Breaking point
After decades of dealing with Comcast, I've finally had enough. We use them here at Blog Central for TV, the internet, and a landline. Every year, like clockwork, the bill goes up, with no advance warning, and I have to spend an hour on the phone with someone in a third-world country to get it down somewhat. This year, over three months, the bill jumped by 22 percent. The people at Comcast tell me there's no way to break the cycle. Then they try to sell me cell phone service.
I suspect that changing is going to be a big hassle, but I'm beyond tired of these people. What are my other options? I'm wondering if any of my readers could fill me in on what they do to be connected. Suggestions? And do let me know if your other providers also play the game of the annual increase. Life is too short for that.
Turn off the boob tube. That is a great option. You won't miss it.
ReplyDeleteI cut the cord 3 years ago and use Xfinity for phone, internet, and streaming services-I bundled all services and use auto-pay. $40/mo for unlimited talk/text/data for phone, their services use the same cell towers as Verizon and I've had no connectivity issues at all . I don't miss Comcast one bit. All services have been more than satisfactory. Call and ask when they have special offers to switch services. Highly recommend.
ReplyDeleteXfinity is Comcast.
DeleteI did the same and am happy with it.
DeleteComcast is the parent company, and Xfinity is Comcast’s brand for TV, internet, and home phone services. Xfinity = Comcast.
DeleteI've never considered that some people were successfully duped by the the Comcast/Xfinity rebranding attempt. A loathsome company by any name.
DeleteTry Mint Mobile. $15 a month for a cell phone. If you get that, you can have an unlimited WiFi plan in your home for $30 a month. Prices don't include taxes but are still pretty cheap. Plus I don't think they've raised their rates in years if ever.
ReplyDeleteA lot of this depends on how much TV you want. If Verizon is your cell phone provider, they will cut you a deal on home internet + YouTubeTV. I wouldn't mess with anything AT&T or DirecTV. I personally have Xfinity just for internet and Verizon for the rest, since I can't get FiOS at my house. You can lock in a rate for 2yrs (sometimes 3) but there's no getting around the regular price increases without reupping that contract.
ReplyDeleteSee if Ziply Fiber is available in your neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteWe abandoned Comcast about a year ago for Quantum Fiber. After the fiber was installed in the neighborhood, they were offering 940Mb Internet for $35/month via door to door sales staff. We added a mid-level DirecTV Streaming package for $114.99/month (now $123.99), mostly so we could get Root Sports, which Comcast had moved to a higher cost tier. We also moved the landline to Ooma for $8/month (plus the one time ~$99 cost for an Ooma box to interface with the Internet). The fiber speed is probably more than we need, but that’s fine.
ReplyDeleteAs frustrating as it was, I viewed the annual rising renewal rates as a challenge. I like to argue and would point out I was a 20+ year customer (true), couldn't afford the increase, ( in my mind, I couldn't), was newly retired and on a "fixed" income, (well, its fixed high enough for me to survive) and would have to see what the "Dish" guy was offering: "DISH" the secret word of the day! They folded quicker than a cheap suitcase every time you say DISH and would then offer me a one year fixed rate as I previously had. They always have a promotional rate, ask for it.
ReplyDeleteThrough it all, though , I cut the cord and only use them for internet at $65 month and stream TV with youtube . Net net, I am not saving any more money, but I sure as hell have a lot fewer headaches.
A local internet company
ReplyDeletewww.stephouse.net/
Worth saying that YouTubeTV is far and away the best streaming app if you’re keeping TV.
ReplyDeleteVerizon. 50 a month and you can stream easily. If i add it all up, its less than Comcast. Most of all, I just had to plug it in, and when i called the one time i had a question i immediately connected with someone who politely pointed out what i was doing wrong!
ReplyDeleteI switched back and forth from Xfinity to Ziply fiber about every three years. Now that none of them have a contract I might just do it once a year. We just switched to T-Mobile from ATT in December and we are trialing their wifi (along with current Xfinity plan).
ReplyDeleteI used to do the same thing with cable and Direct TV. Once Direct TV lost the Sunday Ticket I switched to streaming only through ROKU devices (I hear Apple TV is solid also). You can get a full cable-like experience through YouTube TV if you want and just add the other premium channels a la carte.
At some point I realized that bundling wasn't saving me any money, it was just a way to keep me from shopping for other service providers.
AppleTV is available on Roku boxes.
DeleteI was a Sprint user and got forced into switching to TMobile. WORST. PHONE. SERVICE. EVER. I was stuck with them for two years -- I had to walk down to the end of the block to make a call without wifi calling (like when you call PGE to report an outage). Their support ppl and management are completely clueless. You pay for NO SERVICE! TMobile...just say NO!!!!!
Thanks for the reminder to get on the blower and beg for a lower price. My mom is still around at 100, so need to keep the landline even though she has a cell phone and is actually is pretty good at it.
ReplyDeleteHere in the Free City of Canby, we have our own cooperative telephone company that provides a 1Gig fiber line to every home for a hundred-ish bucks a month. You can get slower speeds and pay less. I get 250MB for like $80. Local customer service, local repair techs. It's nice. Same with the local power cooperative. Don't get me started on the weekly trash service.
