parent's house on their sweet TV.

If we didn't have access to my parents WiFi, I would probably just use a coffee shop connection to down load our show.

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO. I just wanted to throw this out there for Mustachians to consider. Internet may be one for bill you can give the boot.

Home internet will pretty much always be cheaper than mobile internet. You're probably (though not definitely) better of ditching the mobile data and using home internet exclusively. In my area you can get home internet (12mbps) for about $40/mo after taxes/etc. A quick look at Republic Wireless and Ting tell me a 10gig plan even from cheap providers is $100/mo.

Would help if you would provide accurate numbers.

Plus you can stop mooching off your parents ;)

The basic plan for internet here is $60/mo with 50 gigs. My wife's cell plan with 10 gigs costs $55/mo. Obviously you get better value per gig with the connection but there is no way we'd ever use that all. And maybe I'm just a millennial, but getting rid of the smart phones would be hard. They come in so handy.

Well, there you have it.   I can't imaging getting rid of WiFi because I would have to get rid of my VoIP phone, netflix, book downloads, possibly side business, etc.  I LOVE my chromebook and TV.  Oh,  my son loves gaming, too.

BUT  I don't have a smart phone.  I don't even have a cell phone.  (Work pays for one, but it is turned off when I am not working, to train them all to leave me alone on my time).

[Gilly]

I haven't had home internet for 4+ years. I find the things I need to do online such as banking can be done at work over my lunch period. I do hit up the library frequently for browsing, games, etc, but I don't find it necessary. I will caveat this with I have no children who would use it for research for school projects.
I find I could spend infinite amount of time on it and its best to curtail it and save.
I regularly assess getting it but I have a cell phone in a city (so excellent coverage) to get in contact with anybody in case of emergency, I have a radio and local TV for weather updates, and I don't work at home. And yes I'm posting this at 10 at night, but its from my parents house where I am staying for the weekend. I'm also a millennial and don't have a smart phone.

[minimalistgamer]

Yes. I "need" home internet. Can't go on without it.

[MsPeacock]

I telework about 6 hours per week - which is worth quite a bit to me from a quality of life perspective. Additionally, it lets me be home when my kids get home from school, which saves me quite a bit in childcare. We are heavy users of the internet for entertainment, and my older son uses the internet for homework/school email/etc. Even the younger has school related stuff online (although it isn't mandatory). Internet would be one of the very last things on my list of things to go (discretionary) if budget demanded.

[RWD]

We use the internet for work, investments, banking, and taxes. It is indispensible for us. My company pays for our internet since I work from home so there isn't even any money for us to save by ditching it at this time.

We also use the internet for entertainment (music, videos, online gaming, etc), news, educational resources, communication, and probably some other things I can't think of right now. And most important of all, it gives me easy access to this forum!

[Tako]

Maybe you would reconsider if price were lower. In France I pay $12 for my 100Mpbs home internet, the normal price is $24 but I've been on a special offer for the last 18 months. Those offers appear every 6 months or so, if you watch it closely you can stay on a discounted plan. I know people paying $70+ for the Gbps plans but I realized 100Mbps is plenty enough for the occasional film or game download and the constantly playing 1080p youtube videos.

I also pay $4 for my non-binding 50GB + unlimited calls and texts plan. It's also a discounted plan ($24 before discount) but It's very easy to just switch provider when a better offer appears. The last time I paid more than $10 on a phone plan was 3 years ago. I tried using it as my main internet connection before subscribing to the home internet but It doesn't suit my bandwidth and speed needs

[acroy]

Badass, you badass you! That is badass, seriously. I suspect you may have found a jewel of wisdom here :)

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO.

[Syonyk]

Given that I work from home (technically, a shed outside I turned into an office), yes.  And, right now, because one of my ISPs was uniquely awful for about a week straight, I have two, plus some cell backups, and am currently paying $200/mo for what an awful lot of you would consider crappy internet.

Which is, in aggregate, about 25Mbit/5Mbit.  In reality, it's less.

I'm working to optimize that towards about $100/mo in fixed internet fees, but pretty much, my job depends on me having reliable internet access.

It's certainly an area to optimize, but the lack of a commute pays for quite a bit of rural internet. :)

[MsPeacock]

The cable companies make it very hard to unbundle service.  We have phone (don't need), internet (need) and TV (don't need).  We use a roku and a chimney antenna that pulls in well over 50 stations.  The last go around for contract with Fios, I was determined to lose tv and phone.  Well, because the speeds are very limited for internet only, our choice was slow as a snail, which would absolutely not work for us and speedy mcSpeedy at a whopping $5 savings over the tripple play at an intermediate speed that we could live with.  We went to the cheapest tripple play plan and let out a sigh that they won again.

