Cable cutters -- how do you get internet?

[omni550]

I'm not a big TV watcher...mostly watch TiVo'd recordings of shows I enjoy. Sometimes the TV stays off for days/weeks.

As costs keep skyrocketing, I'm thinking of cutting cable. But I'm wondering what to do about internet, which I use heavily?

As we have others here who have successfully cut their cable...how did you handle it? Are you on long-term contracts for internet service? And for TV -- what are you doing... hulu, Netflix, antenna (OTA) or what?

Anything I should be on the lookout for?

Also, I am a snowbird effectively each location for ~ 6 months. The FL condo fees include basic Comcast cable, so this question applies to my northern location only.

omni

[Jerry1]

I haven’t done it yet, but the basic setup is to have just internet, so the “cable” is not actually cut. You can also get some over the air channels with a basic antenna if you’re in a good location. There are also products like sling, which I believe can get you local channels over the internet/streaming.

[Dash man]

Our Florida condo contracted for our own fiber optic internet connection. They do provide Comcast for tv also, but that ends at the end of the year.

[athena53]

I'm fortunate- Google Fiber came to my area. The local cable company (Comcast) did offer Internet-only service but it was more expensive than Google Fiber at a slower speed. It was also more expensive than their cable Internet + TV package that I had. Very weird pricing. I don't miss Comcast.

[JustCurious]

My understanding of the phrase "cable cutter" refers to cutting cable TV, not necessarily cutting cable internet access. I cut cable TV, but I kept internet only cable access, and I consider myself to be a "cable cutter."

[easysurfer]

Most of my internet use is web browsing and emails, so I'm not a heavy user but do streaming once in a while on an Amazon FireTV box.

I use the lowest Comcast plan for my internet. Was $19.99 for about 12 months, then bumped up to $39.95/month. I think actually, cheaper if I bundled but I like keeping services separate to avoid rate increase creeping (at least that's my theory ).

I get my TV OTA with an antenna next to the window and have a DVR that uses that antenna. Kind of old school as the DVR programs like an old VCR (no automatic schedule) but gets the job done for me. Still can pause live broadcasts on the DVR so pretty much all I need.

[big-papa]

Cut the cord completely 2 years ago.
1. OTA. Bought an antenna and mounted it in the attic. Have a TIVO with lifetime plan.
2. Internet access is month by month. Around $50 or so per month with max ~200Mbps and with my own cable modem purchased from Costco.
3. Roku has the rest.


With Roku I have paid subscriptions with
1. Acorn and Britbox (currently in a bakeoff to see which one I want to keep)
2. CBS but only when the new Star Trek series is shown.
3. Hulu - which mostly eliminates the need for the Tivo, except for local programming. Oh well.
4. Netflix
5. Amazon Prime with an extra membership for Showtime, but only when new episodes of Homeland are available.


Even then there is more out there than we have time to watch....

[njhowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omni550 As we have others here who have successfully cut their cable...how did you handle it? Are you on long-term contracts for internet service? And for TV -- what are you doing... hulu, Netflix, antenna (OTA) or what? Anything I should be on the lookout for? Also, I am a snowbird effectively each location for ~ 6 months. The FL condo fees include basic Comcast cable, so this question applies to my northern location only. omni

We cut the cord maybe 7 or 8 years ago.

We get our internet through the local phone company - yes, we still have the landline. It is DSL and our speed is only 11 Mbs - which isn't bad for our use. We can have 2 people streaming simultaneously without any issues. We have a price for life package which includes the DSL and landline. We could get "dry DSL" meaning without the landline, but the cost differential is less than $15/month, so we keep the landline. We do have the alternative to get our internet from Comcast/Xfinity standalone without the cable service. However, once the initial teaser offer ends, the price is relatively high, though we could get much higher speeds than the DSL. From our history/experience with Comcast, we just don't trust them, so it would be our last resort.

You should be able to get DSL from your local phone company, and you may also be able to get internet from AT&T or other providers at your location. If you go to their website you can plug in your address and check. You can also contact the local cable company and see what they would charge for internet only.

For TV, my family would not allow dropping the cable until I provided the local stations. I purchased 3 digital antennas, installed in our attic and pointed them at the metropolitan areas within 50 miles. The attic install was significantly easier than outdoors. The antennas are very good, though not sturdy enough that I would be comfortable installing outdoors. Luckily we get good reception in my area, even with the antennas in the attic - which surprises many folks. We get over 80 stations OTA, though we watch probably only 15 of them - ignoring the foreign stations, QVC, HSN, etc. Every year more and more becomes available OTA and the receivers automatically pick them up. We have a OTA Tivo and it's wonderful. The OTA Tivo comes with lifetime subscription, so there was just the original purchase price - no monthly fees.

