With the "cable companies" such as Comcast and Spectrum, the trunks are fiber. The last 50 feet of coax to the house doesn't really matter that much. With CenturyLink, you are either fiber to the house or DSL over copper. That makes a big difference.

I don't care about "ratings". I have had CenturyLink for 4+ years and they have been fine. I hardly ever interact with them because the service is reliable. I think the last time was when I was replacing their router with one I bought. They actually swung by my house to pick it up.

Don't know if you got this resolved or not but here are a couple of thoughts: I found my CL bill was also doubled early in the year, but it's because the credit card I had autopay on had expired and they failed to notify me (they did take off the late charges when I complained of that). Also, when my introductory rate was ready to expire, they pleasantly moved me to the $45/mo plan and so far, so good.
As for going cable-free, we haven't had cable since moving to FL 4 years ago. Bought a nice antenna and put it up (shouldn't cost more than $100 for antenna, maybe same for install). Our smart TV automatically has Netflix, which we subscribe to for less than $9/mo. We also got Roku and Chromecast, so we have plenty of options. If TV is not your life, you can do it relatively inexpensively.

Cutting the Cord - Cable
 

We purchased a Fire TV Stick at the Marion of Market that had a pre-loaded program on it for Movies, TV Shows (not live, by season/episode) and Sports (live). This was while we still had a Dish contract to fulfill.

It was around $100 and then no further charges for what I mentioned above. This way we didn't have to pay fees for Netflix or other streaming devices and we were able to watch the NFL games and Big Ten Network etc.

Next we paid the same person to use his Premium program on the stick. That was $12 for a one month trial. We liked it so much we went for the $100/yr. contract. We get ALL the national and local stations - news from our stations back home, golf, tennis, hbo, starz, diy, hgtv, food network - you name it. However, you can't record with this type of service. It is streaming from our CL router and our speed is at 25mbps (I think that's the abbreviation). The picture is HD. We have a TV fire stick on each of our 4 TV's but can only watch 2 tv's simultaneously with their premium package. Not sure if you could watch a movie on a 3rd TV if it was using the non-premium streaming feature.

Streaming does not come without faults - and there is a learning curve to using it. However, we're retired - we've got plenty of time.

If you want to check it out for yourself - go to the Market of Marion - Aisle A - I think between C and D - facing towards Ocala. The guys are great. There are other vendors at the MofM, but their boxes are a couple hundred dollars - per TV and a monthly fee several X's more than we are paying.

If recording is a "must" then there's a unit on the market but it has to be used with an antenna or a couple designated streaming sites that are fee-based. I think it's called HD Homerun DVR. Or, stay with your cable or dish company and get the minimum channels that suit your needs for recording and do what we are doing for the rest.

Good luck!!!

Don't be surprised to see all this "free stuff" go away soon. The networks and industry are beginning to crack down on these services, which are mostly KODI boxes with illegal 3rd party add-ons. Your "jailbroken" Fire Stick may become an ordinary Fire Stick before too long.

I had the same thing happen. I called and got it back to the original price. They are willing to work with you.

As long as you are aware 75% of what you are doing/watching is illegally obtained and streamed it's a good deal ;) despite the fact with a $25 FireTV (or other brand) "stick" and an hour or 2 on YouTube reading instructions you can get it all for free if you are a geeky type. The $100/yr really isn't a bad deal since it's all "pre-stolen" for you and you don't have to deal with it. I am sure the seller told you this up front :D

I had a "box" version of a "stick" but found it too annoying to deal with and stuck with commercial services and I AM the "geeky type."

I used to have Prisim and internet with century link. When I complained about price increases they would give me a discount and then add a year to my contract without telling me. I changed to Dish and comcast internet. Never have problems with Dish, but Prisim was a nightmare. Can't fix it until next Wednesday...
Comcast internet is much faster and I've had no problems. Just my experience.