| Forgot to mention; I want only internet, no TV. Can't see paying for TV I | never watch. | | Cable I am aware of: | | Time Warner | Comcast | ATT (not sure if that is cable) | Cablevision (I think) |
You can't win. :)
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Cable and phone companies have had consistently bad ratings for service. Service is overhead for them and they're mostly in monopoly markets. While most people have a choice between providers, the choice is limited and the providers don't seem to vary much. I can get landline phone from RCN or Verizon. They both seem to be about the same. We have RCN for cable Internet. (TV via antenna.) I get constant ads from Verizon for FIOS but they won't even tell us what the *actual* price is after the introductory sale, much less what the cost of all the extra fees is. RCN has been OK, but they've also jacked up the price of phone in big jumps. What can I do? Threaten to move to Verizon? Not likely! I actually called the state attorney general's office about these sudden price increases out of nowhere and was told it's not illegal. They can do what they like because *technically* there's competition.
It seems to be the same with cellphones. The small number of carriers try to charge as much as possible while staying similar to each other. I went around to the 4 main carriers a year or two ago, to see about what my options were. Not one could tell me what my actual monthly bill would be after fees and taxes, nor did any have a copy of the actual contract. (I finally got a Tracphone for $10, since I don't really use it very much. I now pay $20 every 3 months for 120 minutes.)
That seems to be the biggest obstacle in comparing services, whether phone, cable or cellphone: There seems to be no legal requirement that these companies actually tell you what it is you're buying. My ladyfriend just got a T-Mobile phone that she paid for upfront. They told her the most basic deal was $60/month, with free texting and data. She had to buy all of that even though she doesn't generally use data and never uses texting. The clerk said the total bill would end up being $65-66/month. There was no printed information anywhere in the rock-music infested T-Mobile store, so my friend had to take the clerk's word on what was available and how much it costs. The first bill came. It was $77.... And T-Mobile seems to have a relatively good reputation.