Who to use?

[hulahips]

We just switched to direct TV today however to stay with Comcast for high speed internet is $100 a month which seems high? Any recommendations for outer and phone service?

[tomwed]

We just switched to direct TV today however to stay with Comcast for high speed internet is $100 a month which seems high? Any recommendations for outer and phone service?
I have comcast, internet only. $50/month
I was told if I threatened to quit I could get it for $40/month. That's the blast speed or a word that sounds like blast.

[hulahips]

When I called them last night to tell them we were dropping TV service they said then $100 a month for internet and 40 for landline

[tuccillo]

I pay $46/month for internet and use a Voice-over-IP phone service (Ooma) for my landline (cellphone is not reliable enough for my work) at $3.50/month. Drop the landline and if you can't get your internet down to around $50/month (or less) you should shop around.

When I called them last night to tell them we were dropping TV service they said then $100 a month for internet and 40 for landline

[l2ridehd]

That was what they told me as well. I told them, OK cancel that as well and I will use a Verizon hot spot. Comcast then said OK, $75 to which I said no. Ended up I said yes at $42 a month. But I think I will end that as soon as the year is up. I just don't like them as a business. They just want to rip you off on every service. I don't trust them and that means I don't want to do business with them.

[tuccillo]

This is the new reality we live in: one-year "special" deals to get you to sign up and then a price increase. The majority of people will just live with it. You need to be prepared to call every year to get the "special" deal for another year or switch providers. I live on the southside so I have access to 3 internet providers. I use CenturyLink and have been happy and they seem to be receptive to the concept of providing me with the latest "special" deal as long as I am willing to call up and ask for it.

Another thing, you can live with a lot less internet bandwidth then you realize. While 100 Mbits/sec sounds good, in reality you probably won't utilize it unless you have a habit of downloading lots of pirated movies. If you use Netflix, 3-5 Mbits/sec will provide you with Hi-Def.

That was what they told me as well. I told them, OK cancel that as well and I will use a Verizon hot spot. Comcast then said OK, $75 to which I said no. Ended up I said yes at $42 a month. But I think I will end that as soon as the year is up. I just don't like them as a business. They just want to rip you off on every service. I don't trust them and that means I don't want to do business with them.

[jnieman]

When I called them last night to tell them we were dropping TV service they said then $100 a month for internet and 40 for landline

There is also VoIP Phone Service - Internet Home Phone Service Providers | magicJack (http://www.magicjack.com). It has plans starting at $3.00 per month for home phone.

[hulahips]

Do you use them? Really looking for recommendation for phone and internet now??

[tomwed]

There is also VoIP Phone Service - Internet Home Phone Service Providers | magicJack (http://www.magicjack.com). It has plans starting at $3.00 per month for home phone.
I dropped Magicjack last year. I have a google voice number. It's linked to my cell phone [Republic Wireless]. Google voice is now part of Hang-outs. It's confusing for me and I'm using it. It's free and I talk to everyone from my laptop while I'm working on it and move from tab to tab.

I sure wish someone would do a presentation on Google Hang-outs. Hey, Tom the AV Guy. I'd pay $5 for a group lesson on Hang-outs in a hall or rec center and I'll bet a lot of others would too. You do give clear explanations.

[hulahips]

I'm sorry but I am way behind in technology. I just need simple recommendations for options that are out there for outer and house landline?? Probably Verizon, century link?? Anyone else I should check?

[Barefoot]

That was what they told me as well. I told them, OK cancel that as well and I will use a Verizon hot spot. I just don't like them as a business. They just want to rip you off on every service. I don't trust them and that means I don't want to do business with them.

I don't trust Comcast. I hate the way they will offer special deals if they're pushed and prodded, but the deals aren't available unless you're a Squeeky Wheel.
Could you please explain what a "Verizon hot spot" is?
Thanks.

[Ecuadog]

A true "landline" is copper wire. That's CenturyLink. It still works during a power failure.

[tuccillo]

CenturyLink south of 466A (and probably other parts also) is fiber optics to the house, not copper. It will still work during a power outage because of a battery backup (UPS) powering the box of electronics on the outside of the house (ONT).


A true "landline" is copper wire. That's CenturyLink. It still works during a power failure.

[tuccillo]

They are all like that. Calling every year to get the current "deal" is the new paradigm.

I don't trust Comcast. I hate the way they will offer special deals if they're pushed and prodded, but the deals aren't available unless you're a Squeeky Wheel.
Could you please explain what a "Verizon hot spot" is?
Thanks.

[hulahips]

We bought new TV's ultra 4k and best buy sent us right to direct TV (in the store) because the salesman told us direct was first to have 4k service. Anyway we now need phone and internet service as we want to get rid of Comcast. Just called century link and for internet and house phone it would be 62.00 a month which includes 10 mbits. Is that enough? Does that sound in the ballpark?? Direct TV did lie to us as everything is not broadcast in 4k yet (even though they told us yes it is). Just not sure who to turn to for house phone and internet?

