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The plan on Earthlink's website for the $30 plan only goes up to 15mbps. Is that high enough to stream hulu and sling tv?
Yes.
It's 50/5. They just haven't updated the site. It was upgraded sometime either early this year or late last year.
And yes even 15 mb service would be plenty fast provided your router has good coverage and operates on the 5.8 band. That will be your biggest bottleneck to speed. Sling streams at around 3-4 mbps.
After chatting with someone at Earthlink, it's only going to be a $10 savings between them and AT&T. They charge $10/mo for the modem, so with that and adding a landline phone (and yes, I'm keeping it since I can't make cell phone calls from my apartment), it would cost me about $50 to go with Earthlink and Vonage, and then I'd have to change internet again in 6 months. If I go with AT&T I'll have an installation charge, but I can lock in a $60 price for 2 years for both phone and internet. So not sure what the better way to go is.
After chatting with someone at Earthlink, it's only going to be a $10 savings between them and AT&T. They charge $10/mo for the modem, so with that and adding a landline phone (and yes, I'm keeping it since I can't make cell phone calls from my apartment), it would cost me about $50 to go with Earthlink and Vonage, and then I'd have to change internet again in 6 months. If I go with AT&T I'll have an installation charge, but I can lock in a $60 price for 2 years for both phone and internet. So not sure what the better way to go is.
I bought a modem off eBay for $30. Google Voice/OBi is free home phone after a one time $40-$50 purchase. It runs off VOIP the same as Vonage. I had Vonage and dumped them for the OBi setup which I've had now almost six years.
Why do you have to change internet after six months?
There is a special place in hell reserved for AT&T and all that they touch. You have been warned!
Please, let us help you. We're trying as hard as we can. But I'm about to give up...it just hurts me to see people burn money. It's one of my OCD things. I was poor for so long I got really good at stretching dimes into dollars.
The price of Earthlink goes up to $41 after 6 months. If I use their modem, it'll be $51/month, which is the same price as AT&T. I also read they're merging with Windstream so who knows if their prices will change next year since Windstream is a lot more expensive.
I know you're trying to help and I appreciate it. I have zero money to buy a modem or phone right now. This has been stressful enough for me trying to figure out how to get rid of cable and find new cell phone providers. AT&T has better deals than TWC, and I'm two months behind on my TWC bill right now, so if I don't switch to someone else soon, they're going to cut off my internet anyway.
My stress levels are very high right now and I can only handle one change at a time. Otherwise I'm going to have an anxiety attack. So please don't get upset with me if I don't make all the changes at once right now.
You'll not get the same speeds out of AT&T as you can with TWC. For years I hated TWC, and wouldn't consider them. I was happy with UVerse TV, but only got around 20Mmbps net speeds.
I had to move recently, and TWC was included with my monthly rent. I added 50mbps net for $39.99. It's been good, but I do still have small issues, but streaming nor gaming is never an issue at those speeds. I pay TWC $39.99 with no contract each month independent of my cable TV. I wouldn't pay more than that. I have my own modem and router...spent about $45 total for those two items.
Since I'm already a TWC customer, I'd have to cancel, turn all my equipment in, then start as a new customer to get the special pricing and pay for new installation, even if I had my own modem. As a current customer, I wouldn't get those prices. I don't do gaming, I just need it for checking email and streaming on Roku. I only have one TV and one computer, so I wouldn't be using more than one thing at a time.
If you don't have $30 to purchase a modem (a cost that will be recouped in THREE MONTHS) I would seriously consider dropping your services until you can get caught up. Go to a Panera to use internet for a few hours if you must. You're in a much worse financial position than you were insinuating in the original posts. C-D has a personal finance forum, those folks can whip you into shape. It's going to hurt, the words will be frank, but if you really can't afford to purchase a used modem to save money you need to accomplish some drastic measures. I honestly can't believe you are even entertaining the idea of buying TV cable services and super high speed internet at this point. I think you can get 5 mbps service for $15/month. My wife and I "survived" on 768k internet for a long time to save money.
I'm not buying TV cable services, I'm cancelling my TWC and buying an HD antenna. I got the roku stick as a gift, so that was free. Hulu is only $8/month. Once I finish with all my budget cuts, I'll have extra money next year, but right now I'm behind on several bills, so I can't buy a modem right this minute. I also don't know anything about hooking up modems by myself and Earthlink won't do it for you if it's not theirs. So even if I could buy one, I have no way to hook it up.
I guess I also still don't see how Earthlink is a good deal when their prices go up every 6 months. By the end of the first year, I'd be paying $50, which isn't that much cheaper than AT&T.
So after chatting with Earthlink online, they said I can get a TWC installer to come hook up a modem at no charge. I can't afford a modem for another month, but don't want to pay another month of TWC, so I may sign up for Earthlink using the TWC modem I have, and then when I buy a modem, I'll have them take the $10/mo off.
I still don't like that their prices go up every 6 months. So after 6 months or a year, I'll have to switch providers again so I don't end up paying $80 at some point.
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