Author Topic: Cost effective broadband service at home  (Read 2702 times)

FrugalSaver

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Cost effective broadband service at home
« on: July 24, 2016, 05:21:15 PM »
My parents are retired and are trying to save wherever they can and as such have decided to scrimp on their home internet connection speed.

When we come visit, everyone is trying to get on the wifi (even if it's just 1 additional person) and it's like being on a dialup connection.

They claim the next step up for their service is around $30 more per month.

What resources can ya'll point me to to determine if there's a cost effective way to speed them up a bit while not breaking the bank?

(other than me bringing my own wifi device)

Davids

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Re: Cost effective broadband service at home
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2016, 12:56:14 PM »
When you visit your parents Is it just a day trip for a few hours or if it for a few days or longer. If it is a few hours then suck it up with no or slow Wi-Fi. If it is a few days and you must have it then offer to pay your parents the additional $30/mo to upgrade. Sorry to be cynical but they are saving money and it seems the issue is more on your end than theirs.

Miss Piggy

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Re: Cost effective broadband service at home
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2016, 01:15:13 PM »
When you visit your parents Is it just a day trip for a few hours or if it for a few days or longer. If it is a few hours then suck it up with no or slow Wi-Fi. If it is a few days and you must have it then offer to pay your parents the additional $30/mo to upgrade. Sorry to be cynical but they are saving money and it seems the issue is more on your end than theirs.

+1

If what they currently have works fine for them, I think it's unfair to ask them to provide anything more. If you really need faster internet for a portion of your visits, can you go to a nearby Starbucks or Panera for the morning or afternoon?

ETA: when I visit my in-laws, not only do they not have wifi (the horrors!!!), but there's also no cellular coverage at their house. I mean, I can get one bar if I stand on my head while holding my phone between the toes on my left foot if they're wrapped in foil, but for all intents and purposes, there's really no coverage. We just detach from the busy world and enjoy the visit.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2016, 01:19:16 PM by Miss Piggy »

johnny847

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Re: Cost effective broadband service at home
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2016, 01:16:54 PM »
When you visit your parents Is it just a day trip for a few hours or if it for a few days or longer. If it is a few hours then suck it up with no or slow Wi-Fi. If it is a few days and you must have it then offer to pay your parents the additional $30/mo to upgrade. Sorry to be cynical but they are saving money and it seems the issue is more on your end than theirs.

+1

If what they currently have works fine for them, I think it's unfair to ask them to provide anything more. If you really need faster internet for a portion of your visits, can you go to a nearby Starbucks or Panera for the morning or afternoon?

+2. Unless we're talking about a lot of regular visits or something, this really isn't up to you. It's up to your parents.

FrugalSaver

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Re: Cost effective broadband service at home
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2016, 08:32:10 PM »
I think i worded the question wrong.  Agree with the sentiments.  I'm looking for other cost effective options to possibly scale up their internet service. 

Put aside the morality of the ask for now.  If my mission is to simply get the most bandwidth for the least amount, are there options that have been discussed on here that someone could point me to?

Thanks for the help and suggestions thus far!

Digital Dogma

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Re: Cost effective broadband service at home
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2016, 08:30:08 AM »
Are you sure its their cable service and not their old modem/router? If they haven't replaced any of that hardware in the last decade or so you can probably assume a new router/modem will speed things up a bit.