Giving up on cable internet

spantini

spantini

COO of me, inc.
Just got an eMail from the my ISP telling me our Congress has not approved funding to continue the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to subsidize internet costs for those who cannot otherwise afford the service. Beginning with the month of April, all subsidies will be discontinued and our discounts will be removed. This will mean a 35% increase to my monthly bill.

I just finished setting up my phone for use as a hotspot. Next, I will have my cable internet service removed. I won't be hanging out here as much, but I will be checking in periodically. . . and saving lots of dough.
 
spantini said:
Just got an eMail from the my ISP telling me our Congress has not approved funding to continue the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to subsidize internet costs for those who cannot otherwise afford the service. Beginning with the month of April, all subsidies will be discontinued and our discounts will be removed. This will mean a 35% increase to my monthly bill.

I just finished setting up my phone for use as a hotspot. Next, I will have my cable internet service removed. I won't be hanging out here as much, but I will be checking in periodically. . . and saving lots of dough.
Click to expand...
Good to save dough - but you may not have to give it up: White House renews calls on Congress to extend internet subsidy program - and it’s looking good for people like you who use it - the proposal is through 2024 with a budget to extend it through 2025 at least.
 
Yo Spantini with the subsidy how much are you paying a month?

I'm in LA and have fiber currently using Frontier...I have to negotiate each year...Got lucky this last year and got the right "retention customer service rep" smokin deal 500 mbs $29 a month...I have my own router. I know it's not the same everywhere. I'm paying @ $275 ( one lump sum ) annually with mint mobile. Unlimited talk, text and 15 GB of data a month. That works out to @ $23 a month
 
spantini said:
Just got an eMail from the my ISP telling me our Congress has not approved funding to continue the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to subsidize internet costs for those who cannot otherwise afford the service. Beginning with the month of April, all subsidies will be discontinued and our discounts will be removed. This will mean a 35% increase to my monthly bill.

I just finished setting up my phone for use as a hotspot. Next, I will have my cable internet service removed. I won't be hanging out here as much, but I will be checking in periodically. . . and saving lots of dough.
Click to expand...
Well crap!
Any other options in the area?
 
TAE said:
Yo Spantini with the subsidy how much are you paying a month?

I'm in LA and have fiber currently using Frontier...I have to negotiate each year...Got lucky this last year and got the right "retention customer service rep" smokin deal 500 mbs $29 a month...I have my own router. I know it's not the same everywhere. I'm paying @ $275 ( one lump sum ) annually with mint mobile. Unlimited talk, text and 15 GB of data a month. That works out to @ $23 a month
Click to expand...
That's a sweet deal you're getting! We've got Frontier and Verizon (fiber) in my area but they don't service my location.

Spectrum ISP. Standard full rate here is $84.99/mo. for 300mbs, no limit, internet only - that's before the $30 subsidy. My address offers no other internet options at lower prices other than my phone. Spectrum will most likely offer me $49.99 - $54.99 as a last retention offer, but now that I've got my phone carrier's hotspot working I can get by on it's data for $27 - $37/mo. I'm not a data hog.
 
spantini said:
That's a sweet deal you're getting! We've got Frontier and Verizon (fiber) in my area but they don't service my location.

Spectrum ISP. Standard full rate here is $84.99/mo. for 300mbs, no limit, internet only - that's before the $30 subsidy. My address offers no other internet options at lower prices other than my phone. Spectrum will most likely offer me $49.99 - $54.99 as a last retention offer, but now that I've got my phone carrier's hotspot working I can get by on it's data for $27 - $37/mo. I'm not a data hog.
Click to expand...
I've found that using hotspot consumes a fair chunk of data on the mobile plan. Maybe because what gets served to a PC is more data than your average mobile site?
 
I have a buddy who went with Verizon 5G home internet. I'm not sure what he pays but he said it was locked for quite a number of years (3 or 5 I think), He can do streaming video with it.

Like TAE, I went from TMobile to Mint. I pay less on my annual plan, and went from 2GB to 15GB/month. It still uses the TMobile network. They also have unlimited plans. I'm not sure if that includes tethering or not.
 
spantini said:
I just finished setting up my phone for use as a hotspot. Next, I will have my cable internet service removed. I won't be hanging out here as much, but I will be checking in periodically. . . and saving lots of dough.
Click to expand...
That’s not so bad. For about 2 years I had no home internet provider.

Just my phone and 10 gigs of hotspot.

Most of my internet needs were satisfied with my phone. And when I hooked up my laptop to the hotspot. Ten gigs easily lasted all month (unless I watched too many movies.)

The internet is really addicting, but disconnected, you’ll discover how little it’s actually ‘needed’.

The only reason I have home service now is because wifey likes her Netflix :D
 
TalismanRich said:
Like TAE, I went from TMobile to Mint. I pay less on my annual plan, and went from 2GB to 15GB/month. It still uses the TMobile network. They also have unlimited plans. I'm not sure if that includes tethering or not.
Click to expand...
Yeah I use the hot spot on my iphone often no problem. I was on the 5 gb plan but started using up the data and then shit gets slow so I bumped up to the 15 gb plan this year. As long as you don't need hand holding to make things work Mint Mobile is a smart shopper way to go. Their customer service is OK for dealing with billing n such but your usually speaking with someone from overseas...That said I'm in to mint now for 6 years and saved a good chunk of change by skipping the major providers.
 
I've been using around 60GB on my laptop watching video only. My desktop is around 8GB for online activity other than video. I'm going to monitor my phone and adjust it's data to compensate. The 60GB of laptop video watching will have to go.
 
Just got off the phone with Spectrum's retaining department. The ACP is officially defunded and no longer available. I paid this latest bill which included a partial ACP credit of $15 - that takes me through June 20. A very nice woman in retention spent 20+ minutes throwing succesively lower offers at me, the last one was $14.95/mo with greatly reduced speeds (actual speeds were not mentioned). Unfortunately, I had to decline all offers. June 20 is D-Day.

Before calling, just to make sure I still had good hotspot connectivity, I disconnected the ethernet at the modem, then checked all my devices via my android phone - they all work perfectly, so I'm a go when the big disconnect happens.
 
A funny thing I learned several months ago. I have a very cheap Cellphone plan. Like $15 a month and 5Gig of data. It has 5G and the service is rather good (I had service between Ft. Worth Texas all the way to Tuscon). I was going to use my tablet for my Google maps. Bigger and easier to read. My tablet is WIFI only. Being the smart guy that I am, I thought I would "HotSpot" the phone. Well, I didn't know carriers could do this, but my low tier plan doesn't allow HotSpot service and the cell phone disables it.

The more you now. :)
 
It's funny you mentioned this. Earlier this morning, I was reading up on hotspot connectivity to my PC and something in there mentioned not all carriers offer it for some or all of their plans. I had not even considered that possibility and counted myself fortunate to have moved to a low end carrier which offers the option. Hotspots were about the farthest thing from my mind as I was making the move from T-Mobile to Consumer Cellular.
 
Sorry to hear it finally came to that.

My wife and I both work from home and hi-speed internet is a must. No way I could operate my small business without it.

On a related note - we cut the TV cable about 15 years ago and I've never looked back. Basic Netflix and Prime is enough programming. And I barely tolerate those. I have a digital antenna way up high in my second story attic and can grab all of the local feeds clean and clear. And a DVR in place so I can skip commercials and watch stuff when I want.

I despise big corporations with a passion and do my best to steer clear of them these days - but it's become increasingly difficult.
 
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