[DonnaMBryant]

A month ago, when our 2-year contract was up with Xfinity for internet (800Mbps) and cable TV and our rates went up, we made the decision to go with Quantum Fiber and YouTube TV for streaming service. The service with Xfinity was always reliable. I had been working remotely over VPN as a software engineer and had no issues with service, only the cost. After switching to Quantum, I called Xfinity to cancel their services. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. While they made it clear that the cable TV service could not be discounted (They seem to accept that many are switching to streaming), they gave me a 5 year no-contract price for 1-GIG internet to match QF, and then additional discounts for autopay, our Xfinity mobile lines, and "loyalty", which are 2-yr discounts. My Xfinity bill is now $23.00. They also sent a free XUMO box (which I don't need and am not using). So I am back on Xfinity for internet and YouTube TV for streaming. P.s., for the brief period of time that I used QF, I had no issues with that service either.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by azcindy

Thanks. Shows not available Maybe because I am on an island, kind of (Linden Isle)

It’s not available in DeLuna either. We have Spectrum for $55 monthly, but I personally hate the low upload speed. Download is fine, and reliability has been good for 2.5 yrs except recently when a power outage somewhere nearby caused Spectrum to go down for many hours.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by DonnaMBryant

A month ago, when our 2-year contract was up with Xfinity for internet (800Mbps) and cable TV and our rates went up, we made the decision to go with Quantum Fiber and YouTube TV for streaming service. The service with Xfinity was always reliable. I had been working remotely over VPN as a software engineer and had no issues with service, only the cost. After switching to Quantum, I called Xfinity to cancel their services. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. While they made it clear that the cable TV service could not be discounted (They seem to accept that many are switching to streaming), they gave me a 5 year no-contract price for 1-GIG internet to match QF, and then additional discounts for autopay, our Xfinity mobile lines, and "loyalty", which are 2-yr discounts. My Xfinity bill is now $23.00. They also sent a free XUMO box (which I don't need and am not using). So I am back on Xfinity for internet and YouTube TV for streaming. P.s., for the brief period of time that I used QF, I had no issues with that service either.

===

[jrref]

Originally Posted by DonnaMBryant

A month ago, when our 2-year contract was up with Xfinity for internet (800Mbps) and cable TV and our rates went up, we made the decision to go with Quantum Fiber and YouTube TV for streaming service. The service with Xfinity was always reliable. I had been working remotely over VPN as a software engineer and had no issues with service, only the cost. After switching to Quantum, I called Xfinity to cancel their services. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. While they made it clear that the cable TV service could not be discounted (They seem to accept that many are switching to streaming), they gave me a 5 year no-contract price for 1-GIG internet to match QF, and then additional discounts for autopay, our Xfinity mobile lines, and "loyalty", which are 2-yr discounts. My Xfinity bill is now $23.00. They also sent a free XUMO box (which I don't need and am not using). So I am back on Xfinity for internet and YouTube TV for streaming. P.s., for the brief period of time that I used QF, I had no issues with that service either.

So, you went from 1Gig download and upload speeds with Quantum to 1Gig download and 30mb upload speeds with Xfinity and now after 5 years have to do this all over again vs just staying with QF and not having to worry about this any more. You could have purchased a Roku or Fire stick for less than $50 and either of these blow away the XUMO box in picture and sound quality. As far as cell service, don't get fooled by their "discounted" service. Read the fine print. They have data caps and you can get better service at the same or better pricing at Consumer Cellular or Visible or T-Mobile or Mint, etc.. The only reason why the cable companies are offering cell service at a discount is to get you to pay for their overprices services after the promotion is up, but 5 years is a long time.

So, here is what happens, sorry for the rant. You stay with Xfinity for 5 years. After the 5 years is up, whatever they offer you, by that time everything will have increased in price, will probably be way more than if you went with QF now and locked in the current price for life with them. I've seen this with my neighbors many times. That $35 1 Gig service QF had will probably never happen again but thousands of us here in the Villages will be enjoying that service for years to come.

