San Antonio Internet providers - A monopoly - should more be done to regulate them? (rental, house)

[CyVaquero]

Originally Posted by VeeGer

I saved $80 when I cut the TV off my cable. I kept the net/phone package. I hardly watch TV anymore because of the damn commercials every 5 minutes.

Since I have a TV I got an antenna for it and did a channel scan. I pulled in over 50 channels and my jaw dropped to the floor. I remember we used to have only 5 channels. I researched the ota TV and discovered HDTV.

WTH! Cable lied to me, they said ota TV is bad. Hell, the picture quality was better, true HD. After I weeded the unwanted channels I got 20 worthwhile channels out of it. Still with the ads darn it.

Now I have Netflix and for the money it is sweet.

Check out Ooma for a cheap IP phone service. You pay around $100 for the device up front and then just taxes/fees after that for the basic service (they offer an upgraded premium service for $10/month plus the taxes/fees). Landline was running us around $40/month on AT&T Uverse, now we pay under $5/month.

[singlemomsa]

Originally Posted by VeeGer

I saved $80 when I cut the TV off my cable. I kept the net/phone package. I hardly watch TV anymore because of the damn commercials every 5 minutes.

Since I have a TV I got an antenna for it and did a channel scan. I pulled in over 50 channels and my jaw dropped to the floor. I remember we used to have only 5 channels. I researched the ota TV and discovered HDTV.

WTH! Cable lied to me, they said ota TV is bad. Hell, the picture quality was better, true HD. After I weeded the unwanted channels I got 20 worthwhile channels out of it. Still with the ads darn it.

Now I have Netflix and for the money it is sweet.

I think a lot of us saw the benefits of cutting the cord. Paying for too many damn commercials? No thanks.

Time Warner knows millions of us cut the cord. They probably have more people every day wising up and choosing to cut the cord with cable. Great content for free over the air. No more paying for commercials. HD over the air quality.

Problem is, Time Warner is not stupid. They know people have done this and are doing it. They also know people overall value internet services more then TV. That many of us use the internet not just for entertainment but for life things.They know they are the only big dog in town in offering over 100Mb/s for most people. So what do they do? They charge customers more for internet then their most expensive TV package with over 200 channels. Its almost 75% of $100 for only 300Mb/s. With these things in mind, I believe its price gouging.

[SabresFanInSA]

Originally Posted by singlemomsa

I think a lot of us saw the benefits of cutting the cord. Paying for too many damn commercials? No thanks.

Time Warner knows millions of us cut the cord. They probably have more people every day wising up and choosing to cut the cord with cable. Great content for free over the air. No more paying for commercials. HD over the air quality.

Problem is, Time Warner is not stupid. They know people have done this and are doing it. They also know people overall value internet services more then TV. That many of us use the internet not just for entertainment but for life things.They know they are the only big dog in town in offering over 100Mb/s for most people. So what do they do? They charge customers more for internet then their most expensive TV package with over 200 channels. Its almost 75% of $100 for only 300Mb/s. With these things in mind, I believe its price gouging.

t actually isnt "millions". One million across all providers cut the cord in 2015. It was about 250K the year before.

The only people really "wising up" are the people that dont watch a lot of tv. Are there OTA alternatives? Sure, if your tv watching needs are the major networks and a bunch of channels with old reruns. If that is in fact your needs then you probably shouldnt have had cable in the first place. Those channels were available to begin with.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by SabresFanInSA

The only people really "wising up" are the people that dont watch a lot of tv. Are there OTA alternatives? Sure, if your tv watching needs are the major networks and a bunch of channels with old reruns. If that is in fact your needs then you probably shouldnt have had cable in the first place. Those channels were available to begin with.

The major English-language and Spanish-language stations have always been available for free with an OTA antenna, but until the digital transition, it was limited to those, and not much else. As little as seven or eight years ago, San Antonio only had about a dozen or so TV channels that could be picked-up for free, with an antenna.


Now, San Antonio has 40+ channels that can be received free OTA. You still get the major national network affiliates, but also as you point out, channels that air classic TV shows and old movies, how-to channels, home-shopping, religious, etc. Some of that content was previously largely available only with a cable or satellite subscription. For those who want more than what is free, but don't watch enough to justify the cost of cable or satellite, there are streaming services that have on-demand, or even some live broadcast cable/satellite channels, for a nominal monthly fee.


That, in a nutshell, is why there is more price competition and promotional offers for pay-TV services, than there is for internet service.

[VeeGer]

These are the channel I got OTA and trimmed:

Besides my big three networks, ABC, CBS and NBC

ATV
Justice
World
Create
MeTV
MOvies
Escape
Laff
ION
QUBO
ION life
FOXtv
Comet
CW35
getTV
GRIT
COZI

As you can see, they're pretty good channels.

[txmusicgal]

To the TWC members:

Do you pay to lease the modem and hd box? The modem is $10 and the hd box is $11.75. Do you know if you can get your own modem and hd box without leasing from TWC? That's expensive when you have to lease it every month.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by txmusicgal

To the TWC members:

Do you pay to lease the modem and hd box? The modem is $10 and the hd box is $11.75. Do you know if you can get your own modem and hd box without leasing from TWC? That's expensive when you have to lease it every month.

I know you can bring your own compatible modem, and save the monthly rental fee. But buy your own set top box for TV? That one is news to me.


As of late last year TWC ended analog service in San Antonio, and also encrypted all remaining digital channels (including local broadcast), effectively requiring a proprietary set-top box for each TV that is to receive their service. I didn't even know their were cable TV boxes on the market available for purchase.

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by txmusicgal

To the TWC members:

Do you pay to lease the modem and hd box? The modem is $10 and the hd box is $11.75. Do you know if you can get your own modem and hd box without leasing from TWC? That's expensive when you have to lease it every month.

I didn’t know you could buy your own.

I need to start checking stores and find out if they will exchange the modem if
it breaks down without asking questions and more important if I can have a replacement
immediately and without extra charges of any kind.
It would great if the stores did that.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by ranchodrive

I didn’t know you could buy your own.

I need to start checking stores and find out if they will exchange the modem if
it breaks down without asking questions and more important if I can have a replacement
immediately without extra charges of any kind.
It would great if the stores did that.

Most stores probably won't exchange the modems after their stated return period. They will come with some kind of manufacturer's warranty, but you will likely be at the mercy of that manufacturer's warranty service policy. You might find some stores that are also an authorized service center, in which case, they may be able to work some kind of exchange. But that kind of retailer is a dying breed. Most of that kind of stuff just ends up getting sent back to the manufacturer, who determines whether it can be repaired, or needs to be replaced.


My experience with modems is that they have been reliable. I have yet to experience a modem failure, with either an owned or leased modem. Set-top boxes for cable TV are another story, but best I can tell, you have to lease at least one TV box if you have Time Warner for cable TV, but you can substitute ROKU streaming devices that you would purchase instead of leasing, for additional sets. Of course, you would also need internet service with sufficient speed, in addition to the cable TV service, if you are going to use the ROKUs in place of set-top boxes.

[VeeGer]

I kept the rented modem because they sell for $350 so at $10 a month it'd be over 2 years before it paid off.

This way I don't have to worry about repairs and downtime but just get it replaced.