Posted on 01/13/2017 3:13:52 PM PST by Weeble
I've seen several posts here about cable cutting and thought I'd chime in and rant. I have been considering cutting the cable and am salivating over switching to Sling or PlayStation Vue. I already have Kodi. Content isn't the problem, internet is the problem (though my Dish bill has skyrocket over the years). My DSL from CenturyLink has increased 75% over the past few years. I have the fastest speed they offer in my area, a blistering 5 mbps, though I am paying for their 12 mbps service, which isn't available because they haven't laid the fiber optic in my area. They offered me a 2nd DSL line for at a discount for 12 months, then regular price thereafter. So, they want me to pay double for 5 mbps, but at least I could have 2 devices buffering at once. We get lots of buffering delays on Kodi and Netflix and sometime our internet is slower than dial up. My only other option is Comcast (Xfinity - they changed their name because their reputation is so bad) which would be double what CenturyLink charges now, but I'd get 25 mbps. But, I really don't want to be at Comcast's mercy because my past experience with them is that they will raise rates significantly on a regular basis. Not that CenturyLink is much better. Let's run 21st century tech through a 1950s copper phone network. You would think that in order to justify the territorial monopoly they have been granted, they would at least have to provide a decent network before extorting their customers. That's what happens when you have government dealing favors to corporations in the People's Republic of Minnesota. I have heard that the satellite internet options are even worse. Hard to justify cable cutting when your internet options are so sucky. Maybe I can join the Hollywood elites and move to Canada. I hear their internet is pretty good.
Xfinity would be about $80/mo for 25 mbps for me. We have 5 cell phones through Cricket, total $100/mo. Unlimited calls, text, 4g, only 2 gb per phone but with wifi everywhere, we rarely use the 10 gb.
No, I’m not, lol. I’m married to Jim.
I have a young adult and 2 teenagers. TV isnt the problem. We need better internet options. But, thanks for the suggestion.
With a moniker like that, I’m amazed you don’t have TMC.
I checked out PSVUE but seemed too expensive and most of the channels were not of interest just like cable. But on the ROKU we added XTV which provides several channels we do watch and for free.
South Korea is moving to 1 gigibit internet ... US$20/month.
Comcast Business is Internet only. No STBs.
WOTA?
Why is everyone so intent upon streaming anyway?
Downloading is the answer to my DSL limits and I have more media than I have time to watch.
The price of high speed is only going 1 way - down. Go comcast and grit teeth for a while. You’ll thank me later.
Any microwave wireless ISP’s in your area? Usually more expensive than VDSL or cable, but may be worth it for you.
http://broadbandnow.com/Fixed-Wireless
We have Verizon Wireless and hate it. Horrible customer service, defective equipment, and a high price to boot.
We just tried to replace them recently.
We were promised by Frontier, that a 3 way bundle with them including internet would be 74 dollars.
I called to check up on that rate several days after the promise, and nope, it was going to really be $130.
I called it off of course.
We are still looking to replace Verizon Wireless.
I sympathize. The Internet is the sticking point in a lot of cases. Here in our part of MA, the only provider with adequate Internet performance is Charter cable. My wife needs it for telecommuting, and bundling it with the most basic cable package makes it almost affordable. But I would ditch cable in a heartbeat if I could get Internet service another way. Probably 85% of our viewing comes from Netflix streaming. The broadcast portion is mostly NFL or NCAA Div. 1 basketball. and little else. Sooner or later the market is going to have to respond... everyone I know hates their cable company!
TV I can go without, there are plenty of content options. Pretty hard to go without internet. Especially with college and high school students in the house.
My sister is near Minneapolis and Comcast charges $65 a month for internet only. She spent many an hour complaining to them to fix her connection. They finally replace some wire from the telephone poll to the house and that seems to have fixed the problem. I pay $41.95 for 70mb download speed from Time Warner here in the San Fernando valley by Los Angeles.
I do not have cable tv anymore but do have Sling TV for $25 which has the channels I had with cable and several more added. I use a over the air tv antenna to get the free channels. Check http://www.tvguide.com then What’s On> TV Listings to see what is available in your area.
I also have Netflix and Amazon Prime and a ROKU box and apps like XTV for all kinds of free shows from old to new. Google XTV and you can install to your ROKU or similar device.
My problem is I have so many shows I can watch that I hardly ever get around to doing so as I know they will always be there for later viewing.
I dont even watch much TV. Haven’t had the set on all day. It’s the internet that’s the problem.
“Im pondering an FTC suit to expose their collusion!”
My bet is that the FTC already knows. It’s likely ‘regulatory capture’- people rotate into gov’t from the very firms that the agencies regulate. Makes for all sorts of corrupt bargains.
You can DVR over the air HD channels using the Tablo app on a Xbox One
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