Our cable bill is over $200 !!!

[gkaplan]

Don't feel bad. I ran up a total of zero dollars last year.

[livesoft]

It's gone up to about $42 a month for TV, internet, phone. Simply outrageous.

[dratkinson]

No cable.

Centruylink powered-copper rotary phone service: ~$29/mo. No long-distance access (save $1/mo).
10-10-987 dial-around long-distance service as required: 5 cents/minute.
All2Easy dialup ISP: ~$5/mo.
Free over the air TV: $0/mo
Total: ~$34/mo

Local old movie channels scratch the entertainment itch.
If I every want to see newer offerings I'll investigate NetFlicks' cheapest monthly mail package.

Combination works for this forum. With a faster connection, I'd only be wrong... faster.

[VGSailor]

I only have basic cable because my internet is actually cheaper bundled with it rather than stand-alone.

So basic cable and internet for me costs $45/month; cell phone is $30/month.

[epilnk]

Every few years when the promotional rate ends I call and tell them i'm willing to cancel my account unless they give me the promotional rate they offer to NEW customers (its always better than the offer there willing to give existing customers). They always give it to me and I'm quite with them until the next time the promo rate ends.

When I signed up for Uverse the ATT sales guy actually told me to remember to do this each year. He said he has been doing in for 3 years himself. This business model is messed up.

I've also seen the recommendation that you call at the beginning of the month to schedule either a downgrade or a cancellation for the last day of the month. Then sit back and wait for the customer retention department to call you. Though I guess you have to remember to not let the month run out. I haven't tried this.

[mike143]

Dish Network contract over 03/25/13 on chat with them now to discuss how to save money.

Rosy M (ID: IPF): Hi, my name is Rosy M (ID: IPF). How may I help you?
mike143: When is my contract up?
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Good evening.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): I will be happy to assist you with your contract information.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): How are you doing today, Michael?
Rosy M (ID: IPF): The contract will be completed on 03/25/13.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Is there any specific reason for asking about contract information please?
mike143: trying to save money
Rosy M (ID: IPF): If you wish I can help you in lowering your bill.
mike143: ok
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Please give me a minute.
mike143: ok, thank you.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): You're welcome.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): I see that you have Dish America package.
mike143: yes
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Would you like to make any programming changes that will lower your bill?
mike143: Seems like the packages below Dish America are not worth the reduced cost, lose a lot of little savings
mike143: lose a lot for little savings
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Okay Michael.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): The best I can offer you is $5 credit for 3 months.
mike143: Everything helps.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Thank you.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): I've added $5 credit for 3 months.
mike143: thank you.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): You will see credit in the next month bill.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): You can also login to http://www.mydish.com to check bill generation date, due date and past/current statements under ‘My Billing’ tab.
mike143: ok, thank you.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Is there anything else I may assist you with?
mike143: That is all, I will mark my calendar for the contract expiration date and make a decision from there.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): You're welcome.
Rosy M (ID: IPF): I am so glad we were able to take care of your questions and concerns today. Thank you for using DISH Chat and have a wonderful night, Michael!
Rosy M (ID: IPF): Take care! Bye.

Signed up for satellite and Internet near the same time. Will probably cancel both at end of contract then sign up as a new customer under my wife's name.

[1530jesup]

Comcast offers a "loyalty reward". I thought I was doing great getting $10 a month for 12 months. Then I found out one neighbor got $15 and another $20. When calling Comcast customer service it is like playing roulette and not knowing if your call lands locally or in one of the several states that Comcast runs their centers.

I am now getting three free months of Showtime and in the past have also gotten Cinemax as well. Our HOA did a deal with Comcast and I get HBO, Starz, Internet, and one DVR box through the association. But, they have us locked in with a ten year contract.

I added two phone lines and one extra HD (but not DVR) box; now paying $105 per month which includes the $10 credit (that runs out in December 2013) and all the surcharges thrown in.

I have learned you always ask for the senior discount (even if you do not think you qualify) everyone is a senior to the 20 year old serving you; the renewal or Loyalty reward and the cash card. And then ask if there is anything else you can help me with to remain a customer and save some money - there is always something...

[Peter Foley]

Phone and internet are $89/mo. Cable is an additional $8.50.

[jimmyrules712]

$78 per month for Dish
$53 per month for cable internet (10mbps down)
$206 for 3 lines with data plans on Verizon <---dumping this as soon as the contract is up

[Confused]

$206 for 3 lines with data plans on Verizon <---dumping this as soon as the contract is up

Ouch. For $220 after taxes and fees, we have 10 lines with T-Mobile. Only one of them has data, but we can add data to any of the lines for $10/month (and we can add/remove data whenever we want, once per billing cycle).

