quick advice needed

[fansince62]

I don't have time to research this. present problem: Internet connectivity and basic cable TV package is costing me a whopping $170/mo through Cox. Without any real service change over the years...the price has just steadily marched up. I want to dump them and find something cheaper. Netflix was suggested but then I lose football and golf channel.

any recommendations?

 

[Lanky Livingston]

$170 a month for internet and basic cable? Holy moly...do you have other options? Just call another company and tell them you're interested in switching, and they'll give you a better deal than that.

 

[Ax]

I would think threatening to leave them would get them to pony up a better deal. That's the way it is with Comcast.

Where I have an HD premimum package, with two boxes, and high speed internet (20mb+ download speed) for less than that. Still high, but I don't do dish. And FIOS isn't available yet.

 

[fansince62]

$170 a month for internet and basic cable? Holy moly...do you have other options? Just call another company and tell them you're interested in switching, and they'll give you a better deal than that.

thought of that. you're right. just want to be sure I don't get caught by downstream escalators.

 

[Elephant]

That's what I pay for FIOS and the internet connection alone is worth it. But for goodness sake don't tell them I said that! LOL! I do have the best package you can possibly get...all channels available with the fastest internet speed available.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

thought of that. you're right. just want to be sure I don't get caught by downstream escalators.

You have to watch out for the price hike 6 months later, but at that point you just play the game again. Call up and say your prices are about to jump and you'd like to cancel. Chances are they'll extend your current deal. If not, you go back to Comcast.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Here is what you do.

Look around for some competitors who are offering one or two year deals at lower costs. Have that in front of you when the call is placed to your provider.

Tell them that you are considering one of those offers and leaving your current situation. They may offer you a three month deal, but hold out for something for far longer and certainly cheaper. Have them come close to matching that competitive deal.

Bottom line, they don't want to lose your business and will give you a much cheaper cost and with all of the same services. I'm pretty sure it will work.

Just tell them that it is all but a done deal with their competitor and then... your provider will move quickly to get you that better deal.

Give it a try. Oh, it works like a charm.

 

[tshile]

First, without knowing where you live it's really hard to give you recommendations. Internet service is completely dependent on where you live (unfortunately).

Second, 'bundling' is typically more expensive in the long run with little to no incentive. Local news channels will often do an 'investigative report' where they expose this. It also gives you little flexibility, and it puts all your eggs in one basket (if you will).

So, here's my recommendation....

Internet:
Check out mobil hotspots from verizon and at&t. with 4g LTE technology you can get really good speeds for cheap. This is obviously dependent on where you live (coverage reason), and the viability of this is going to depend on your internet usage (these have data caps). You should be able to get a decent deal for 40$/month or less.

Look at DSL - This is only going to be available for you if you're in a populated area since it's restricted by distance from the phone company. You should be able to get decent DSL for 20-30$/month. I can get verizon for 25$/month, and I'm in a small town.

Cable - Do not be pushed into higher packages with 'power boost' and all that garbage. At the end of the day, the speeds you get are dependent on two things:
1) the max speed your provider allows
2) the max speed the content provider allows.
Having 18 Mb/s download speed does **** all for you if the person you're downloading from only allows for a max speed for 1 Mb/s.

What i'm saying is that paying 60$ a month to go from 4 mb/s to 10mb/s is a waste of money.

There are certainly content providers who provide big speeds, but those are the big boys... Google (Youtube), Microsoft, Apple, etc. And even then they're not going to let you hit them up for 18 Mb/s any time soon...


TV:
The best thing to do is find the place that has the best deal on the channels you watch. This is completely subjective... For instance, Dish offers the best deal for my boss because of the channels he watches, whereas directv offers me the best deal.

You need to figure out what you can't live with out channel wise, what you can do away with, and what you'd like if it was part of the package but aren't deal breakers.

Then check out the cost of packages.

I get HBO, Showtime, and the middle tier package with directv (so i get all the nature channels, versus, MASN, and comcast sports net - which fits my local sports team channels and awesome nature stuff) and I pay 90$/month.

I was paying 70$/month, but that was promotional for singing up.

When i switch back to 25$/month DSL (because comcast is an awful awful company and i'm sick of them) i'll have a total bill of 115$/month for internet and TV, and thats not a basic package in fact it has two premium packages tacked on.


Let me know if you have any other questions

 

[Neophyte]

I'm with Travis. I got away from the bundle. I have my TV through Directv and my internet through AT&T while my home phone is VoIP. I pay less for all 3 per month than you do for two of those things and I am footing the bill for NFL Sunday Ticket so I can see the Skins down here in the land of the infidel.

 

[tshile]

Yeah the bundling allows them to send convoluted bills with charges hidden that add up quick.

I also have the benefit of not needing a land line. There are certainly different perspectives on the necessity of a land line though.

 

[fansince62]

Here is what you do.

Look around for some competitors who are offering one or two year deals at lower costs. Have that in front of you when the call is placed to your provider.

Tell them that you are considering one of those offers and leaving your current situation. They may offer you a three month deal, but hold out for something for far longer and certainly cheaper. Have them come close to matching that competitive deal.

Bottom line, they don't want to lose your business and will give you a much cheaper cost and with all of the same services. I'm pretty sure it will work.

Just tell them that it is all but a done deal with their competitor and then... your provider will move quickly to get you that better deal.

Give it a try. Oh, it works like a charm.

got it.....same area as you so I'll give it some play.

 

[fansince62]

thanks all.....some good tactical ideas!