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That's a fascinating statement. It inspires me to ask how you managed to survive before the internet took over your life.
(I'll tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone else: you don't actually need the internet. You want it, but you don't need it).
Perhaps I was exaggerating a bit but I do need it for my business. I have my own business, and without the internet I would not be able to do my work. At one point, with the various storms and my power out, I had to seek out places with Wi-Fi and it was a nightmare. Half the state of NJ was in Starbucks, or McDonald's. They were packed. And of course you can only go to those places when they are actually open.
And of course I do use the internet for personal use. I have loads of TV programs and movies on my hard drives.
I'm totally addicted to the internet. Perhaps I need an internet intervention?
And I don't even want to get into what would happen if my boyfriend didn't have internet . . . it could get ugly.
Lady Rahrah, I'm in the same spot as you right now. I really need to cut expenses, and FIOS is the most logical one. I get frustrated everytime I call them though, because if I cancel TV, but keep phone and internet, the price is still insane. If they can offer the discounted rate in a bundle, why must they more than double it outside a bundle?? I get frustrated everytime I talk to them!
Do you mind if I ask how much you pay for internet? Do you have phone through them also? They told me basic phone would be 21/mo., basic TV would be 12.99/mo. and 25/25 internet would be 69.99/mo.! My bill would be 104 + txs, boxes, etc.! My current package is 119.99/mo., which comes to like, 144./mo. after you add txs, boxes, etc.! Not much of a savings. But I must have the high speed internet. Ugh, so aggravating!
We were paying about $95 a month for both TV and internet (we don't get phone, we only have AT&T cell phones).
Now that we stopped TV, we are paying $64.99 a month for internet alone. (Our internet is slower than yours, but perfectly adequate for our needs).
Cablevision was offering us a TV/Internet package for less than $50 a month for both. But we're both leery of Cablevision.
I hate Cablevision. The only reason I have them is because I have no other choice here.
I recently downgraded my cable television package to save a little extra money. I used to have Family Cable + the "iO package". The iO package supplements the Family Cable with extra channels.
Family Cable alone is $58.95. The iO package is an extra $11.95.
So I got rid of the iO package to cut costs a little. Well, guess what? When you ONLY have Family Cable without a supplemental package like the iO, Silver, or Gold package, Cablevision charges you an extra $5.95 "iO Navigation fee". (This fee is waived only if you purchase the extra iO package, Silver package or Gold package.) They don't list this "iO Navigation fee" ANYWHERE on their website. I think this is dishonest.
So basically, for basic Family Cable, no premium cable channels, I pay:
That's nearly $75 for their cheapest cable package.
My internet costs an additional $44.95.
I am also seriously considering getting rid of the cable television altogether and ONLY having internet (in which case, Cablevision would charge me $50 instead of $44.95).
I'm not a big TV watcher, but I already miss it. No TV at all!
I know how you feel.
I actually AM a big TV fan. I'm afraid I'll miss my shows, but I plan to deal with it this way:
1. I can watch a lot of shows over the internet for free via the network websites. For example, I already watch shows like Law & Order and CSI on the NBC and CBS websites anyway (because I'm always missing episodes when they're actually on TV). ABC, CBS and NBC make most of their shows available on their websites (the current season, at least). Fox seems a little more limited.
2. There are some old TV shows available for free on Hulu.com and Crackle.com (movies too). I just watched reruns of All in the Family on Crackle.com the other day. I watch reruns of Dead Like Me on Hulu.com.
3. If worse comes to worse, I will pay for premium Hulu (called Hulu PLUS), which will give me access to a lot more shows in addition to the free ones. They give you a free 1-week trial (I haven't tried it yet...I am saving it for when I really need it), and then it costs $7.99 per month, on a month-to-month basis, i.e., there is no contract and you can cancel whenever you want. $7.99 is a good deal.
P.S. All the bad stuff you heard about Cablevision is TRUE.
We were paying about $95 a month for both TV and internet (we don't get phone, we only have AT&T cell phones).
Now that we stopped TV, we are paying $64.99 a month for internet alone. (Our internet is slower than yours, but perfectly adequate for our needs).
Cablevision was offering us a TV/Internet package for less than $50 a month for both. But we're both leery of Cablevision.
