Internet service
 

I am trying to find an alternative to paying $187/month for Comcast. I like what I hear about HULU but I still need internet. Comcast monthly charge for internet only is $93. Are there any viable alternatives to that? Thanks for any help you can give.

We have Comcast internet and it is definitely substandard as compared to other services we have had and will be changing soon when our contract ends. The service cuts in and out, very slow at times, so frustrating. Prior to this we had Century Link and it was reliably good. Just a note, we had Comcast before from 2005-2014, and it was excellent. Don't know what happened but it isn't at all the same product. Good luck in your search.

The $93 per month rate is their standard rate for internet only service at speeds of up to 300 mbps. That is probably way more speed than you need. I would go online and make an appointment to visit the Xfinity store on Rt 441 near Best Buy. It is much easier to deal with Xfinity in person. You can probably switch to a slower internet speed for less money.

Different neighborhoods are wired differently. What are your alternatives?

We have had xfinity for past 3 months bundled for tv and phone and internet and much cheaper than when we had verizon back in Va.

Century Link is $49 a month for life for speeds up to 100 mbps. I've had it for 9 years and had one outage, and that was due to a lightning strike.

Internet Service - Affordable High-Speed Internet | CenturyLink

Spectrum

Agree you probably have a higher speed then you need. We have 100 speed from Xfinity and paying about half the price you are paying. Also, heck out YouTube TV, cheaper than Hulu, same channel’s, better DVR.

We have Xfinity/Comcast for high speed internet and You Tube tv for our streaming tv service. We have three tv's, two iPhones, and two iPads, and one iMac. 200 mbps is probably more than we need, but I like it. We have our own router and modem that can handle that speed. Xfinity is $73 per month and You Tube tv is $54.88. You tube had the programming we require and the ability to record what we need and the ability to watch on more than one device. We have had no problem at all with Xfinity internet since we moved here. We had a problem with losing the signal but it turned out to be a router that was wearing out. Replaced router, no problem since.

I agree that you probably don't need 300 mbps unless you have multiple devices streaming at once. 25 mbps per device should be fine.

Alternative to Comcast!
 

In some cases your options to Comcast are based upon where you live in TV. In my case I live south of 466A. CenturyLink offers a price for life guarante of $49.00/month for 100Mbps for fiber optic service and then I subscribe to YouTube TV for an additional $50/month. There is an excellent group in TV called the "Cord Cutters" and they can give you a variety of options as an alternative to Comcast.

South of 44...we have Spectrum with download speeds of 220 mbps for our internet to which we added YouTube TV. Pay approx $110/month.

I’ve just clicked on your link and got a page offering UP TO 100 Mbps for $50 a month, for life, as you said. That sounds great. But it asked me to type in my address in The Villages for more information about the speed, and I got a page saying that at that address, I would only get 15 Mbps. Is that what you are actually getting? Is that enough for live streaming Netflix without delays?

I have Century Link. $50/month

Comcast
 

I have comcast and dropped TV. I lowered internet speed to 100 mbps for $40.00. Got Sling TV for $30.00....

John, Century link says up to 100mb. I did have them and they we good. But I needed the higher speed and when i was working on the computer things were very slow, so I checked the speed and. It was around 25. I called and asked them why and they stated the contract reads “up to 100” . The,-rice for what i need was to High so i went to xfinity.

I would also like to chime in about bandwidth.

I am a networking professional by trade. I install and manage commercial routers(and a million other things) and I can tell you that 300mbit is enough to service a dozen houses, each continuously running 3 streams(llike Netflix, Hulu, etc.) for standard high definition TV. Yeah, you read that right.

Hulu uses 8mbits of bandwidth for their top tier "HULU + Live TV"
Netflix uses about 5mbits
Amazon Prime 3.5mbits
Youtube TV about 4mbits

If you bump up to 4k on any of those, you'll need around 25mbits for each stream. Remember though, you have to pay extra to get 4k on Netflix.

What this means to you? It means 50, 60, 80 mbits is PLENTY for 99% of Villagers. You both could be streaming on two TVs, your phones, tablets and browsing the internet at the same time while your nest/ring doorbells are streaming up to the cloud.