ReplyDeleteI was a loyal Verizon customer for well over a decade. I made the switch to Visible a few months ago. $20 for unlimited talk, text, and data. If you want screaming-fast mobile data, run everything through a VPN.
Anyway, that's what's worked for me.
I looked at Visible when I was in the market for a new wireless carrier too. The price is certainly attractive. The rub for me was support. During the try-before-buy period, I had a number of questions about a few things. I quickly found out that: 1) the only support is through chat...not even a phone number to call; and 2) the "support" people were completely clueless.
DeleteThe second thing is that Visible is a Verizon MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). Like Xfinity Mobile, they buy capacity on Verizon's network and resell it at a lower price. While that sounds great...and it mostly is...Verizon reserves the right to deprioritize their traffic in favor of Verizon customers.
So, what does "deprioritize their traffic" mean? Let me give you an example... Let's say you're at a Timbers game. There are 10000 Verizon customers all posting photos to Insta. You (a Visible subscriber) get a call from a hospital saying your parents have been in a car accident. Verizon reserves the right to lower the priority of your phone call in favor of 10000 Verizon customers all posting to Insta. If Verizon's network around Providence Park is overwhelmed, your call will probably get dropped.
All the carriers do this and it would be wise to check out which MVNOs use which carrier. Since Visible is owned by Verizon, Visible traffic will get prioritized above Xfinity Mobile (which is not part of Verizon).
Here's a list of MVNOs and the carriers they use:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_virtual_network_operators_in_the_United_States
Do your homework... I chose Verizon pre-paid...since I NEVER (EVER!) want to buy a phone through a carrier again.
PS. Surfshark is about the only VPN that's worthwhile. It's the only one that offers "split-tunnel" capability. Split-tunneling is the ability to send some data through the VPN and some data not...for example, you would want web traffic to go through the VPN; while you would want SSH (which is point-to-point, end-to-end encrypted) to NOT go through the VPN. This is a necessity for business users).
DeleteNordVPN is picky and expensive. I NEVER DID get it to work right (and I have LOTS of experience). Split-tunneling (a requirement for me) is something they're "working on." I also found it to be slow.
Like the MVNO scenario described above, there are resellers of VPN capacity as well. Also, like MVNOs, the resellers' traffic is subject to throttling and deprioritization. Beware!
NEVER, EVER buy a VPN product from a carrier or ISP! Even if they give it to you, do not use it. Your traffic is subject to inspection by the carrier/ISP. They ALL do this (Comcast/Xfinity is the worst!).
PPS. Surfshark and NordVPN are owned by the same parent. However, the two are operated/developed independently (viz Surfshark split-tunneling vs Nord none). Another alternative is ProtonVPN. Surfshark/Nord are subject to Netherlands law. ProtonVPN is subject to Swiss law (making it much more strict about privacy). Proton offers split tunneling too. Proton is much more expensive than Surfshark. See:
Deletehttps://cyberinsider.com/vpn/comparison/surfshark-vs-proton-vpn/
Visible is owned by Verizon. Having been a Verizon customer for years, I trust them to put out a good product. In my experience, they have.
DeleteIt's an iPhone. I can still call. I can still text. I can still surf the internet. I can't imagine why I would need to talk with a human. I rarely needed to as a mainline Verizon customer. If you need your wireless carrier to hold your hand, it's probably not for you.
As for being deprioritized? Yeah, for the few hours I'm around 20,000 other users, I go to the back of the line. I put my phone back in my pocket and enjoy the concert. It's fine.
I was paying $100/mo for my service and a bunch of subscriptions. Now I pay half that and my life, digital and real, hasn't changed. Carry on.
My point was NOT to try to get you to switch from Visible. I'm glad it's working for you.
DeleteI was trying to point out the limitations that all MVNOs have (Visible is an MVNO even though it's owned by Verizon). As I said, I'm a Verizon pre-paid customer. I pay $80/mo for 2 lines and get everything I need (except for all the bloatware services VZN adds to all it's post-paid plans to make them "competitive" -- Netflix, Disney+, blah blah blah). For me, the chat-only support Visible offers was kind of a deal-breaker...especially given the general cluelessness of the chat agent about basic things with respect to e-sims, wifi calling and whatnot.
I have 1Gbs Ziply Fibre service for home internet and own all my equipment (ONT, routers, Rokus, computers, etc).
The Timbers game example was an extreme one for illustration purposes. The truth of the matter is that Verizon can deprioritize Visible traffic any time and for whatever reason they want. If they can squeeze another dollar out of you by paying them NOT to do that, that's what they'll do. Ditto for all the carriers and MVNOs. Some MVNOs make it very hard to leave them as well... Their contracts are loaded up with wait periods, termination fees, etc (viz Xfinity Mobile...how does that name keep coming up?).
DeleteThe other thing is moving your number... Since none of these companies think you are in your right mind when you want to switch your number to a new character, they give ZERO THOUGHT to designing a correct and well-functioning website to do this. If you get caught in this trap, you will have entered the 12th circle of hell.
Blow up your TV
ReplyDeleteThrow away your paper
Go to the country
Build you a home
Plant a little garden
Eat a lot of peaches
Try and find Jesus
On your own