Just another perspective on the subject.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by jrref

Sorry, Copper cable is susceptible to water, moisture, and all kinds of buried environmental attacks. Also, it's also susceptible to all kinds of emi/rfi interference expecially from lightning and cable systems need to be periodically powered from your home to the ISP which fiber does not. Known fact, fiber, overall is more reliable or Internet providers woould still be deploying copper cable which they are not. In fact, just the opposite.

The saying goes, "When you hear hoofbeats things horses not zebras," yet just the other day there actually was a zebra. Yes, copper is susceptible to some of those problems but they are zebras AND fiber is susceptible to many of them as well.

Cable systems need to periodically powered from your home? Sure, you have to provide power to the cable modem but you also need to provide power to the ONT. Where is the difference?

Providers are deploying fiber for cost and bandwidth. More fibers in a smaller space enables connecting more customers. I didn't write that fiber wasn't the best choice for new installations, I wrote that cable networks can be just as reliable.

Now are you saying Xfinity or Spectrum is just as reliable as Quantum? Different question. All three companies are very reliable just with the cable companies you are always getting promotions that you have to constantly re-negotiate. And the technology is totally different.

Yes, I am saying that in theory, the technology used by Xfinity or Spectrum networks can be just as reliable as Quantum. I am ALSO saying that in reality, service reliability (a function of the maintenance) is a consideration. I had zero problems with Xfinity service while I was a customer - Quantum can match that but they can't beat that.

Business practices and price are also considerations but are less important. If you only chase price then the phrase, "You get what you pay for," comes into play. I am not at all interested in renegotiating my price every year; in fact, I'm willing to pay a little more to avoid playing those games. Likewise, a company that gains a reputation for an odd interpretation of the term "price for life" is not attractive to me either.

As mentioned, when people reach out to me for help connecting to Quantum, a significant number say they are tired of the buffering at prime times, and this will vary depending on where you live here in the Villages, along with the need to reduce their monthly costs. The reduction comes with the internet service and getting rid of cable and moving to streaming.

Remember, cable is a "shared" connection with good download but terrible upload speeds where fiber is a "dedicated" connection with the same download and upload speeds.

As you know, both cable AND fiber are "shared" connections at some point. That point is different with the two technologies and the amount available for sharing is much higher with fiber but both technologies have limits. Proper provisioning can avoid ever reaching those limits.

The characteristics of fiber allows for higher upload speeds. This is not an issue for me but can be an issue for certain use cases (multiple camera feed stored in the cloud, recording OTA TV to the cloud, probably some gaming, etc).

The need for speed was mentioned. In many cases, cable subscribers sigh up for the higher speeds so when they sometimes get "slow-downs" during peak times they still have enough speed to do what they want. With fiber there is no need for that.

I think in many cases subscribers sign up for the higher speeds due to marketing. Many users on here have mentioned the 500Mbs or Gbps speeds they are paying for but few have ever mentioned why those speeds are needed. There aren't enough people in my household to watch all the televisions that it would take to utilize the bandwidth I currently have, I sure don't need to double that.

Quantum tells me their most popular plan is 940Mbps plan for $65. I have no idea whether that is true but I'm sure the statement drives people towards that plan. Their bottom tier plan is $45 for 200Mbps so look at that, I can get 370% more bandwidth for only $20. I can pay $0.23/Mbps or I can pay $0.07/Mbps - the more economical 940Mbps plan is the clear choice. But I am not using the entire 200Mbps, much less 940Mbps! If I only need a cup of milk then it doesn't matter that the price per ounce is cheaper if I buy the quart since I will be throwing most of it away. Paying extra to waste milk once doesn't make sense, doing it every month is foolish - the same goes for spending more to purchase bandwidth you will never use.

You have mentioned the slow-downs during peak times frequently. I have never seen that but I can imagine that it could happen with a poorly provisioned network - including a fiber network. Providers can offer higher speeds on fiber networks because the technology supports it and because they know the subscribers won't actually utilize it. However, as they route more and more subscribers through the same concentrator and as devices start utilizing more of the bandwidth even "dedicated" fiber networks will start to have slow downs. It will be interesting to see how long that takes.

Finally, did you know, one of the most common ways an induced lightning power surge can enter your home and damage and or destroy your sensitive electronic devices is through the cable line? It happens a lot and most do not know or install any surge protection on the incoming cable line to their home. The protector costs about $29.95 on Amazon.

