Who is you internet provider?

[Zydebearsmom]

I am looking to move from at&t but I do not know where t o start. Who is your internet provider and how much do you pay? I received a mailer from Clear but don't know much about them any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[ssawka]

Unfortunately your choices are limited to what is available in your area. If you want broadband, it will most likely be either your cable company or your phone company. Once you know what is available then you must decide based on those few choices.

 

[pipervali]

Yeah, unfortunately I'm stuck between Verizon DSL and Comcast. Since Comcast bleeds me dry for my cable alone, and I hate the idea of them having a monopoly as it is, I've stuck with Verizon for right now.

 

[DawnM]

Time Warner Cable is my ONLY option!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Have you tried Googling "Internet Service Providers in ______"?

You know, Comcast may be the only cable option in your location, but that's an issue you need to address with your city or town cable commission. NO cable company is or has a monopoly, it just depends on which one or ones your location allows in.

Aside from that, though, Comcast isn't "bleeding me dry". I pay $69.13 for something like 60 channels. That's $2.30 per day, or less than $.10 per hour.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Mine goes through a "local" cable company, its only about $25 a month for internet ONLY. It is surprising they don't make customers bundle packages, but thankfully you can pick the services you want.

 

[Jay2009]

I recently moved to an area where we had a choice between comcast and verizon (at my old address comcast was the only service available) I chose Verizon as they had the better deal and for signing up I get a $250 prepaid visa gift card that I will be taking with me to disney!

 

[cglaura]

I have the Comcast Performance High Speed tier.

it is $49/month. I own my own modem. Check into that. You don't need to rent one unless you are using the VOIP as well (phone). Mine was $80 but that was 10 years ago.

This tier is plenty fast for me. I don't game, but we do stream Netflix, etc. online and through Roku. Loads fast and no buffering except the minimal 30 seconds or so at the first load when start/click play.

I am lucky that my local Comcast customer service is great. They fix any issues quickly and show up on time.

 

[Sadie22]

We had a lot of issues with our Comcast Internet service going off and on multiple times a day, although the TV service was fine. Our landline telephone wires also would acquire static during rainstorms and were chewed by squrrels. When Verizon FIOS became available, we went with a triple package with Internet, TV, and telephone. We have been very happy with it. No service outages. Since I work at home and depend on the Internet being available, this was super important. Each time we have renewed the contract, we have been able to maintain the price. We just got a $250 gift card when we renewed as well keeping the same monthly cost.

 

[natenapril]

We have A T and T and I dislike them immensely I cannot wait to get rid of them

 

[pipervali]

Have you tried Googling "Internet Service Providers in ______"?

You know, Comcast may be the only cable option in your location, but that's an issue you need to address with your city or town cable commission. NO cable company is or has a monopoly, it just depends on which one or ones your location allows in.

Aside from that, though, Comcast isn't "bleeding me dry". I pay $69.13 for something like 60 channels. That's $2.30 per day, or less than $.10 per hour.

I pay over $100 a month, for dvr and HD and I forget how many channels. And when we had an outage last fall, for 4 days, their customer service was pathetic and reimbursed me $3. I could go to Dish or DirectTV, which wouldn't be much cheaper, and considering the geography of my home, I'd have spotty reception, as told to me by an actual representative of Dish. So yeah, I consider them a monopoly. Simply because they're a large company that is pretty much the only good cable option, they know it, and charge a ridiculous price for service. There's absolutely no reason I should be incurring rate hikes every six months, not in this economy.

I've had Verizon for a while for my DSL, I don't entirely dislike them as a provider, which is pretty much the only thing I can hope for nowadays it seems. I think every company probably has their pros and cons.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay, so again, go talk to your city's or town's Cable Commission (or Board, or Committee, or Person in Charge of...). It's up to them which company provides (or which companies provide) cable service in your city or town. It's not up to the cable companies. They don't get exclusive "rights". Heck, investigate other cable companies on your own if Comcast is that bad.

You're paying over $100? So even at $4 per day, if your paying that much, your paying what, $.17 per hour for tv, including the HD and the DVR? You've almost definitely got more channels than I do, but even using just the 60 I have - you'd be paying two one-thousandths of a penny per channel per hour. How is that a robbing you blind?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Each time we have renewed the contract, we have been able to maintain the price. We just got a $250 gift card when we renewed as well keeping the same monthly cost.

I don't begrudge you this at all - but as a Verizon stockholder, I do resent them extending this typically new-customer offer to existing customers.

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't do 'bundles'....too much hassle- I use straight AT&T 'net only,nothing else- costs 24.95 per month- it was the cheapest I could get round here

 

[ssawka]

I don't begrudge you this at all - but as a Verizon stockholder, I do resent them extending this typically new-customer offer to existing customers.

And I resent them offering a better price to a new customer than to a loyal customer.

 

[Sadie22]

I don't begrudge you this at all - but as a Verizon stockholder, I do resent them extending this typically new-customer offer to existing customers.

Well, I'm sorry, but this was automatically offered when we renewed over the Internet. We received a letter stating we would receive a $120 card if we called to renew. If we had not signed up for a new contract, our month-to-month price would have been higher. This was not any special offer. It's an advertising gimmick. They keep the prices high, offer discounts, and make people thnk they're getting more value for their money.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Oh, no! I'm not upset that you got the gift card, Sadie22! I'm upset that Verizon gave it to you! That's money they could have paid to stockholders instead. Rather than bribe - because that's what it is - customers to stay with their package, they should just offer really great packages... and give the benefits (dividends instead of gift cards ) to people who've invested money with them both recently and since WAY back when all they were was a phone company.

But as for keeping the prices high? Other than the low-ball introductory offers, I don't see that their prices are all that different from the cable companies. Try the same thing I did on the first page. Divide your services cost by 30 or 31, however many days you get billed at a time. Divide that by how many services you have. Then if you want even better value, divide that number by 24 (to see how little you're paying per hour for TV) or by the number of channels you get (to see how little you're paying per station).