Our home in El Cortez has a 25mbit xfinity plan. We have zero issues with it short of temporary service outages.

You do need a good Cable or DSL Modem.
You do need a good router. A cheap router will make a very fast internet connection seem like garbage.

Consider your monthly bandwidth allotment. 1024GB seems like a lot but our busiest month never went over 600GB. I also upload content to Youtube, and remotely connect to servers around the world. I would prefer a bigger buffer, but it's enough. My niece has a stream running continuously when she's at home in NJ, so that plus our regular TV might push it when she visits.

More is nice, but if you're on a budget, it's just a huge waste of capital.

Century link $49 a month Internet only

Call Comcast to cancel. Eventually you will get to someone in "retention" who will offer to lower your bill. It's worth a try.

I know this is water under the bridge but perhaps it will help in the future. When you measure your download bandwidth, you need to do it with a hardwired connection to the router (ethernet cable). If you were doing it over Wi-Fi, the results can be misleading. Assuming you were connected with ethernet cable and there weren't any underlying issues with your computer or router, you should be able to achieve "close" (at least 80%) to the nominal download rate you contracted for. You can always eliminate the router as an issue by plugging your computer directly into the RJ-45 jack on the wall as CenturyLink gives you a dynamic IP address at the RJ-45 jack if you have their fiber-to-the-house service. In the event you cannot measure close to the contracted bandwidth, CenturyLink can run diagnostics from their facilities and then send out tech support if they can't resolve the issue over the phone. This is generally how they work. You may need to be persistent. For example, there was recently a CenturyLink issue in my neighborhood that resulted in reduced download performance during certain parts of the day. It took a couple of calls but they did diagnose some failing equipment in the field and resolved the problem.

My 2 year contract with Comcast was up last December from pass experience I was expecting my bill to go up to $200. I started researching alternative methods and decided on Comcast high speed Internet, Hulu Plus, Netflix I already was a Amazon prime member this give me everything I wanted on TV including DVR which was a must. The price of these option came in at just under $100 per month. Armed with this information I went to Comcast store on 466 across from Home Depot to discuss options. In the end I decided to stay with Comcast on a 2 year contract for $110.00. In addition I changed my wireless plan from ATT which ran $90 to Comcast wireless $13 I do own my phones. Everybody is different but for me I felt this was the best options at least for the next 2 years.

Note: I did a 30 day trial 30 of Hulu Plus to make sure it would give me everything I wanted I made my decision.

You may want to call CenturyLink directly and verify the service that is available. If you can only get 15 megabits per second download then it would appear you are in an area still serviced by the older DSL protocol over copper wires, as opposed to other areas that are serviced with fiber-to-the-house. Regardless, 15 megabits per second is more than enough for 1080p Hi-Def with Netflix as it only consumes 3-5 megabits per second of bandwidth. Also, Netflix is adaptive and will reduce the resolution of the video if it detects buffering caused by reduced bandwidth. However, this should not be an issue for you. You probably would not have enough bandwidth for 2160p (aka 4K ) as it generally consumes 15-20 megabits per second of bandwidth. This isn't really an issue, IMO, because there isn't a lot of 4K material, you need a 4K TV and streaming hardware that supports 4K, and the differences between 1080p and 4K are small.

Be careful about cancelling Xfinity because there is an early termination fee if you cancel before your current 2 year contact has expired. But, you can downgrade your service to "internet only" at any time and not pay the fee.

Don’t think they are open yet

Not sure what you are getting but I pay $20 a month for xfinity internet. Look at what you are buying - do you really need as much bandwidth. I live alone but have many connections - Apple TV, Two flat screens (one is 4k), an Imac, ipad and two cell phones but I only stream them one at a time so I can use the lowest bandwidth and still stream 4k movies. It did require a one-year contract but without the contract it was $30

Century Link is $50 for internet, be sure you get fiber not DSL, get Roku, stream YouTube TV.

220 mbps..............never saw that option from Spectrum.

