My CenturyLink bill including DSL went up another $20 to $106 - DSL now $80. Called CL for possible reduction but people incompetent. I'll have to go back to dial-up. Don't watch TV so no cable.
Can anyone think of any options? Later will Google for local non-cable broadband but don't have much hope.
TIA
It may depend on the area, but you may not need the TV service part of cable to get cable internet. I did have cable TV and internet,but a few months ago I went to Direct TV and just kept the internet of cable.
This is for Time Warner internet by cable and is $ 57 per year. I did by my own modem for about $ 50 to advoid their modem monthly charge. They have several rates depending on the speed. At $ 57 I am on the 50 meg down and 6 meg up. It should be 15 down and 1 up , butg lately they upgraded it at no charge. Probably to compete with a fiber network going in around the area.
I think their very basic plan is about $ 15 a month.
According to their web page...
you should be able to get phone + INet for no more than $65. Plus the inevitable taxes, fees, etc. In my case (Verizon) phone + 6 MB Inet is about $50, fees/etc add another 40%.
The whole problem with ALL these goniffs is their damned bundles. It was like pulling hen's teeth to get a price for just a basic phone (about $20); once I had that, I could talk to them about Inet.
That's how it works here in NJ with Cablevision. Who knows what's available where the OP is located.... The options are limited by what's locally available.
Oren wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
How do I reach that rep? Do you know? If not, will try Googling.
Cancel your service, they will call you.
We have AT&T's u-verse 15 mbps ($52) and unlimited land line phone service ($45) a month, but if you're way out in the boonies that option won't help much
"dadiOH" wrote in news:mvm08m$2tm$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
Evidently what they advertise and what you can actually buy are two different things.
TWC [time warner cable] here
$15 a month, and i'm very happy [and i use a router also; 2 computers]
although it may not be fast[?] enough for some
marc
We dumped CenturyLink (ne Qwest) after a year. They wanted to increase the $20/month service to something like $56.
Dumping them was VERY painful! It eventually took 7 phone calls (and many hours on the phone). Along the way, they managed to disconnect our land line service (which required a call to get REconnected), etc.
Want NEW service? Go to their web page and click, click, click. Want to DISCONTINUE service? Ah, now you have to wait for a dweeb to mishandle your VERBAL order.
Thankfully, in our case, we kept meticulous notes as to who we talked with, times, dates, etc.
CATV has a *worse* reputation, here. Quick to take your money but dog slow to handle problems with service, outages, etc. Friends have nothing but bad things to say about them.
[This from second-hand accounts; we've never had cable, here, and see no reason to head down that road]We ended up with a local provider and a point-to-point microwave link (rooftop dish pointed at a location in the foothills). After a few years, the only problem came when a tree in the line-of-sight about half a mile from here grew *into* the radio path. They sent out a guy who relocated the antenna the next morning...
IMO, CL is stupid for *not* offering a dirt cheap $20/month service "no strings attached". Sooner or later, they'll lose all their POTS subscribers and all of that buried copper/fiber will sit WASTED!
Whenever I have to call AT&T, which thankfully is rarely, I also keep meticulous notes about the problem, time I called, who I spoke with, etc. It saves a lot of time trying to remember what they said, I said, what was promised and on and on.
We do it as a matter of course for all our phone contacts. It was a habit that I formed from dealing with clients on the phone (who invariably have "selective memory" regarding what was said and/or agreed upon).
I much prefer email contact, now, as it forces both sides to "document" what they are saying. :>
Lotsa areas are dropping POTS jes so they CAN abandon all that "buried copper/fiber" in lieu of cellphones.
nb
Sure. But, now you've got an asset that you've valued at $0 -- the same as your CELLPHONE competitors! I.e., you've traded away the liability *and* the asset!
(there's no other "game in town" for landlines; but LOTS of them for cell phones!)
Sure and the fact that pots customers have been sharply dropping for 15 years now on their own has nothing to do with it, right?
How the fsck would I know what has what to do with it? Jes stating what I've heard. If you wanna start an row, find a chump.
nb
I live in an area served by Comcast and AT&T.
AT&T put in wimpy Uverse crap and the max I can get from them is 6Mb down and less than 1Mb up.
For a mere $10 more from Comcast, I can get 120Mb down and 24Mb up.
Why would anyone stay with AT&T? No wonder AT&T is swirling the bowl.
You have to call the number on the junkmail they send you or the number of the intermediary you found online. The customer support people don't have the same freedom as the other entry points. I accosted the installer for my neighbor's system and got the phone number for the guy in charge of FIOS for the city. His staff has options for better deals and cash incentives than the normal customer support channels.
EXACTLY where you're located is critical. The junction boxes for cable and fiber are in my front yard. I have 30Mb unlimited fiber for $30/month. Could get the same in cable for $35/month. Phone is google voice and an OBI100 interface that cost me $40. TV is "antenna TV". Better pix than cable for network TV.
My emergency flip-fone is with PagePlus on the verizon network. $30/year Also have a MagicJack phone interface that costs $35 a year. Don't need all that, but this whole phone/data/tv business is in continuous flux. I keep it...just in case.
The way this is set up, it avoids almost all of the taxes and fees. I expect that will change eventually. MagicJack is already starting to add about $5/year in fees, although I think it's just obfuscating a rate increase.
I have 1GB/month 6Mb internet for free with FreedomPop wireless. It's WiMax, so it will be gone on Nov 6. They have a replacement service with 4G LTE. The 500MB free part is still free, but if you need more, it's much more expensive than WiMax. You have to have good Sprint coverage to make it work. Lots of complaints about their cheap hotspots to access it. Keep an eye on 'em. Chatter suggests that there may be more options by the end of the year. If you go with them, tread carefully. They are masters of hidden "services" that you have to opt out of.
I have a friend who uses this.
There's another option for Xfinity. Their home installations have an additional hotspot channel. Maybe you could offer a neighbor some monthly cost sharing and get access to their hotspot channel.
Sounds like you don't have these options in your location.
And there's another fly in the ointment... If you plan to use windows 10, be prepared for a huge increase in internet data requirements. I've been playing with 4 windows 10 systems. I don't watch videos, so my internet needs are modest. I went from ~2.5GB/month to 30GB/month when I started messing with win10. This should throttle back when win10 settles down... I hope...It's already down to ~20GB/month.
And what speed of Inet(DL/UL speed) Up here in Calgary AB we pay ~200CAD for full featured cable TV, two phones with free NA calls, Inet with
50Mbps DL/5 Mbps UL. Quite expensive. Very reliable service overall.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.