[Happinow]

Now that Brighthouse has been bought out by Spectrum my cable bill went up 20.00. 179.00/mo seems like a lot for cable and Internet. Anyone care to chime in on pros and cons of alternatives?? Thanks...

[Chatbrat]

Shop-go to Centurylink--you will have to negotiate with them every year--but its worth it--hard to beat Prism

[outahere]

Hmmmm....... our son has Brighthouse/Spectrum over in Melbourne and his bill hasn't gone up (at least not yet). Perhaps you hit the end of a promo period? I'd give them a call to find out why.

We have CenturyLink and Chatbrat is correct that you usually have to call them every year, but I have not had a problem getting a lower rate whenever my current promo runs out. I think we're paying around $160 for phone, 40MB internet and the Prism Preferred TV package.

[TheDude]

I'm looking at Xfinity because their cable internet speed is amazingly fast at at least 75mps and I have a fiber optic wiring; this is important to me. You will need 40mps to view Netflix 4k. They also have home security which I like and can bundle. Just a note: buy your own Modem on Amazon, ask whoever you are getting for the type of modem needed (it will save you 10$ a month and pay for itself in 10 months). Only don't side I see is they don't install some compatible items (like The Nest)

[Chatbrat]

I use Netflix, with CenturyLink--no problem--had comcast for 6 weeks when we first moved to TV, fired them after trying to deal with their customer service

[biker1]

Century Link is the only provider with fiber optic to the house. The others are coax to the house with most likely a fiber trunk elsewhere. CenturyLink offers 1 gigabit per second (1000 megabits per second) if you can find the use for it, along with several other speeds. Netflix 4K actually needs about 25 megabits per second as per their website. I assume this means that you must be able to sustain 25 megabits per second from their facility. 1080p HiDef needs about 5 megabits per second.

Originally Posted by TheDude

I'm looking at Xfinity because their cable internet speed is amazingly fast at at least 75mps and I have a fiber optic wiring; this is important to me. You will need 40mps to view Netflix 4k. They also have home security which I like and can bundle. Just a note: buy your own Modem on Amazon, ask whoever you are getting for the type of modem needed (it will save you 10$ a month and pay for itself in 10 months). Only don't side I see is they don't install some compatible items (like The Nest)

[bob&Gail]

We installed an antenna and get major networks. We also get about 35 other stations. Some oldie. Some religious and some Spanish. We also have Netflix. Total cost about 250 for antenna installation and we kept Internet. We're happy

[TheDude]

Originally Posted by biker1

Century Link is the only provider with fiber optic to the house. The others are coax to the house with most likely a fiber trunk elsewhere. CenturyLink offers 1 gigabit per second (1000 megabits per second) if you can find the use for it, along with several other speeds. Netflix 4K actually needs about 25 megabits per second as per their website. I assume this means that you must be able to sustain 25 megabits per second from their facility. 1080p HiDef needs about 5 megabits per second.

I've been looking into it. Now I am not sure if Xfinity uses Fiber Optic cables though the internet seems fast and can't imagine they don't.

Looking into Century Link, they do not have home security and they require auto-pay. Friend of my mine who Century Link says the service is good, but the customer service is not. That is not what I say, but it is moving me personally to the other direction.

(sorry to sidetrack) From personal experience in my life with Netflix 4K. I lived in NYC and used Cablevision. I had the 40mps service and always checked on speediest.net. Even though the 4K bar in Netflix would show up, my 40mps had trouble and movies were slow and stopped at times. That was a couple years ago. Currently I have 75mps (ATT, Fiber Optics) and no problems with Netflix HD as I really am doing 85mps.

Now I have been looking at Brighthouse also. Its another one in the game. (but watch OP says, I will probably take them off the board)

Basically for me, it is going to go down to a couple options.

Who is using the Fiber Optics
Are the channels I watch in HD
Home Security cheaper to bundle with Xfinity than to buy from another company

[outahere]

Originally Posted by TheDude

Looking into Century Link, they do not have home security and they require auto-pay. Friend of my mine who Century Link says the service is good, but the customer service is not. That is not what I say, but it is moving me personally to the other direction.

Unless they have recently changed, we did not have to set up auto-pay with them, just a regular paper statement every month. You can sign up for auto-pay, which saves you a few bucks a month. I have never had a problem with their customer service folks, and they have a local office/store.

We have CenturyLink and Simplisafe for home security and are very happy with both.

[Rango]

Originally Posted by Happinow

Now that Brighthouse has been bought out by Spectrum my cable bill went up 20.00. 179.00/mo seems like a lot for cable and Internet. Anyone care to chime in on pros and cons of alternatives?? Thanks...

I have Brighthouse/Spectrum. My bill stayed the same.

[biker1]

See my comments below.

Originally Posted by TheDude

I've been looking into it. Now I am not sure if Xfinity uses Fiber Optic cables though the internet seems fast and can't imagine they don't.

>>> They don't. The fiber at your house is used by Century Link only.

Looking into Century Link, they do not have home security and they require auto-pay. Friend of my mine who Century Link says the service is good, but the customer service is not. That is not what I say, but it is moving me personally to the other direction.

>>>CenturyLink does not require autopay but it will save you some money. We use it and have not had any issues.

(sorry to sidetrack) From personal experience in my life with Netflix 4K. I lived in NYC and used Cablevision. I had the 40mps service and always checked on speediest.net. Even though the 4K bar in Netflix would show up, my 40mps had trouble and movies were slow and stopped at times. That was a couple years ago. Currently I have 75mps (ATT, Fiber Optics) and no problems with Netflix HD as I really am doing 85mps.

>>>>I don't know about your service in NYC. Some of the coax based internet providers use a "loop" so you are sharing bandwidth with others on the loop. I achieve the advertised CenturyLink bandwidth regardless of the time of day. For lack of a better term, they appear to have "home runs" to the homes.

Now I have been looking at Brighthouse also. Its another one in the game. (but watch OP says, I will probably take them off the board)

Basically for me, it is going to go down to a couple options.

Who is using the Fiber Optics

>> CenturyLink uses fiber optics for most customers. However, I would not focus on the technology. Choose the provider that offers the services you need at the price that you want to pay. All of the internet providers offer more than sufficient bandwidth for whatever you are likely to want to do, except for some areas where CenturyLink does not have fiber.

Are the channels I watch in HD
Home Security cheaper to bundle with Xfinity than to buy from another company

[MikeC]

Originally Posted by Happinow

Now that Brighthouse has been bought out by Spectrum my cable bill went up 20.00. 179.00/mo seems like a lot for cable and Internet. Anyone care to chime in on pros and cons of alternatives?? Thanks...

I agree especially since they are advertising on the TV that internet is $29.00 per month and tv is $29.00 per month. I plan to leave Spectrum on go to Comcast. Better product and less expensive.

[dewilson58]

No increase in my Brighthouse.

[Radioman41]

Mine went up $10 as the promotion expired.

[yabbadu]

Originally Posted by Happinow

Now that Brighthouse has been bought out by Spectrum my cable bill went up 20.00. 179.00/mo seems like a lot for cable and Internet. Anyone care to chime in on pros and cons of alternatives?? Thanks...

We call and Negotiate each renewal time.