I switched all to Xfinity
 

The key as the above suggests is to GO TO THE COMCAST STORE, I switched all including Internet, TV and Cell service to Xfinity. Have not regretted it one bit, I will be visiting the same store on April 2021 to renegotiate the program, I am saving over $80 per month over previous providers, more TV channels, less problems, no problems with WiFi and the same cellular service that I had with Verizon, but much cheaper, my average bill for 2 lines is $19 per month (it varies from $14 to $26 depending on data usage) again the key is don’t do it by phone, go to the store located on West corner 441 and Rolling Acres road.
:welcome: :welcome: :boom: :boom: :MOJE_whot: :MOJE_whot:

We have Direct TV so use CenturyLink for internet- $45 a month flat fee (total price) unlimited, guaranteed no increase;we have had for 5 yrs, unlimited data; it's now up to $49 a month;have never had an outage

Interesting thread, When xfinity finally reopens will go to discuss switching cell service from Verizon

Alternative to Comcast
 

I ‘be been using Roku sticks at my home and rentals for nearly a year and have had no complaints from renters. I did put instructions in the rentals. I use CenturyLink for internet as you need service for streaming.

Definitely go to the store, but not now. It is closed because of the Coronavirus. But, when it reopens, go to the website first and make an appointment. That way, you will not have to wait in line. Trying to deal with Xfinity on the phone is a nightmare.

We are doing u/tube live and we have the rogu stick. we get everything and more. We also have internet through spectrum. We love it.

Absolutely agree going to the store is a better option

This is what I did to completely kick Comcast to the curb.

Amazon FireSticks for each TV. BTW, only 2 TVs can be active at one time, else there is a slight extra charge. Amazon Prime membership.
Century Link internet provider at 80 mb/sec, online bill pay to keep lower costs.
Hulu Live for life broadcasts as well as some movies
Netflix explains itself.

Literally cut my bill in half.

I cut the cord.
 

I had/have Comcast. I discontinued everything except the internet. Yes I’m paying more but no contract when I make my final decision. I did find that if I buy my own modem (next planned purchase) I won’t be paying but a few dollars more than CenturyLink.
Signed up for Hulu Live. Again, a little more expensive, but it was important to me to keep my local newscasts.

cul-de-sac network
 

I'll give you an alternative ...

You might consider what some call a cul-de-sac network. We have Comcast and share it with two neighbors ... one on each side. If you're savvy enough (or hire someone who is), you can use multiple routers to isolate each neighbor's traffic for privacy. We use a pair of line-of-sight antennas to move the signal to each property. My neighbors then each have their own Wireless Access Point (WAP) and switches in their homes as desired.

Everyone has their own strong wifi and plenty of speed for streaming (hulu, netflix youtube, satellite radio app, etc). No, this solution does not carry a TV signal. But, if you are content to "cut the cord" to cable TV, internet only service gives you plenty to watch.

We pay about $35/month each <smile>

Obviously, I can't tell you where I am located or offer to help you. Just know that it works. Also, FYI, because we are using line-of-sight antennas, it is not imperative that you only share with the guy next door. You can share with any neighbor that you can "see". There is an upfront investment to get this all working. But, ROI is just a few months (assuming you do your own labor).

P.S. This can be done with any internet service. Century Link fiber would be my choice for better speed but, alas, that is not available to me.

The basic Comcast internet at 25 Mbps is more than adequate for streaming multiple streams at one time. We have this service level for $20 per month. We can stream several devices at same time with no lag or buffering.

Comcast has a offer for seniors of $50/month for internet. You probably have to call them to get it because you won’t find it on their website. It’s for a year then after a year you have to call them again. We’ve been doing this since we cut the cord and bought a Roku stick and stream. YouTube TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO, and basic Hulu (which we never use because of the commercials and should drop) satisfy our viewing desires. $150 a month including internet. We're probably different because we don’t watch any commercial TV except the Food Network, jeapordy, and The Tonight Show. But, those we record so we can speed past the commercials. We dislike commercials.

Please contact me about an issue with Comcast speed in your area. I can't private message you through TOTV. Thank you. happyreader@comcast.net

We have CenturyLink their highest price is 65 dollars a month for 1000 GB they have plans going down at less money we have had it for 2 years and had no trouble whatsoever