Well, since there are only a few pathways for an induced lightning power surge to enter a home and since many homes here don't have metal gas lines, metal water lines, or telephone lines, the remaining pathways become "most common."

$30 is very small amount to pay to protect a $1,000 television but debatable for a $200 cable modem that might be covered by the provider. In all the years I've had cable into my home or satellite dishes sitting on the roof I have never had a problem with lightning but yeah, it does happen.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by jrref

So, you went from 1Gig download and upload speeds with Quantum to 1Gig download and 30mb upload speeds with Xfinity and now after 5 years have to do this all over again vs just staying with QF and not having to worry about this any more. You could have purchased a Roku or Fire stick for less than $50 and either of these blow away the XUMO box in picture and sound quality. As far as cell service, don't get fooled by their "discounted" service. Read the fine print. They have data caps and you can get better service at the same or better pricing at Consumer Cellular or Visible or T-Mobile or Mint, etc.. The only reason why the cable companies are offering cell service at a discount is to get you to pay for their overprices services after the promotion is up, but 5 years is a long time.

So, here is what happens, sorry for the rant. You stay with Xfinity for 5 years. After the 5 years is up, whatever they offer you, by that time everything will have increased in price, will probably be way more than if you went with QF now and locked in the current price for life with them. I've seen this with my neighbors many times. That $35 1 Gig service QF had will probably never happen again but thousands of us here in the Villages will be enjoying that service for years to come.

Just another perspective on the subject.

He wrote he is NOT using the XUMO box so he probably IS using a firestick or Roku.

The $35 1G service from QF is not happening now or two months ago when he changed providers. Today, QF will be happy to sell me 940Mbps (close to 1G) for $65 compared to the $23 that he is paying. Even if some of his discounts only last for two years, that is over $1,000 saved and if the $23 price lasts for five years the savings will add up to $2,500.

If he starts with $2,500 savings by 2030 then QF will need to raise their 1G price to over $100 in order for him to break even by 2035. How likely is that? What's the chance that QF won't discover a new meaning of life again and increase those $65 payments? What's the chance there won't be another shift in technology and new plans at 5Gbps or higher will be available for the same price?

[rsmurano]

I pay $39.99 for 1G spectrum, why would I go any slower in speeds? I was paying $80 for 1G xfinity before that and they wanted to almost double the cost for 1G so I went with spectrum

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

He wrote he is NOT using the XUMO box so he probably IS using a firestick or Roku.

The $35 1G service from QF is not happening now or two months ago when he changed providers. Today, QF will be happy to sell me 940Mbps (close to 1G) for $65 compared to the $23 that he is paying. Even if some of his discounts only last for two years, that is over $1,000 saved and if the $23 price lasts for five years the savings will add up to $2,500.

If he starts with $2,500 savings by 2030 then QF will need to raise their 1G price to over $100 in order for him to break even by 2035. How likely is that? What's the chance that QF won't discover a new meaning of life again and increase those $65 payments? What's the chance there won't be another shift in technology and new plans at 5Gbps or higher will be available for the same price?

You are right, I missed that about the Xumo box. But the OP said they got QF 500mbs service for $50 and now they are paying $23? Not sure that's with taxes and fees, etc.. but my point remains the same. My opinion whether you agree or not is they should have locked in service with current pricing vs having to renegotiate 5 years from now probably at a much higher rate. You are right that $35 1Gig service isn't happening now and we probably won't ever see that again. As far as a technology goes, If you live in certain areas of the Villages you can get up to 8Gbs service right now with QF. I can get 2Gbs with QF for $95. That's crazy cheap compared to the rest of the country. Will we see higher speeds at cheaper prices 5 years from now? Probably but the base speed that most use will most likely be higher. And unless you are running a business you shouldn't need 1Gig fiber so the cheaper service at $45/month or the $55/month is probably way more than most here in the Villages would ever probably need.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

The saying goes, "When you hear hoofbeats things horses not zebras," yet just the other day there actually was a zebra. Yes, copper is susceptible to some of those problems but they are zebras AND fiber is susceptible to many of them as well.