[champion6]

<snip>Could you please explain what a "Verizon hot spot" is?This is it: Verizon Jetpack MiFi 6620L | Verizon Wireless (http://www.verizonwireless.com/internet-devices/jetpack-mifi-6620l/)
It uses the cell towers to connect to the Internet. It ALSO has a wireless router built in so your Wi-Fi devices can get to the Internet through it. You need a substantial data plan to use it a lot.

[tuccillo]

A couple of things. There isn't really much in the way of 4K programming material.

Rather than get phone service, use a Voice-over-IP phone service such as Ooma, Magicjacks, etc. for much lower cost or just use cell phones. Ooma runs me $3.50/month.

10 Mbits/sec is fine for most people. If you stream Netflix, you need 3-5 Mbits/sec for Hi-Def. Netflix apparently has some very limited 4K material and I understand you need something more like 20 MBits/sec for 4K. I pay about $45/month for CenturyLink 40 Mbits/sec. It is a bit of an overkill but I got a good deal and I do occasionally move 50 GByte files around for work.


We bought new TV's ultra 4k and best buy sent us right to direct TV (in the store) because the salesman told us direct was first to have 4k service. Anyway we now need phone and internet service as we want to get rid of Comcast. Just called century link and for internet and house phone it would be 62.00 a month which includes 10 mbits. Is that enough? Does that sound in the ballpark?? Direct TV did lie to us as everything is not broadcast in 4k yet (even though they told us yes it is). Just not sure who to turn to for house phone and internet?

[tuccillo]

You have started another thread asking essentially the same question as your first thread.

We bought new TV's ultra 4k and best buy sent us right to direct TV (in the store) because the salesman told us direct was first to have 4k service. Anyway we now need phone and internet service as we want to get rid of Comcast. Just called century link and for internet and house phone it would be 62.00 a month which includes 10 mbits. Is that enough? Does that sound in the ballpark?? Direct TV did lie to us as everything is not broadcast in 4k yet (even though they told us yes it is). Just not sure who to turn to for house phone and internet?

[hulahips]

I know. Didn't get a direct answer to threat so was trying again

[tuccillo]

If you are south of 466A, the choices are Comcast, Brighthouse, and CenturyLink. I don't believe there is Brighthouse north of 466A. One person already responded about using Verizon for cell-tower based internet access. Those are pretty much the choices.

I know. Didn't get a direct answer to threat so was trying again

[hulahips]

Just called century link. Will try Verizon next. Want to leave Comcast we are centrally located, near Lk sumter

[larimor]

There's very little 4K content out there. Minimum requirement 20Mbps.

[Ecuadog]

CenturyLink south of 466A (and probably other parts also) is fiber optics to the house, not copper. It will still work during a power outage because of a battery backup (UPS) powering the box of electronics on the outside of the house (ONT).

The OP is north of 466A.

There are no copper phone lines south of 466A?

[tuccillo]

I believe that is correct.


The OP is north of 466A.

There are no copper phone lines south of 466A?

[tuccillo]

With CenturyLink, if you want, for whatever reason, the higher bandwidths you need to have fiber to the house. Older, copper-based DSL will not support the higher bandwidths.

It really does matter how it's delivered. Fiber, coax or twisted pair copper. It's all converted to analog telephone aka landline over copper at the modem.

[tuccillo]

There are no more "phone lines" anymore - just datapipes ...

I thought we were discussing phone lines ;-)

[Barefoot]

...

[tuccillo]

Just to clarify, if you have CenturyLink fiber optics to the house then voice, internet data, and TV (their IPTV offereing) all come down the fiber. They don't have separate copper for voice.

I believe there may be some areas within The Villages that CenturyLink still uses the older copper wire for voice, internet, and possibly IPTV. With copper wire, achievable bandwidths are a function of the distance from the switching station. With Fiber, it doesn't matter.

I believe that is correct.

[gap2415]

We use viatalk for our home phone, very reliable and clear. $100 year. Every feature imagineable on it. I like that I can go online and see every call in or out, block any number that is trying to sell me something and get my messages anywhere. I can even take it to the cottage with me or put a feature on my laptop to get my calls there. (Called soft phone) it also gives me two lines, different rings for different family members and so on. We have used them for ten years.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Never ever buy the cable companies phone service. It's a rip off. There are tons of Other Internet phone services. We've been using Omma for many years now.

[tuccillo]

Hi Tom,

Yeah, OK, inside the house. Thats not what I meant ;-) No more "phone lines" (i.e. copper) to the new construction houses. Only coax and fiber. The coax is even starting to be dated but will stick around through inertia for a bit. We have had fiber for about 5 years now; including The Villages and before The Villages.

Jim, Look at the back of your Ooma VoIP modem. Ethernet (datapipe) in, phone line out.

[emoji1]