I'll also note that we are way off the road and so no copper provider would pay for a trench to run their cable.  That was quoted as at least $4k 15 years ago, so today would be more.  I'm not paying $4k just to go to someone like Comcast.

Verizon/Fios actively misrepresents the price and savings of the bundle. Yes, internet only might be $60 and the triple play $80 (or whatever). However, these are no additional fees or taxes on the internet only. For the bundle you pay a box rental, a whole bunch of taxes, various fess, that will bring you total monthly bill closer to $120. I cut back to Internet only with FIOS and my bill went from $140 to $45 or so.

[RetiredAt63]

I'm rural retired so no work internet, no nearby cafe/library internet.  I have the internet, and no data on my smart phone.  I much prefer looking at a monitor compared to my phone screen.

[nemesis]

I think a home internet is absolutely necessary, but not for the reason you may think.

I have a home security system that is wifi enabled and allows me to keep tabs on it 24/7. I also have home security cameras that are hooked up to wifi and allows me to keep tabs on it and alerts me to activity as well.  I have an internet enabled garage door opener I can open / close remotely with my smartphone.  These are  self-monitoring systems with no monthly fees, so I save a ton of money.

I don't watch TV and hardly watch any Netflix (although I have netflix for free with family account). I use the internet for learning.  There is so much vast content to learn from, it's like the biggest school ever created by man, for free.

I've done DIY repairs on my car and home using information from the web.  I've learned new business skills from the web. I've learned personal skills from the web.  All this is aside from the fact I work from home most of the time, and my company pays for my internet.

Could I live without the web?  Possibly.  Would I want to?  Never!!

So personally I think it's penny wise and pound foolish to get rid of home internet. In fact i pay for the highest speeds possible, whether my work pays for it not.  It's one of the best returns you can get for the cost, provide you don't waste it doing unproductive stuff.

[10dollarsatatime]

I went without internet at home for years.  I found it unnecessary, and if it weren't for the fact that I started a side gig that requires it, I would still consider it so.  Really, the only reason I have it now is that it's free.  (Yay, Google Fiber!)  The downside to having it is that I waste way too much time futzing around on the internet.  I feel like I was more motivated and productive without it.

[bownyboy]

Wow, looking at the prices you guys are paying, it looks like there is at least one thing that is cheaper in the UK and its mobile and broadband prices!

We pay £50 a month for fibre 200Mbps download / 20Mbps upload. That includes unlimited data download and landline with free evening and weekend calls.

In answer to OP's question, I couldn't live without broadband, too much Netflix, Spotify and general usage per month.

[runewell]

I go the opposite direction:
With home internet, is internet on cell phones even necessary?

So I pay $25/mo for my DSL at home and $100/yr for my cell phone + OOMA equals free phone calls after one-time expense = $400/yr

It would be $500/yr if my wife had a cell phone

How much do the rest of you pay for phone and internet each year?

I think that cell phones are generally a massive financial waste, although some people really need them.

[Cowardly Toaster]

$25/month for broadband? That's insane.

[I'm a red panda]

We live in an area without internet choice, and with crazy taxes on it- so we spend about $65 a month on it.
However, work expects I'm able to connect from home- so it is a necessity.

We of course mostly use it for entertainment.

I hope we eventually have plan options; but for now- it's a must spend, so we deal with it.

[robartsd]

If you have spendypants cell phone data plans, there is no need for home internet. Some people budget their internet use on wireless data plans - I've been in that camp. First time was with NetZero's 5 GB/mo plan for a home gateway on WiMax. When WiMax shut down, we planned to use a smartphone in hotspot mode (partly because we planned to move within 1 year).

Our smartphone internet strategy failed (may simply have been a cheap device failure) now we have fiber from Consolidated Communications for $25/month (5 mbps - which is enough). While $25/month is reasonable for internet, my guess is that it is still a good markup over actual costs - at least after the first year pays for the installation (when Google Fiber offered this level of service it was $300 to install then free for seven years). The "regular" price for this service is closer to $65/month, but I'll cancel if they don't extend a lower rate after I complete the first year (either get an intro rate with a different provider or have my wife sign up with CCI as a "new" customer). It certainly is nice to have fast internet on a use as much as you want plan, and by moving more of phone usage to VOIP we're able to reduce to minimal MVNO plans saving about $20/month.

[Mr Chin Stubble]

Is a home internet connection even necessary?

Yes. I've got roku and without that I'd be stuck watching bs since I have no cable. I hardly watch tv and still could not fathom being stuck watching Dancing with Stars, American Idol etc.