[ejvyas]

comcast Internet + TV (just basic 10 channels) = $35
ad free TV series/movies from public library = free
wife and I have ATT cell phones = $50 x 2

[MoonOrb]

We ditched our landline in favor of cell phones. That runs us about $50/mo including all of the taxes, since we only pay for one phone. My phone is free through work. We pay $83 each month to Comcast for internet, an HD tuner, and local channels. If we didn't pay for the local channels, I couldn't watch FOX, which is a nonstarter for me since they carry the NFL games for our local team. As soon as we can receive all of our local channels with an antenna, we'll ditch the HD tuner and local channel package and save another $15-20/mo.

[protagonist]

Our current att uverse bill is over $200. When I joined it was $130 for phone, internet and tv.

Isn't that insane, or am I just a cheapskate ?

What do you guys pay for tv, phone and internet ?

Is watching sports important to you? If so, I can understand cable TV....there is no point in watching the Superbowl two weeks after you know who won. If not, I think cable TV is an anachronism. You can get the news and weather far more efficiently and in any form you desire via the internet. And almost any show you would want to watch is available for free or at nominal cost over the net with no (or very limited) commercials, and can be watched whenever you want, streamed onto your TV, with no appreciable loss of quality vs. cable service. So I don't really get it.

Very few people I know under 40 have land lines, unless needed for business. I gave up my land line years ago and missed it for maybe a week...in retrospect I prefer NOT having it, even if it was free (just another "thing" to complicate life). And there are very good economical alternatives to standard cell phone service, requiring no contract (eg Page Plus, Straight Talk, etc)

Straight Talk and Page Plus run about $40-50/month for all the talk, text and 3G web access most people would need. Internet prices vary depending on the kind of service you require.

[ProfessorX]

We pay approx $145 including all fees. Comcast internet 25MBps download speeds. TV including the HD channels and HBO + Showtime. HD DVR box. 2nd any room DVR extender box. I had to get a bigger package of channels a few months back so that we could get nick jr for my son.

We have no home phone. And we have no long term contract.

[runthetrails]

$35 for cable internet, and something like $10 for Netflix streaming. No land line phone, no cable TV.

This arrangement does not actually save us any money, as my wife is a college basketball fan, so we tend to hit sports bars to catch the games. (I take a book)

[FrugalInvestor]

I've come to the conclusion that "bundlling" is only good for the cable companies and the guys on the American Pickers show.

[Optimistic]

Is watching sports important to you? If so, I can understand cable TV....there is no point in watching the Superbowl two weeks after you know who won.

The Super Bowl was on CBS (next year it's on Fox). Cable (nor satellite) is required as long as you're close enough to pick up the broadcast signal. Watching NBA, MLB, or NHL playoffs is more challenging.

[deanbrew]

I've come to the conclusion that "bundlling" is only good for the cable companies and the guys on the American Pickers show.

And all of the foks without cable or satellite TV are wondering what "American Pickers" is. Hint: it's not about mining nose nuggets nor playing a banjo.

While I appreciate that some people can get numerous channels without cable, I am able to get a grand total of ONE channel with an antenna. So, going without cable or satellite would be quite bothersome for me.

I'm kind of curious about something, though. I've tried to look up what programs are available on netflix, hulu, amazon, etc., but found it very difficult to figure out. Is there an easy way to see what broadcast and cable network TV shows are available by streaming?

[telemark]

$35 for bandwidth-capped WIMAX from Clear
$33 for a land line
$10 for MOG (streaming music subscription)
$8.95 for Netflix streaming
about $2.00 at 10 cents/minute pay-as-you-go T-Mobile cell phone

Total: 88.95

I'm sure there are cheaper deals available for internet access, but I've never had a problem with Clear and their pricing plan is simple enough that I can understand it. Yesterday there was a flyer from CenturyLink in the mail that advertised $19.95 a month in very large print: but that included a * that referenced several paragraphs in very fine print. I tried reading those, got about half way in, and tossed it.

[telemark]

Local old movie channels scratch the entertainment itch.
If I every want to see newer offerings I'll investigate NetFlicks' cheapest monthly mail package.

For recent movies I like renting from Redbox. Limited selection but you can't beat the price. Their web site works with dialup if you're patient.

[Ryan_in_Chi]

Competition is wonderful. In my neighborhood, we have the choice between: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast, and Wide Open West (WOW). I have WOW. I pay $132/mo for HD Expandaded Digital Cable (nearly every channel, except the movie channels like HBO), 1 HD DVR, 1 HD Box, 15MB Internet, Modem rental, and Unlimited Phone. Comcast has people come door-to-door in my neighborhood offering similar priced packages with price locked for 2 years. I have no clue what U-Verse costs and don't care. I'm very happy with my service and think the cost is fair for what I get.

[lindisfarne]

http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-who%E2%80%99s-widening-america%E2%80%99s-digital-divide/

America has a wide digital divide — high-speed Internet access is available only to those who can afford it, at prices much higher and speeds much slower in the U.S. than they are around the world.

