Actual cost of Xfinity Internet in this area (Pasadena, Briar: sales, renting)

[maxq]

Looking at their website, it looks like the current "deal" is 12 month contract at $39.99/month for 100MB internet, after which it goes up to $55/month. That's twice the speed I have now with AT&T Uverse, so more than enough. I plan to dump cable entirely and go with stand-alone internet and just use an antenna for the local channels. So, what is the real cost of Xfinity/Comcast internet once I add in tax, modem rental, fees, etc? I'd probably start with their equipment, but would plan to buy my own after a month or so. I'm in the city of Pasadena if it matters. They have an alleged "deal" that for $5 more, you get TV channels that basically mirror the available channels you can get over the air with an antenna. For this privilege, they add on a $15 local broadcast fee (and I think another $10 or $12 for a TV box). :-O



Thanks for any info!

[jerbear30]

I can't speak to the costs, but I can say that for me, Xfinity with all that extra "speed" was slower than my ATT Uverse service. I started with ATT, then got tempted into Xfinity and am now back with ATT. I don't think my experience is universal, but my att is better in every way than Xfinity. Btw, with ATT, I'm paying less to have very very basic cable than I would if I just got the internet. The cable is like 12 channels and it only works on one tv in the house. I don't know why this options was so much cheaper, but it's something to consider if you're re-negotiating.

[perro_peluo]

Xfinity places usage caps on all of their plans, think of it similar to how your cellular data plans are structured. The only way to get beyond usage caps is to add the unlimited option which is another $45 per month.



I had them for a year, and saw the additional charges the first month because I had gone over my allocated amount. Dropped them immediately once the one year term ended, absolute money grab as practically no one uses this sales model.

[a_guerrajr]

In my case Xfinity is the only ISP with good internet in my neighborhood, AT&T offers DSL here only.
I purchased my own modem which has paid itself off instead of renting theirs. So consider that if you plan on sticking with them long term.

I pay $106 with tax for the 300MBps package and that includes streaming all local channels plus a few extra cable channels.
we are a family of 4 and we stream alot, I game, and in this situation both I and wifey are WFH and my kiddos are doing zoom meetings. It has been able to handle the load just fine.

Cable is a shared line, so some times during the day you may see less speed and others you will see more than what you are paying for. Versus Uverse is a independent line to your house.

[marksmu]

The cost of Xfinity varies widely across areas based on the relative home values in the area. When I lived in the Heights 77008, my xfinity was about $70/mo.

I moved to Briar forest while I was building a new house and transferred my service and that area was slightly lower values than the Heights so my rate dropped - I don't recall this zip-code.

When I moved again into the memorial area (77024) - my rate went way up - the same service, same number of boxes, same speeds, etc were about 50% more expensive in the 024 zip code than in the heights.

You can confirm this price bias, by entering different addresses when getting pricing for services....they raise the price to people they think can afford to pay more for it.

Speedwise there is no comparison to ATT vs XFinity - ATT uses DSL or in some cases multiple DSL services to achieve their speed....they are capped by the limitations of the wires they are using. XFinity uses Coax which can move significantly more volume of internet traffic unless they are throttling you.

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by marksmu

Speedwise there is no comparison to ATT vs XFinity - ATT uses DSL or in some cases multiple DSL services to achieve their speed....they are capped by the limitations of the wires they are using. XFinity uses Coax which can move significantly more volume of internet traffic unless they are throttling you.

Unless you can get ATT fiber, which we have. It's $49.99/month and we get about 945 mbps down/ 952 mbps up according to the Speedtest app for Win10. Definitely a good option if it's available.

https://www.att.com/internet/fiber/internet-1000/

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by marksmu

Speedwise there is no comparison to ATT vs XFinity - ATT uses DSL or in some cases multiple DSL services to achieve their speed....they are capped by the limitations of the wires they are using. XFinity uses Coax which can move significantly more volume of internet traffic unless they are throttling you.

Originally Posted by kreeyax

Unless you can get ATT fiber, which we have. It's $49.99/month and we get about 945 mbps down/ 952 mbps up according to the Speedtest app for Win10. Definitely a good option if it's available.

Just as a POI, Xfinity does have fiber to the residence in some places. I got lucky and have Comcast Fiber. Even on an older wi-fi adapter, I get 700Mbps+.

However, I don't think many areas have Comcast Fiber for "the last mile", as they say.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by maxq

Looking at their website, it looks like the current "deal" is 12 month contract at $39.99/month for 100MB internet, after which it goes up to $55/month. That's twice the speed I have now with AT&T Uverse, so more than enough. I plan to dump cable entirely and go with stand-alone internet and just use an antenna for the local channels. So, what is the real cost of Xfinity/Comcast internet once I add in tax, modem rental, fees, etc? I'd probably start with their equipment, but would plan to buy my own after a month or so. I'm in the city of Pasadena if it matters. They have an alleged "deal" that for $5 more, you get TV channels that basically mirror the available channels you can get over the air with an antenna. For this privilege, they add on a $15 local broadcast fee (and I think another $10 or $12 for a TV box). :-O

What does it actually cost? Nobody knows. They will vary the price based on where you query from. I was looking to set up my kids' house with Xfinity 75 a few months ago and it said $30/mo. I went to their house and started an order for them and it said $40/mo. Hmmm, put that on pause, a few days later re-checked from my house and it said $30/mo. Finding what it will cost after the intro is another fun exercise.



Where they also get you is on the fees. As you found, sounds like a great deal to get local channels for $5 more but with the boxes and fees and taxes it ends up being $30-40 more.



In any event, buy your own router. You can get a quality compatible Arris for under $100 and it will be paying for itself in less than a year.