Cable systems need to periodically powered from your home? Sure, you have to provide power to the cable modem but you also need to provide power to the ONT. Where is the difference?

Providers are deploying fiber for cost and bandwidth. More fibers in a smaller space enables connecting more customers. I didn't write that fiber wasn't the best choice for new installations, I wrote that cable networks can be just as reliable.


Yes, I am saying that in theory, the technology used by Xfinity or Spectrum networks can be just as reliable as Quantum. I am ALSO saying that in reality, service reliability (a function of the maintenance) is a consideration. I had zero problems with Xfinity service while I was a customer - Quantum can match that but they can't beat that.

Business practices and price are also considerations but are less important. If you only chase price then the phrase, "You get what you pay for," comes into play. I am not at all interested in renegotiating my price every year; in fact, I'm willing to pay a little more to avoid playing those games. Likewise, a company that gains a reputation for an odd interpretation of the term "price for life" is not attractive to me either.



As you know, both cable AND fiber are "shared" connections at some point. That point is different with the two technologies and the amount available for sharing is much higher with fiber but both technologies have limits. Proper provisioning can avoid ever reaching those limits.

The characteristics of fiber allows for higher upload speeds. This is not an issue for me but can be an issue for certain use cases (multiple camera feed stored in the cloud, recording OTA TV to the cloud, probably some gaming, etc).


I think in many cases subscribers sign up for the higher speeds due to marketing. Many users on here have mentioned the 500Mbs or Gbps speeds they are paying for but few have ever mentioned why those speeds are needed. There aren't enough people in my household to watch all the televisions that it would take to utilize the bandwidth I currently have, I sure don't need to double that.

Quantum tells me their most popular plan is 940Mbps plan for $65. I have no idea whether that is true but I'm sure the statement drives people towards that plan. Their bottom tier plan is $45 for 200Mbps so look at that, I can get 370% more bandwidth for only $20. I can pay $0.23/Mbps or I can pay $0.07/Mbps - the more economical 940Mbps plan is the clear choice. But I am not using the entire 200Mbps, much less 940Mbps! If I only need a cup of milk then it doesn't matter that the price per ounce is cheaper if I buy the quart since I will be throwing most of it away. Paying extra to waste milk once doesn't make sense, doing it every month is foolish - the same goes for spending more to purchase bandwidth you will never use.

You have mentioned the slow-downs during peak times frequently. I have never seen that but I can imagine that it could happen with a poorly provisioned network - including a fiber network. Providers can offer higher speeds on fiber networks because the technology supports it and because they know the subscribers won't actually utilize it. However, as they route more and more subscribers through the same concentrator and as devices start utilizing more of the bandwidth even "dedicated" fiber networks will start to have slow downs. It will be interesting to see how long that takes.



Well, since there are only a few pathways for an induced lightning power surge to enter a home and since many homes here don't have metal gas lines, metal water lines, or telephone lines, the remaining pathways become "most common."

$30 is very small amount to pay to protect a $1,000 television but debatable for a $200 cable modem that might be covered by the provider. In all the years I've had cable into my home or satellite dishes sitting on the roof I have never had a problem with lightning but yeah, it does happen.

Not to disagree with most of what you are saying, you have your own opinions on the topic but what most are missing is although you are correct, the service becomes shared at some point when it gets to the ISP, the buffering is occurring from the home to the ISP which is shared with cable and not with fiber. And buffering issues will depend on where you live in the Villages.

At the end of the day, most people here in the Villages are cost driven so they will tend to go with the cheapest solution and not necessarily the "better" solution. The cable companies know this and right now they are "taking a beating" so they play on this. The big problem with cable is the industry knew that customers would eventually cut the cord but the rate that this has been happening is faster than anyone imagined which is causing them to diversify by selling cell phone service, for example, in order to stay in business. I don't have a problem with Xfinity or Spectrum except for their business model where they try to bait you into signing up for a promotion then forever try to raise you to their full price rates. There are a lot of people who live here in the Villages who have the ability to re-negotiate with the cable companies but there are also a lot who don't have this ability and many of those are unfairly paying full price to subsidize those promotions. Just look at the folks in the Bonita area where these was not choice in providers untill recently. Almost all were paying full price for everything and no deals because the cable companies knew this area, for example had no choices for wired interner providers.

