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If you look at the teaser rates (first 12 months) and you purchase Internet standalone it is much cheaper than internet plus television. However, if you decide to drop television to save costs and switch to VOD streaming, the story is radically different.
My cable company lists the following EXTRA charges for television. Surcharges are a relatively new tactic to enable companies to advertise a much lower rate than reality
Description - Qty - Amount for Television Equipment Lease
Set top boxes - 2 - $12.00
Six Tuner DVR - 1 - $10.00
$34.66 Cable TV (taxes, fees, and surcharges)
$10.78 Broadcast TV Surcharge
$9.82 Sports Programming Surcharge
$9.35 Entertainment Networks Surcharge
$3.33 Franchise Fee
$1.32 State Sales Tax
$0.06 Regulatory Fee
These charges add up to $56.66 a month. If I drop television I would have to return the equipment, and they drop the TV taxes, fees, and surcharges.
But I expected them to reduce the base price as well, but they won't.
Same around here. We have a bundle from Xfinity (Comcast) that includes phone, cable and internet. We visited the local store to see about dropping cable but then the price on the remaining two increase so much it’s basically not worth it.
There’s no competition here. FIOS, for all their advertising, is no where to be found and with all the mature trees, even satellite is a problem for many here.
I dropped cable about 2 years ago. I had Sling TV at $20/month and then AT&T (who owns DirecTV) had a promotion for people with a family share plan, so I switched to DirecTV Now and it's $27/month for a TON of channels (including HBO).
For internet, the cable company (Time Warner/Spectrum) charged $79 for 300 Mbps service but our town just got Fiber and that's at $89. I work from home occasionally so the internet is worth it for me.
I shudder to think what I would be paying if I was still a cable customer.
The value in dropping everything to base internet service is more than just the cost, which is sometimes only a few dollars less than bundles. Without cable (TV), they can't jerk around your offerings on a monthly basis and play nonstop shell games with different packages and costs on top of the bundle rates. Without their 'orribly overpriced phone service, they can't dick with those costs or find ways to squeeze in extra surcharges.
You can also choose internet from other providers who might have "substandard" cable, phone and other add-on services, because you don't care about those any more.
Same around here. We have a bundle from Xfinity (Comcast) that includes phone, cable and internet. We visited the local store to see about dropping cable but then the price on the remaining two increase so much it’s basically not worth it.
We have RCN, but they have COMCAST in the neighboring county. RCN mimics Comcast in pricing. If you are a new customer they charge $30 for 50 Mbs internet, $45 for 50 Mbs internet & phone + Philadelphia broadcast, $80 for 50 Mbs internet & phone and full basic cable TV lineup. My triple play costs $79.99 but there is an additional $74.68 in surcharges, taxes and fees plus equipment rentals .
My personal belief is that a company should only be allowed to call something a surcharge if it is optional in some way. I understand that airlines are charging for benefits that traditionally were considered standard (like choosing your own seat), but they are still technically optional as you could just say give me any seat.
The last ticket on Allegiant Air charged a surcharge to pay for the ticket. They said it was optional because I had the alternative to pay in cash, but it had to be at a counter was open for 6 hours a week at my choice of Florida locations (over 900 miles away). That really stretches the definition of optional.
But cable TV has surcharges for sports, entertainment, and broadcast, and there are no options. I'm not sure what Cable TV is without sports, entertainment, and broadcast. I suppose it is just weather and news with no commentary. It's just a scheme to advertise misleading prices.
But, yes if when you buy the services and TV costs $50 more than internet (+$56.66 in surcharges, taxes, and fees) then when you go to drop television you expect the bill to go down by something close to $106.66.
At some point Verizon 5G Home or whatever T-Mobile and AT&T dream up may offer a reasonable alternative to cable, but that could take years in a small city.
DISH decided some time ago that they didn't want to pay a FCC regulatory fee of .03 per subscriber, per month anymore. So now subscribers are paying it. 14,000,000 x .03= $420,000 that DISH keeps. $5,040,000 a year. But they now allow dropping 'local' channels for a $12 a month saving. [but you need an antenna]
DISH decided some time ago that they didn't want to pay a FCC regulatory fee of .03 per subscriber, per month anymore. So now subscribers are paying it. 14,000,000 x .03= $420,000 that DISH keeps. $5,040,000 a year. But they now allow dropping 'local' channels for a $12 a month saving. [but you need an antenna]
My cable company bills us the FCC regulatory fee of .06 per subscriber.
They also bill us $10.78 Broadcast TV Surcharge but do not have the option of dropping 'local' channels.
Passing on line item regulatory fees of a few cents a month may seem stupid, but at least it's not dishonest. Charging surcharges for non-optional items is just plain lying when you advertise rates.
Once again, it is endemic in the service industry. Hotels charge "resort fees" and telephone fees.
DISH decided some time ago that they didn't want to pay a FCC regulatory fee of .03 per subscriber, per month anymore. So now subscribers are paying it. 14,000,000 x .03= $420,000 that DISH keeps. $5,040,000 a year.
So... DISH didn't want to pay the fee itself, so it charges the customers... and then keeps the money?
Right.
Even if you mean something else, it's not money DISH "keeps." They've just shifted the cost to a different category. This is one reason "lifetime" rate promises are meaningless; the "rate" may not change, but that doesn't include surcharges, a whopping percentage of which are NOT governmental or otherwise third party. Something like "Line Access Fee" might look like gummint greed, but is just a bogus charge on the part of the provider.
FWIW, I don't remember the last time I had a cable/broadband bill without a stack of government and other fees. So shifting that three cents from one column to another is meaningless except in promotional terms.
Same around here. We have a bundle from Xfinity (Comcast) that includes phone, cable and internet. We visited the local store to see about dropping cable but then the price on the remaining two increase so much it’s basically not worth it.
This is how they get you and keep you. Drop it anyway. Send a message. Speak with your dollars. Cancel your phone, too. There are other options. There's no way Internet only is going to be MORE then your total bundle.
I did save money when I cut cable but to be honest I make a pretty good living and saving money was NOT even the 1st or 2nd reason why I did it. My #1 reason was to send a message that this current system is broken and we need a change. That was 3 years ago.
That change came.
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