Cable providers vs Cord cutters

That sounds like a pretty good deal to me. We cut the cord a couple years ago when Comcast dropped ESPN from the most basic package. We spent about $300 on an antennae and relied on our 12mbps DSL from Verizon that runs about $80 a month (including phone). We do use the land line - a lot since we have bare-bones cell phones. Our Verizon package includes unlimited long distance and since I often work from home and talk often with out of state co-workers this is a big benefit. We also pay for Netflix.

I've been trying out Sling, but I'm unlikely to keep it going, although it is tempting. If I could get it working with my Chromecast I might consider it, but they don't seem to like each other (it seems to be just me, this isn't a global issue). Or if beIN was included in the base package that might get me to reconsider too. Frankly I should be watching less TV and not more and Sling would just promote bad habits.

 

Heather, I did the same thing a few months ago. Our town is rolling out a city-owned fiber optic network and we were the 2nd area to get it. Now I have fast enough speeds to be able to stream anything. I called DirecTv and by the end of the call, that bill was cut in half, so I kept it. Addtionally, there is only a one month penalty to cancel during my "contract."

I also went with ooma for our home line. I realize it's not a traditional "land" line, but we don't have the best cell service and ooma is only $6 per month. Once our number is ported over we will be able to cancel the old phone/internet package. Once it's all said in done, 1 call to directv and switching internet provider will save us approx $100/month.

 

@dcheather the Chromecast issue is a software problem that seems specific to my phone that I want to cast from. The app doesn't install. Steaming has been fine on 12mbps. Years ago we only had 1mbps and that caused problems if anyone was on the internet for any reason while streaming. Since going to 12mbps we've had no problems. Sometimes there are three people watching separate videos over the same line. Sling looked just fine through my laptop although once or twice an hour it dropped for about 5 seconds.

Our main options here are Comcast and Verizon. I hate Comcast with such a white hot passion that even if they have a better deal I won't take it.

 

This is great. I've been exploring options for a couple of months now and it's good to hear other's situations.

When we moved to CO at the beginning of 2013, I told Comcast that I wanted internet but wasn't sure about tv. They said that I could get the basic of basic tv and internet for virtually the same price as internet alone (sounds like your deal @dcheather), so I did it. After moving two more times since arriving, I'm so fed up with Comcast that I don't know where to begin. (You get a new account number for each address even though you're "moving" your service through Comcast. Then my online account access was not transferred to the "new" account and I have to call them multiple times to link my online account access with the "new" account.)

I just got a Roku3 and am playing around a bit with it. Took the free two week trial for Sling TV. I was researching the service last month and it didn't sound like they were able to handle the demand (comments like, "don't even try to watch MNF or Walking Dead"). We'll see how it goes. I really think that a la carte tv is starting to gain traction. As long as there are a couple providers like Sling, cable is going to lose its grip.

I also bought an indoor digital antenna over the weekend. I'm not getting as many channels as expected and ordered a different one last night. I'll see how it compares with the first and return the lesser or both potentially. I haven't really looked at outdoor antenna options since I rent, but might if the indoor ones don't prove worthy.

I'm starting to think that I live in the same town as @dtowndough. If so, the city is providing gigabit internet. They have an initial deal that if you sign up within the first three months that it is available at your address, you are grandfathered in at $50 per month. Regular rates now will be $100 per month. I'm waiting for the installation on my street and then Bye Bye Comcast! Unfortunately though, I am one block over from the zone that they are installing now - not sure when they'll actually move into my zone.

 

I live in a bit of a hole located in Lancaster County, PA. Without a rooftop antennae we can only get two channels because the ridge that wraps around us blocks the closest signals. However WITH the rooftop antennae on a good day we can get signals from Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Philly and Baltimore are not consistent. Sometimes they are great, sometimes they don't come in at all. That is the big downside of digital signals. There is no "fuzzy" reception. HD glory or nuttin'. As a kid I watched tons of shows through "snow" and I wish that was a possibility with digital. I wanted my one son to do a science fair project about what environmental conditions impact TV signal strength. Instead he decided to do something about how to raise soybeans in a warmer, drier climate. What good does that do me?! I'm not a farmer!

The day that we raised up our antennae and called Comcast to cut our cable was glorious. Like Scarlett O'Hara I proclaimed from my rooftop "As God as my witness I shall not pay Comcast again!"

 

Hey Heather, it's a flat monthly rate of $40 for the fiber optic.

 

Well, you wont know if you dont ask Verizon. "It all depends", of course. On the distance of the replacement and whether overhead or buried. In some cases, buried is cheaper to replace than overhead. The physical fiber line is not really all that expensive for them, UNLESS all their 'taps' on the PoP {like a Hub, sorta} are occupied.
Complicating this is Verizon's ongoing marketing strategy. If they're tired of maintaining and expanding their infrastructure, {as seems to be the case with ATT} you're basically out of luck unless you only look at it short term.
On the other hand, that's the deal GENERALLY when it comes to broadband. You cannot look more than 2 years forward.

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BTW, speaking of 'fiber superiority, it's important to understand that the Bandwidth bottleneck, for any provider who is NOT ATT, is not in the last mile, it's in the portal to the internet backbone. Standard cable providers like Comcast or TW who provide TV programming via Switched Digital like 'on demand and 'start over' and then tell you there's no room on their coax for higher bandwidth speeds are -ahem- fibbing, big time. It's their 'border boundary' traffic that costs them and which they want to control.