[redbird]

Yes. I "need" home internet. Can't go on without it.

Agreed. I see internet has having become like a utility. Heck - I find it more important than phone service (to include my cell phone).

[frugalkristen]

It's a need for me.  I do a lot of online earning sites and it's my entertainment.  I have Fios and decided to get rid of my basic cable (a very entry level plan) but ended up keeping the cable and paying less than having internet alone.  I pay $50.58 for my bundle (that's my complete bill) but it would have been $63 to drop cable!  I don't understand all of this but I took the least expensive plan!

[Exflyboy]

I think for me its the issue of security. I.e I can't see how one cannot access financial accounts without internet of some sort.

If I am going to poke around accounts that contain my entire networth I would want exclusive access to my router, i.e not use a public internet connection or share a WIFI signal with someone else.

Call me paranoid buut..

[BudgetSlasher]

In our house it is, but we do not have cable TV or landline service.

It is entertainment (think Amazon Prime/Hulu/Netflix and so on)

It is communication (think email/Skype/Google Voice/and of course email)

It is shopping (think Amazon/Repair Clinic/AJMadison/ and so on)

It is a quick and easy way to deal with finance (think banking/investing/paying credit cards/or anything else I wouldn't want going over a "borrowed" connection or a monitored work connection). 

It is research, I cannot tell you the number of project a quick google/youtube has saved.
 
Basically, for us it replace more services than it costs (at least until they bill by the GB), it is not limited like data on a cell plan, and it is more secure than using a neighbors network or work connect (assuming you are somewhat smart with your security settings).

[Just Joe]

We as a family burn up the internet.

We'd each need a smart phone if we did away with the landline and we'd each need a sizeable data package if we relied on smart phones for internet access.

We have friends who did away with their landline and had to buy four smart phones and data for that reason. Kids can't stay home without access to a phone.

[ElleFiji]

When I was working for a different company I went without home internet for about 2 years and was very happy. I had to sign up again when I went back to school, and now need it for business purposes. And since I have it, I use and enjoy it for a variety of things.

I definitely think that like most expenses each family needs to examine their means and needs and can consider cutting the cord.

[SirSavesaLot]

That's cool that you're able to do without and rely on cell only.  For me, home broadband is the linchpin that makes lots of other stuff easier and cheaper.  But I live in an area with competition and have managed to get 50 Mbps for $45/mo.  I complement that with a Republic Wireless phone that usually runs $15-$20/month.  (Republic Refund:  great plan)

I think the main thing is to go bare bones on either in-house data or cell data.  Having both is usually unnecessary.

[TheAnonOne]

Eh, I play a decent amount of video games online and that requires a low ping. So for now, I have both cell and landline.

[mm1970]

My wife and I have not had internet at the house in the 18 months since we've been married. I saw it as an unnecessary expense at the time. As we approach a debt free financial situation, I question if we should upgrade to it.

We both have data on our phones, but even then we don't use a lot. We don't even use all our data most months, but the bastards at the cell companies have the data packages set up awkwardly so you upgrade. My wife has 10 gigs I believe, and I have a company phone. We have 1 TV show we like (The Vikings) but we just watch that at my parent's house on their sweet TV.

If we didn't have access to my parents WiFi, I would probably just use a coffee shop connection to down load our show.

So our quality of life hasn't suffered from not having massive amounts of bandwidth. A lot internet use is just time wasting anyways, IMO. I just wanted to throw this out there for Mustachians to consider. Internet may be one for bill you can give the boot.

Home internet will pretty much always be cheaper than mobile internet. You're probably (though not definitely) better of ditching the mobile data and using home internet exclusively. In my area you can get home internet (12mbps) for about $40/mo after taxes/etc. A quick look at Republic Wireless and Ting tell me a 10gig plan even from cheap providers is $100/mo.

Would help if you would provide accurate numbers.

Plus you can stop mooching off your parents ;)

The basic plan for internet here is $60/mo with 50 gigs. My wife's cell plan with 10 gigs costs $55/mo. Obviously you get better value per gig with the connection but there is no way we'd ever use that all. And maybe I'm just a millennial, but getting rid of the smart phones would be hard. They come in so handy.

I didn't start this topic to imply that anyone was wasting money on internet. It is a great value if you are using it to play games and watch shows or listen to music. Just sharing my experience without wifi as an idea for interested folks.

As far as mooching, my parents like our show too so they watch with us.