But neither has to be the case, says Susan Crawford, former special assistant to President Obama for science, technology and innovation, and author of Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age. Crawford joins Bill to discuss how our government has allowed a few powerful media conglomerates to put profit ahead of the public interest — rigging the rules, raising prices, and stifling competition. As a result, Crawford says, all of us are at the mercy of the biggest business monopoly since Standard Oil in the first Gilded Age a hundred years ago.

“The rich are getting gouged, the poor are very often left out, and this means that we’re creating, yet again, two Americas, and deepening inequality through this communications inequality,” Crawford tells Bill.

from the transcript:

It's fair to say that the U.S. at the best is in the middle of the pack when it comes to both the speed and cost of high speed internet access connections. So in Hong Kong right now you can get a 500 megabit symmetric connection that's unimaginably fast from our standpoint for about 25 bucks a month. In Seoul, for $30 you get three choices of different providers of fiber in your apartment. And they come in and install in a day because competition's so fierce. In New York City there's only one choice, and it's 200 bucks a month for a similar service. And you can't get that kind of fiber connection outside of New York City in many parts of the country. Verizon's only serving about 10 percent of Americans. So let's talk about the wireless side for a moment, you know, the separate marketplace that people use for mobility. In Europe you can get unlimited texting and voice calls and data for about $30 a month, similar service from Verizon costs $90 a month. That's a huge difference. ...

SUSAN CRAWFORD: Beginning in the early 2000’s we believed that the magic of the market would provide internet access to all Americans. That the cable guys would compete with the phone guys who would compete with wireless and that somehow all of this ferment would make sure that we kept up with the rest of the world. Those assumptions turned out not to be true. It's much cheaper to upgrade a cable connection than it is to dig up a copper phone line and replace it with fiber. So the cable guys who had these franchises in many, most American cities, they are in place with a status quo network that 94 percent of new subscriptions are going to. Everybody's signing up with their local cable incumbent. There is not competition for 80 percent of Americans. They don't have a choice for a truly high speed connection. It's just the local cable guy. Competition has just vanished. ...
BILL MOYERS: Since the 1996 Telecommunications Act which I thought was going to lower the price of our monthly cable bill, it's almost doubled.

SUSAN CRAWFORD: Well, that's because Time Warner controls Manhattan. There's no competition.

[deanbrew]

We are also getting hosed on cellular service compared to much of the world. I have a relative in Ecuador, and they can get a cellular plan with unlimited calls, texts and 2.5 GB data for under $20 per month. That's well under half what it costs here. Ever notice that AT&T, Verizon and Sprints rates are virtually identical... and high?

[Confused]

Ever notice that AT&T, Verizon and Sprints rates are virtually identical... and high?

T-Mobile!

[david99]

TV: $0 ( I don't watch much TV so I just use rabbit ears )
Internet: $35 DSL ( it's fast enough for what I need)
Phone: $30 ( I have a T Mobile cell phone deal thru AAA)

[HardKnocker]

Verizon DSL $22
Basic Comcast cable $19
Landline for $34

Total of $75 including all taxes and fees.

Realistically, the only way to cut your bill is to cut your services.

[protagonist]

Is watching sports important to you? If so, I can understand cable TV....there is no point in watching the Superbowl two weeks after you know who won.

The Super Bowl was on CBS (next year it's on Fox). Cable (nor satellite) is required as long as you're close enough to pick up the broadcast signal. Watching NBA, MLB, or NHL playoffs is more challenging.

If that is all you watch, and not every baseball or football game, wouldn't you rather go to a buddy's house or a bar and watch it with company over a few cold ones, than pay over $1000/year for the privilege of getting a handful of games in your home?

[protagonist]

I've come to the conclusion that "bundlling" is only good for the cable companies and the guys on the American Pickers show.

It reminds me of the good old days where you would have to cue up a record on your turntable to hear one or two good songs and put up with all the other crap and filler. Except it was a lot cheaper.

[protagonist]

We are also getting hosed on cellular service compared to much of the world. I have a relative in Ecuador, and they can get a cellular plan with unlimited calls, texts and 2.5 GB data for under $20 per month. That's well under half what it costs here. Ever notice that AT&T, Verizon and Sprints rates are virtually identical... and high?

Same here in Venezuela. I paid about $35 for a Blackberry, I pay about $10/month, and that is sufficient to pay for several phone calls and text messages back to the USA and Canada, enough 3G data for my needs, and incoming calls are not charged to the person who receives them (when I tell them that is how it works in the US, most Europeans and South Americans find it hard to believe...they are convinced I am mistaken). It seems like nearly everybody here has a cell phone, despite the fact that the average family income is a few thousand dollars US/year.

But the US is not the worst. Canada is worse.