We pay for Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. We have the cheap Hulu, and lowered our Netflix to the minimum service level when they last raised prices and don't really notice any difference, other than only one person can be using it at a time. We have Rokus on all of our sets and there are quite a few free offerings which are very good - pluto.tv is a winner.

Now we have many more options than we did with cable/satellite, for a fraction of the cost, more comes online all the time, and more of the options are things we will watch.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omni550 I'm not a big TV watcher...mostly watch TiVo'd recordings of shows I enjoy. Sometimes the TV stays off for days/weeks. As costs keep skyrocketing, I'm thinking of cutting cable. But I'm wondering what to do about internet, which I use heavily? As we have others here who have successfully cut their cable...how did you handle it? Are you on long-term contracts for internet service? And for TV -- what are you doing... hulu, Netflix, antenna (OTA) or what? Anything I should be on the lookout for? Also, I am a snowbird effectively each location for ~ 6 months. The FL condo fees include basic Comcast cable, so this question applies to my northern location only. omni

Just internet, no OTA. Watch mostly shows on Netflix, occasionally PBS. Sometimes Amazon Prime.

Not under long-term contract for internet.

[Chuckanut]

I cut the TV/Entertainment cable. I still have the FIOS cable. And, of course, my OTA antenna and a Tivo DVR to allow me to record the FREE OTA shows and watch them at my leisure. I also get DVD's from the public library for free.

[W2R]

I don't get TV or any other service from Cox Cable any more, except for internet.

I get TV from a home made OTA antenna. Frank set up his Netflix account over here too, but I do not use it since I am not much of a TV watcher.

[Sunset]

Been OTA now for about 14 yrs.
Netflix gives us a lot to watch.
We buy internet often 1 or 2 yr contract , currently it's 10Mps for $20/mo. on a 1 yr contract.
At the end, I'll see who to switch to, or cancel, and DW can sign up for $20/mo.

[Dawg52]

Comcast is my only option. I'm not a cord cutter at this time tho. I have been.

[Marita40]

I have internet only with Centurylink: $55.00/month for life.
Choices here are Centurylink or Comcast. Bad and worse, IMHO.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omni550 Also, I am a snowbird effectively each location for ~ 6 months. The FL condo fees include basic Comcast cable, so this question applies to my northern location only. omni

If you’re in a location for only 6 months you have two options. One is to contract internet service and cancel 6 months later, repeat every year. If you have two providers, you can alternate and get their best signup deals.

Another option is to use “snowbird service” which is offered by Comcast and AT&T, where they keep your service on standby for $10-$15 per month for the time you are away.

Streaming TV works well for snowbirds. They are not like Comcast, you sign up today, start watching immediately if you have a streaming device, and cancel 6 months later. I used PSVue last year and just started DirectTV Now, both are easy to set up and use.

[TheRunningMan]

I finally cut the Charter/Spectrum/Time Warner (TV) cord last month. I still have 200mbps internet through them for $65/mo (I own my modem) though I plan to call for a lower price. For TV I took advantage of the DirecTV Now offer of a free 4K Apple TV for prepaying for 3 months of service, or $105; after it is $35/mo. It isn't perfect but it is working fine; they need to add capacity to the Cloud DVR, though it is a beta version now. I also have Amazon Prime video with my prime account. I tried YouTube TV but couldn't fast forward through ads on the cloud DVR, which was unacceptable. In all I do not feel I am missing out on anything though the DW has some challenges with the Apple TV remote within DTV Now.

[TheRunningMan]

Yes, smart of you to mention public library DVD resources which are a great way to save money. Our local branch gets several copies of new release films for members to borrow.

[bUU]

It sure seems like a misnomer to call it cutting the cord if the cord isn't actual cut. We would still be beholden to the cable company is we are still consuming their internet service.

[omni550]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bUU It sure seems like a misnomer to call it cutting the cord if the cord isn't actual cut. We would still be beholden to the cable company is we are still consuming their internet service.

Perhaps that's why it's called cable cutting? (Cut the cable tv...still use internet.)

omni

[bUU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omni550 Perhaps that's why it's called cable cutting? (Cut the cable tv...still use internet.)

That's silly. You're still getting internet service through the cable.