Thanks for the input. My DH & kids would hate it if I cancelled TV, & I wouldn't be thrilled, but could survive. LOL! I too would die without my internet though.
Guess I need to figure out what's slowing my computer down...
Looking for factual experiences (i.e. service, cost, availability, reliability) that you've had between Fios vs. Optimum on triple play (i.e. phone, internet, TV) before canceling Dish and signing to one.
I really want to get rid of cablevision but my options are limited. Comcast is just as expensive as Cablevision if not higher in price. Fios only offers Directv. I HATE Directv! I had it years ago and whenever there was bad weather I'd lose my signal for long periods of time and on top of that if I was a day late they'd cut me off (no comments about pay your bills on time. I was in school and working full-time so if I don't get paid until the 15th and the bill was due on the 12th then no I'm not paying it on time). I wound up cancelling and I still have that ugly satellite dish on my roof. And on top of that Fios wants to lock me in for 2 years. The first year I'd be happy to do it because paying $99 (more like close to $115 after all the taxes and add ons) is a hell of a lot better than the almost $180 I'm paying to Cablevision. I'm just concerned they won't tell me how much I am looking at paying year 2 (2 tvs with cable box and 1 with DVR). I've heard horror stories about FIOS but hell if they eliminated the 2 year contract and Directv I'd join in a heart beat to save some money.
We switched to FIOS (with FIOS TV, not Dish) about 2 years ago. Internet service is faster and more reliable, phone service is clearer than Optimum VOIP and we like the choices of TV channels better (last time I checked, Optimum didn't have BBC America in our town, FIOS does).
I've only had to deal with FIOS customer service once since we got it, and it was a doozy involving getting cable cards. It didn't get resolved until I found email addresses for company president and SVP of Customer Service and shot off a complaint to them. The cards were installed the next day ... on a Sunday morning, no less. Otherwise, we're pretty tech-savvy, so we've generally been able to solve any issues that come up ourselves and haven't dealt much with tech support.
We have a combined bill with our cell service and we have a package that includes a number of movie channels, but none of the premium sports stuff, so it's hard for me to compare prices. My sense is that the prices are basically about the same for the two companies with the same suite of services.
FWIW, we hated the DVRs with both FIOS and Optimum, as we were comparing them to TIVO service we'd had. We eventually ditched the FIOS DVR and got a cablecard to use in a TIVO and we're much happier with it. As detailed above, getting the cable card was a mess, but we like the service.
One time we were having an issue with the box, so the person on the phone fixed it rather easily, then they noticed our contract was going to expire next month. So the girl on the phone offered us a new 2-year contract with the current promotion that was going on at the time (HBO for 6 months free, Showtime for 2 years free)
I actually AM a big TV fan. I'm afraid I'll miss my shows, but I plan to deal with it this way:
1. I can watch a lot of shows over the internet for free via the network websites. For example, I already watch shows like Law & Order and CSI on the NBC and CBS websites anyway (because I'm always missing episodes when they're actually on TV). ABC, CBS and NBC make most of their shows available on their websites (the current season, at least). Fox seems a little more limited.
2. There are some old TV shows available for free on Hulu.com and Crackle.com (movies too). I just watched reruns of All in the Family on Crackle.com the other day. I watch reruns of Dead Like Me on Hulu.com.
3. If worse comes to worse, I will pay for premium Hulu (called Hulu PLUS), which will give me access to a lot more shows in addition to the free ones. They give you a free 1-week trial (I haven't tried it yet...I am saving it for when I really need it), and then it costs $7.99 per month, on a month-to-month basis, i.e., there is no contract and you can cancel whenever you want. $7.99 is a good deal.
P.S. All the bad stuff you heard about Cablevision is TRUE.
Oh, I watch shows on Hulu, Crackle, and A&E TV all the time. It's great. I love watching old TV shows on Hulu. Right now I'm watching different Perry Mason episodes from Hulu (actually on CBS.com)
My boyfriend has fixed it so that we can get the shows on our computer to show on our big-screen TV.
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but I do need it for my business. I have my own business, and without the internet I would not be able to do my work. At one point, with the various storms and my power out, I had to seek out places with Wi-Fi and it was a nightmare. Half the state of NJ was in Starbucks, or McDonald's. They were packed. And of course you can only go to those places when they are actually open.