[Optimistic]

Is watching sports important to you? If so, I can understand cable TV....there is no point in watching the Superbowl two weeks after you know who won.

The Super Bowl was on CBS (next year it's on Fox). Cable (nor satellite) is required as long as you're close enough to pick up the broadcast signal. Watching NBA, MLB, or NHL playoffs is more challenging.

If that is all you watch, and not every baseball or football game, wouldn't you rather go to a buddy's house or a bar and watch it with company over a few cold ones, than pay over $1000/year for the privilege of getting a handful of games in your home?

Yeah, that's what I do. I was pointing out that you don't need cable to watch the Super Bowl. Your quote above seemed to imply you did.

[crowd79]

Is watching sports important to you? If so, I can understand cable TV....there is no point in watching the Superbowl two weeks after you know who won.

The Super Bowl was on CBS (next year it's on Fox). Cable (nor satellite) is required as long as you're close enough to pick up the broadcast signal. Watching NBA, MLB, or NHL playoffs is more challenging.

If that is all you watch, and not every baseball or football game, wouldn't you rather go to a buddy's house or a bar and watch it with company over a few cold ones, than pay over $1000/year for the privilege of getting a handful of games in your home?

Yeah, that's what I do. I was pointing out that you don't need cable to watch the Super Bowl. Your quote above seemed to imply you did.

I don't have cable but was able to watch the game in crystal clear HD through the internet on NFL.com from my ipad to the tv.

[Random Musings]

$40 - internet
$8 - Netflix

We don't watch enough tv to spend all that money on tv - I watch football (free) and I like March Madness (free) - if I really wanted to, I could pay for hockey via Apple tv but haven't done that yet. Baseball, well, in western PA we jave not had a team for 20 years (soon to be 21)........

Also, going to get rid of the landline since everyone calls our cell phones (except for the marketers).

RM

[Random Musings]

And all of the foks without cable or satellite TV are wondering what "American Pickers" is. Hint: it's not about mining nose nuggets nor playing a banjo.

Can stream that show free from my Ipad app to the TV. The History Channel app has very reasonable offerings and full shows are shown.

RM

[Imbros]

TV: $0 (they need to pay me to watch cable)
Internet: $21 DSL ( it's fast enough )
Phone: about $10. No landline. Prepaid personal cell. Unlimited-everything work cell used most of the time.

[Quickfoot]

Internet $55
TV: $13
Phones: $180 (3 smart phones)

We just canceled Dish Network (it was $55), we have Apple TV and Rokus and use Netflix / Hulu plus so pay about $13 per month for TV. We use Sprint for cell phones and will be moving to Ting (uses Sprint's network but even at 3500 minutes per month will cost us 1/2). We have absolutely no need or desire to have a land line or voip service at home.

[rogermexico]

If you don't mind lacking 911 and don't mind google listening in on your calls, google voice number + Obitalk device are a good option. With the Obitalk ($38 one time, no monthly fee), you can plug into internet connection and run phone jack out to your existing landline network (just disconnect phone co. wiring at termination point). So then the phone rings like a regular land-line. Plus with google voice you can check messages online (I have e-mail notification of message received) and send/receive texts for free (but they may cut you off if you send too many). I actually prefer the new "landline" setup to the old and have saved about $35/mo. You can pay $20 one time to port your existing number. You can set up the GV number to ring at home, on cell or both at same time.

[feh]

$84 a month for FIOS internet. No phone bill - OOMA. No cable - we stream everything.

Similar here - $35 for internet. $10 for phone (Vonage). No cable/satellite; streaming and OTA television.

[Ice-9]

My apologies if someone already suggested this and I missed it as I scrolled through the thread, but you can probably get a better rate by calling your cable company and acting like you're ready to leave.

1. Look up the latest teaser rate offer of their competitor in your area
2. Call your cable company. Tell them you're just about ready to switch to the competitor because of the competitor's offer.
3. They should patch you through to their Customer Retention Department, who should offer you a better rate than you're currently paying.

I have done the above steps with success several years ago with Comcast (Saved $20/mo) and more recently with Verizon (saved $30/mo). Sadly, I think you have to be a squeaky wheel with cable companies or else they'll charge what they think they can get.

[Juniormint]

$88.00 for high-speed Internet and cable with 150+ channels including HBO. Normal cost was $89 + tax, but I have fifteen dollar loyalty discount that reduces it to $88. I actually just called yesterday to get my rate lowered after my bill jumped to $111 after the 6 months of loyalty discounts ended. I would love to get fios but they don't offer high-speed internet in my area yet and so it's not worth it to switch over from comcast. I keep cable mainly for the tennis channel.

[Rob5TCP]

FIOS triple play 15/5
plus unlimited US calls
plus basic cable
Total about $95 per month.

The rest of any shows I need I get online.
Plus Netflix $8 per month.