[Tetto]

I've just reviewed our cable bill (Charter), and almost s**t a brick!

We have digital cable, cable phone and cable internet; grand total $199.77 per month. Does anybody else pay this kind of money for these services, or is it only me? We do live in a fairly rural area, no dsl available (yet). Is it just the monopoly thing going on here or am I missing something?

[heather121]

Is Comcast available where you are? As much as I hate their customer service, those same services in a bundle (cable, internet, & phone) plus taxes is about $110 a month. You are definitely overpaying. AT&T has also recently started offering cable/internet (DSL)/phone, for slightly less than Comcast but it may not be in your area yet.

[vvolin]

We do not have Comcast here. Our Cox bill, with the most basic cable, DSL, and many phone calls to Italy, is between $120 and $150.

[nish2006]

Our Optimum (Cablevision) bill for all three services is around $188.00 a month. This is after the 1 year promotion period has expired & includes their Gold cable package, with HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc.
Way too expensive, so we'll either be scaling down on the cable services or looking for another provider.

The problem is their only competition in this area (AT&T) don't provide Uverse yet, & we don't want a dish. Hoping for Verizon FIOS to make an entry soon & shake up the market a bit.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by Tetto

I've just reviewed our cable bill (Charter), and almost s**t a brick!

We have digital cable, cable phone and cable internet; grand total $199.77 per month. Does anybody else pay this kind of money for these services, or is it only me? We do live in a fairly rural area, no dsl available (yet). Is it just the monopoly thing going on here or am I missing something?

I feel your pain, we have Charter, too. Last month I called and dropped some channels because our cable, phone and internet bill was around $175.00 a month. It was supposed to drop $30.00 a month. We got our bill last week, it was $221.00! And that was a partial month, since we dropped some channels mid-month, so the bill would be even higher next month. Their rates increased this month, plus since we dropped some movie channels, we no longer qualified for a "bundle" package. The person last month failed to mention this would happen, assuring me our bills would go down. Anyway, Charter has this ridiculous policy where once your initial price quote expires after a year, you have to call and bargain for a better price. So now we are supposed to be paying about $175.00 again, even though we still have less movie channels. What a rip-off.

I'd watch out for A T & T, last week someone here posted switching and getting an unexpected bill of $900.00. A few others had similar experiences. You might want to look up that thread if you are considering them.

[toddb]

Originally Posted by Tetto

I've just reviewed our cable bill (Charter), and almost s**t a brick!

We have digital cable, cable phone and cable internet; grand total $199.77 per month. Does anybody else pay this kind of money for these services, or is it only me? We do live in a fairly rural area, no dsl available (yet). Is it just the monopoly thing going on here or am I missing something?

That is completely outrageous. I would first call them up and tell them you are going to switch to another provider if they don't lower your bill. They will usually allow you to re-start the triple play nonsense for $100, especially if you commit to a 1 yr agreement. If you are that rural where you can't get DSL, then I'm sure it will be a long while until you can get the fiber flavors (ATT Uverse or Verizon FIOS, depending on which of them 'owns' your town). If you have a clear view to the SouthEast (I think that's the direction) then you could look into Dish network - I believe they have inexpensive TV and Internet. As for phone, if your internet is reliable then you should look into Vonage or Skype - just another VoIP service like the one provided by Charter.

[KH02]

We use cox for phone and internet ONLY and use direcTV for cable and dont pay 200 a month. That sounds high!!!

[Tetto]

News flash; I went online last night and found promotional deals from Charter. So I called them and had to negotiate a new deal over the phone. I got more channels, HD DVR, but had to sign up for 2yrs. New deal costs 145.00/Month plus 20.00 in taxes and fees for grand total 170.00. Cheaper, but not by much. I unfortunately dont have much in the way of choice.

[jimazee]

We have a house in Newtown that was rented and also on the market. We have now moved to PA. Since our tenants left, we use the CT house less. I dropped cable TV and Internet. It got SO expensive and was largely unused. Even when we are there, we now realize that we pay for a long list of channels that we never use. This is a bad business model. It is nice to be rid of that cost.

To top it off, dealing with them on pricing etc. was a horrible and time consuming experience. It was reminiscent of haggling for a used car or a rug. It usually required multiple calls and discussions often resulting in another bill adjustment and service change. Sometimes the discussions were very animated...

In PA I have been using antennas (still indoor only...outdoor may be coming) to receive Over the Air (OTA) broadcasts of about 12-15 channels. This includes all the local channels and major networks. Most are now available in great quality HD. Yes you will need a converter box or a digitally capable TV. Monthly cost is $0. I like this. I do miss ESPN and cable news etc BUT the savings helped me to find ways to deal with this. Maybe we will eventually go to satellite for TV but so far we are OK with what we have on antenna. TV isn't ALL that great anyway.

Yes, my PA house is situated favorably for such reception but my reading on this topic leads me to believe there are MANY people out there doing this across the country.

I do use local telco for DSL Internet and a traditional telephone line. This is not as fast as the cable was but is adequate for us who are pretty heavy users of the web. Cost is about $65/mo. in PA for DSL and a basic telephone line.

The point is that some may be able to do this successfully. Antenna reception will vary a lot based on location, obstructions etc. Generally digital reception is GREAT when you can get it. It is nothing like the old snowy analog channels you may remember. Ask your neighbors especially if they have a visible antenna. Maybe they have tried it. I hope this is where the industry is moving over the long term as it works very well.

There are sites out there that help evaluate required antennas and direction to broadcasting points. Here is one. There are others. AntennaWeb

P.S. I have not tried an antenna in Newtown...it may not work well there. Has anyone made a serious attempt at this anywhere around the state? What were the results?

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Tetto

News flash; I went online last night and found promotional deals from Charter. So I called them and had to negotiate a new deal over the phone. I got more channels, HD DVR, but had to sign up for 2yrs. New deal costs 145.00/Month plus 20.00 in taxes and fees for grand total 170.00. Cheaper, but not by much. I unfortunately dont have much in the way of choice.

I have cox high speed internet, very basic phone (No features), and digital cable with the DVR HD package etc. Our bill is about $130.00 per month.

My internet is high, so I called and now they have several plans vs when I signed up, BUT if I downgrade the internet speed to save $20.00 I lose my bundle discount (Even though I still have the "bundle" - I don't get it either) of $10.00 so in reality to cut my speed in half only saves me $10.00. Sigh...forget it.

Thanks for the reminder though because I have been paying for HD service and now that it's the "standard" for the nation I'm going to see if I still will get "charged".