Oh, looking at your badge you're living in Alaska. Your numbers make sense there, but don't really reflect what more populous/developed areas have. Your experience is the inverse of most folks through a combination of cheaper home internet rates and more data usage. Generally it's much more cost efficient to keep just the smallest mobile data plan and only use mobile data when absolutely necessary. We typically use a couple hundred GB per month (primarily streaming but also things like system and game software update downloads) which is much cheaper than cable but would be spectacularly expensive with mobile data.

Doubtlessly though there are others like you guys out there with a usage footprint and internet cost structure where mobile only is a viable thing.

I dunno, I live in a small city in So Cal, and unfortunately, our cable company has a monopoly.  Basic internet is $75 a month and keeps going up.  It REALLY sucks.

Both my spouse and I work from home occasionally (especially on school holidays or when the kids are sick).  So I just pay it but hate it.

[ChpBstrd]

My setup
Home: Comcast 25mbs @ $50/mo
Cell: 2x Cricket 2GB data plans @ $70/mo (goes to 3G speeds after 2GB each phone)

I could drop the $600/yr home line if I could get my cell phone to tether to my laptop, which I use to actually get stuff done (bills, taxes, researching questions, nonprofit work, etc.). However, I have tried every trick in the book to jailbreak my Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime and nothing works. Tethering is disabled unless I jailbreak, I understand.

The concept is intriguing though. I bet it would save a ton in bullshit Amazon shopping.

[Goldielocks]

I do find this topic question ironic.... as I am reading it on home internet, and the only other way I could possibly access MMM is by going to the library, which is a 1 mile walk away.

It is as if the question is actually...   "Is MMM even necessary?"

[Goldielocks]

I do find this topic question ironic.... as I am reading it on home internet, and the only other way I could possibly access MMM is by going to the library, which is a 1 mile walk away.

It is as if the question is actually...   "Is MMM even necessary?"

On my phone using data. I o my turn it on for a second when I click on a page to read  (or respond) and turn it off while reading. Can read the entire forum and just use a very small amount of data that way.

Yeah, but I would need to buy a phone, other than the VOIP service connected to my home internet.....

[boarder42]

My internet is free for the next 6 years. One time sign up fee of 300 dollars. Then free internet for 7 years. Thanks Google fiber

[robartsd]

My internet is free for the next 6 years. One time sign up fee of 300 dollars. Then free internet for 7 years. Thanks Google Fiber

Quite lucky for you. I certainly would have wanted in on that opportunity. That plan is no longer available to new customers and Google Fiber looks like it has halted expansion to new cities.

[Goldielocks]

I do find this topic question ironic.... as I am reading it on home internet, and the only other way I could possibly access MMM is by going to the library, which is a 1 mile walk away.

It is as if the question is actually...   "Is MMM even necessary?"

On my phone using data. I o my turn it on for a second when I click on a page to read  (or respond) and turn it off while reading. Can read the entire forum and just use a very small amount of data that way.

Yeah, but I would need to buy a phone, other than the VOIP service connected to my home internet.....

I'm just using a cheap pay as you go Tracfone that cost about $75/year and includes 4G phone and a year of service and 1350 minutes of talk, text and data each which all roll over. Just add extra data as needed for $10/1GB - which lasts me a couple of months. Not good for heavy internet users but enough for basic web browsing.

I did a lot of research.  The best plan here is about $45 per month for 1GB of data, may not reach well to my home (slow), and you still have to buy your own phone.....

[bludreamin]

For my current life situation, yes home internet is vital. It allows me flexibility of working from home, increases my knowledge whenever I want, and it entertains me (Amazon prime videos & music).  Granted I have a pretty low cost setup - lowest internet speed available (TWC) at $15/month (don't know speed but never noticed issues even when streaming video and surfing the web). For cell I use Google Project Fi and unless I'm traveling the data is off so my bill is $25/month.  With this set up my communications and home entertainment costs are about $45/month (including Amazon prime, which I split with my parents since they use the 2day shipping and I use the media services).  I'm sure I could get lower switching my mobile service but this set up works for me right now.

[runewell]

My internet is free for the next 6 years. One time sign up fee of 300 dollars. Then free internet for 7 years. Thanks Google fiber

So ... $3.57/mo.

That's nearly free.

[boarder42]

My internet is free for the next 6 years. One time sign up fee of 300 dollars. Then free internet for 7 years. Thanks Google fiber

So ... $3.57/mo.

That's nearly free.

correct.  3.57 a month if you extrapolate it.  but its a one time sunk cost thats over now. 

[Cowardly Toaster]

If you need home internet for work, obviously it is necessary. If access to electronic media is top priority, then sure.

But my thinking is that since my wife and I have smart phones which I wouldn't want to part with because having internet in your pocket is so handy, why would we need much else? This only works if your data use is low.