So, if you can get fiber at a reasonable price that meets your needs then that is the "best" service you can buy right now no matter what the cable companies offer you. And this was the initial question the OP was asking.

[rsmurano]

Copper networks are never going to be as reliable as fiber. With copper, when I was working at home in high tech, on snow days when my neighbors were home, the network took a huge nose dive in performance. The more neighbors you have on the network the less bandwidth you will have with copper networks. With fiber, you don’t have these issues. All networks going across the country use fiber not copper.
I must have been lucky because for 30 years, work always paid for my network at home. I put in ISDN (I think it had 256k speeds) in my house in 1991 to work at home or access work if I was on call. Then went to dsl, Microwave, then fiber and copper.
For working at home, I would get fiber no matter the cost.

[Topgun 1776]

Don't believe the Xfinity hype! Very few areas have fast service. Also, those high speeds drop off after a few weeks then you get sent to recording hades! We fired them got Spectrum and have 500mbps download speeds and zero issues.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by rsmurano

Copper networks are never going to be as reliable as fiber. With copper, when I was working at home in high tech, on snow days when my neighbors were home, the network took a huge nose dive in performance. The more neighbors you have on the network the less bandwidth you will have with copper networks. With fiber, you don’t have these issues. All networks going across the country use fiber not copper.
I must have been lucky because for 30 years, work always paid for my network at home. I put in ISDN (I think it had 256k speeds) in my house in 1991 to work at home or access work if I was on call. Then went to dsl, Microwave, then fiber and copper.
For working at home, I would get fiber no matter the cost.

Exactly

[Birdrm]

[QUOTE=jrref;2440395]Sorry, Copper cable is susceptible to water, moisture, and all kinds of buried environmental attacks. Also, it's also susceptible to all kinds of emi/rfi interference expecially from lightning and cable systems need to be periodically powered from your home to the ISP which fiber does not. Known fact, fiber, overall is more reliable or Internet providers would still be deploying copper cable which they are not. In fact, just the opposite.

Now are you saying Xfinity or Spectrum is just as reliable as Quantum? Different question. All three companies are very reliable just with the cable companies you are always getting promotions that you have to constantly re-negotiate. And the technology is totally different.

As mentioned, when people reach out to me for help connecting to Quantum, a significant number say they are tired of the buffering at prime times, and this will vary depending on where you live here in the Villages, along with the need to reduce their monthly costs. The reduction comes with the internet service and getting rid of cable and moving to streaming.

Remember, cable is a "shared" connection with good download but terrible upload speeds where fiber is a "dedicated" connection with the same download and upload speeds.

The need for speed was mentioned. In many cases, cable subscribers sigh up for the higher speeds so when they sometimes get "slow-downs" during peak times they still have enough speed to do what they want. With fiber there is no need for that.

Finally, did you know, one of the most common ways an induced lightning power surge can enter your home and damage and or destroy your sensitive electronic devices is through the copper cable line? It happens a lot and most do not know or install any surge protection on the incoming cable line to their home. In fact, many aren't even properly grounded. The protector costs about $29.95 on Amazon. With fiber there is no need to worry about this.

I found that out last week, had a lighting strike that didn't damage any electronics because all are on surge protectors but it did burn out both of my cable boxes that had to be replaced.

[jrref]

[QUOTE=Birdrm;2440506]

Originally Posted by jrref

I found that out last week, had a lighting strike that didn't damage any electronics because all are on surge protectors but it did burn out both of my cable boxes that had to be replaced.

Which means the induced power surge most likely came into your home via the cable line. If you had that cable surge protector you might have avoided that damage to your modems.

[bopat]

Fiber is glass, glass breaks.
Copper is coax, it's shielded but subject to interference.
Wireless is subject to interference.

The myth that fiber isn't shared is just that, a myth. It's all shared at some point. There's no way quantum has dedicated 1gb up and down for every customer on their network.

The myth that copper is always shared is just that, a myth, it's dedicated at some point going to a switch. That's how networking works.

Your best bet is to find one with great service, low price, and lots of peering and points of presence. The bigger companies usually have the biggest backbones and the ability to manage traffic. Good luck!