I have had it with Comcast 's outrageous cost Any recommendations for cord cutting?

[G+_Gary Pietila]

I have had it with Comcast's outrageous cost. Any recommendations for cord cutting?

[G+_Gary Pietila]

I plan to move to Centurylink for internet, but still want content access beyond Netflix & Hulu.

[G+_Wolf 68k]

There are several boxes you can get, it just depends on which market you want to be in or maybe already in. If you're in with iOS then the Apple TV will work. If you're Google Play market then the Google Chrome. Then there is Amazon Fire TV and Roku.

I've now the Fire TV. I've owned a early gen of the Roku. We also have some Apple TVs. They all have their pros and cons.

 

That should take care of your Netflix and Hulu. Your over-the-air, I can't really suggest anything as far as getting the stations to come in. You might want a DVR and there are several choices for that. I haven't used any of them, I only know what I've read and seen YT videos of.

 

Sling does offer a number of channel packages if that's something you want. But those can add up quick and make it about the same cost as tv cable services, so be careful going down that rabbit hole.

[G+_J Miller]

Check out a Fire stick and Kodi

[G+_Rich Sobocinski]

Terrarium TV

[G+_Glenn Nelson]

We pay $17 per month for Comcast Limited Basic TV. Outrageous! Of course the real expense is Comcast internet - probably not the cord that you want to cut. (Santa Cruz, CA)

[G+_Rud Dog]

Gonna have to google Centurylink. I too am tired of the costs per month for Comcast's Xfinity. Was thinking of canceling all but the internet service but have heard they are adjusting that cost to make it less of reduction in cost. Anyone done this and if so what was the cost of just Internet service.

I started looking at boxes but got frustrated and just quit. The HD Homerun and its different boxes, the Nvida Shield and several other knock offs. Some come with limited tv guides but if you want to record they will charge you a monthly fee.

Would be great to hear what path you take.

[G+_Scott W]

Fire TV and Playstation Vue. A good antenna for OTA and a Tivo to record the OTA shows we watch.

[G+_Rich Sobocinski]

I just dropped my Fios cable down to local channels only. It would have cost me more to drop it entirely and just keep internet. Local only is SD only and I'm not a cave man. I just disconnected and hooked up a $7 antenna. HD local much clearer than cable HD. I actually don't watch it much. I'm using terrarium TV which let me cut loose Netflix and Tivo as well. Very happy

[G+_Chris Spaulding]

Every year as certain as the sun rises ever day, I am on the phone with Comcast after my year long price special has expired trying to negotiate it back down to what it was, or threaten to leave. And every year we go through the same thing over and over. If you call and speak with a retention representative during business hours, they usually would negotiate you back down to the price special again. They would rather you pay something to them than their competition. However, if you ever threaten to go to another ISP, be prepared for them to call your bluff. Again I never had any issue having to really drop comcast. But, I was certain to unless I got it my way.

[G+_Ben Reese]

Centurylink is DSL most places. Max of maybe 80 Mbps if you can get them to bond 4 channels and you live close enough to the CO. Unless there's a good 3rd player in your area (look for WISPs - Wireless Internet Service Providers or maybe a fiber option), Comcast is probably still your best option.

[G+_Jason Marsh]

Ben Reese We're CenturyLink customers, and we have had decent experience with them since Title II classification. Before that, hang it up.

 

The last few years before Title II reclassification, I had to shame them after 8 months of calling about connection dropping, call quality issues, etc. I had to post photos of their poor cabling on the internets for all to see. If they'd been astute enough, they might have realized the page was hosted on their own network, and at my IP, but that's not important. After their public shaming, they repaired the local loop and offered to bury my service drop, which would've taken out about 200 feet of the run. Later they "upgraded" the DSLAMs with gently used equipment from a larger market and finally offered 10Mb service. At least it was stable even when raining or windy.

 

After Title II reclassification, they've been busy. They replaced some local loop in my area, then turned around and ran fiber all over my semi-rural area and all over the small towns near us, littered the roadsides with little fiber nodes, and offered real broadband service. We now have 40Mb over a single pair. Could have 80, but don't need it.

 

It took some time on the phone with their customer service, but the 40Mb service now costs me the same as I paid for their 10Mb service.

 

They're still not getting four stars out of me, though. Earlier this month we were without internets for about a day because the three dollar GFI outlet feeding a fiber node died. I had it diagnosed within a a few minutes, but of course I can't get a local technician on the phone to tell him what's up. And I don't really want to be arrested for "hacking" or domestic terrorism for repairing the telco's equipment for them.

 

I know why their prices are the way they are, though. When they showed up to fix our internets, they had a big bucket truck, a little service truck, and two linemen on the job. The look on their faces when I drove up and asked them if it took that much manpower and equipment to replace a NEMA 5-15 receptacle...

[G+_Ben Reese]

Jason Marsh awesome! Glad they got you to a working state.

 

To the best of my knowledge, CenturyLink has always been under Title 2. They're a phone company first and ISP second. They own the copper, so they're responsible for lifeline services.

 

I've installed/replaced many GFCI outlets and all cost way more than $3, but I get what you're saying... Real quick and easy fix that probably cost 20x as much in manpower and equipment than it should have.

 

They must have brought the termination point a lot closer to get 40 Mbps on a single pair, which is great! My brother was just upgraded to 80 on a bonded DSL from CenturyLink, but he's still paying more than the 200 Mbps service I'm getting from Spectrum/TWC.

 

I'm going through a similar issue with Sprint now. Even though I almost always have decent LTE signal strength anywhere in town, the download/upload speeds are terrible. Others are having the same issue, so I know it's not just me. It happens every in town over 3 or 4 separate towers, so it's not just a single tower issue. And I get good LTE speeds other places in the greater metro area. But every call is 45 minutes and I have no way of knowing if they are doing anything to fix it.

 

It stinks when you probably know more about the tech than the phone agent on the other end if the line and have to dumb it down enough so it makes sense to them!

[G+_Jason Marsh]

Thread hijacked, but... Ben Reese the poor "technician" on the other end of the phone is just a critter in a cubicle farm or working from home. They have little to no knowledge and they're just following a scripted tree. Next time I see the familiar lineman around I'm going to have to give him my number. I'll gladly walk over to check status lights, reset the GFCI, etc.

 

Also, I can find NEMA 5-15R GFCIs at retail for $6.49, so I'm sure CenturyLink is getting them at a better bargain than that.

 

I'm not sure about their classification, really. Perhaps I made a mental shortcut between the Title II hoopla and the activities of my local ISP/Telco.

I know, correlation != causation ...