TWC/Spectrum Internet Packages

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I have been considering/looking at places to move. Going to look at a place this Thursday. FiOS is not available in that area (not that concerned), but Spectrum/TWC is.

Looking on Spectrum's website; I cannot find a list of bandwidth options & cost. All that I am pointed to is the $49.99 60/5Mpbs service. This isn't bad, but I'd prefer a 15/2, 10/1 or even a 2/1Mbps service. I really am looking to spend a low amount. I already have a very nice Motorola SurfBoard SB6141 DOCSIS 3 modem and an Apple AirPort -- don't need any ISP provided equipment.

Anyone have any ideas on the levels? I have unlimited LTE on AT&T (alleged capped at 22GB per line or 10GB per line hotspot) so if I needed something large, fast... I have the phones. 2/1Mbps worked fine back in January of 2016 when I was very low on cash and just wanted some basic internet. It streamed 480p Netflix to the Chromecasts in the house just fine. 480/1080 -- I don't really care. Entertainment is entertainment. BITOG loaded fine, Facebook was more than acceptable and you don't need fast internet to order race car parts.

With moving, will probably wait a month as it stands to get internet and just use our phones. I'd want to make sure everything is good.
 
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I just dug through my TWC/Spectrum bills and the only price sheet I have is from 2016. Standard internet alone then was $59/mo, which I'm sure there's fees and taxes on top of that. My TWC/Spectrum TV, internet and home phone bundle has varied from $120-180 in the past 10yrs. I've currently got it at $160
 
I just did an online chat with the Spectrum folks. They told me they do not offer the legacy TWC ELP (Everyday Low Price) internet plans anymore. They were 2/1Mbps for $14.99 a month.

But remembered seeing something for an AT&T WHPI (Wireless Home Phone & Internet) device a while back when in the store. Looked it up... I can add it to my AT&T Unlimited Plus plan for an additional $20 per month and have Unlimited* 4G LTE data via WiFi or Ethernet and a home phone.

*22GB soft cap applies to this line but many online/Reddit/forums have alluded to this only being present on congested towers or heavy traffic times.

Sounds like a good idea. Less things to keep me permanent to a place the better IMO.
 
I use MagicJack for landline phone, $40 for a year.

When I move, I just unplug it, and take it with me.

Phone number never changes...
 
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
I use MagicJack for landline phone, $40 for a year.

When I move, I just unplug it, and take it with me.

Phone number never changes...


MagicJack does not provide broadband, it just uses it.
 
I have 4/1 Mb DSL. It's often not enough to stream video. I WFH and VOIP and Skype for a conf call often has issues and the voice gets garbled.

I would think 20/4 Mb is the minimum you would be looking for.
 
Just make sure where you locate that high speed internet is available.

It actually kills home value and makes future buyer disinterested if high speed internet is not available. Many folks work remotely and your internet speeds you are interested in are not a great use of time. My brother in law who CS professor lives in rural western MA. The local provider Verizon will not support new or problems with DSL they provide with 3/1. The town voted to bring in a fiber provider if certain amount of users promised to hook and paid a $700/home connection fee. A real estate agent helped pushed the point home folks were bypassing the beautiful rural town to old folks.

That all being said my realistic speed on Comcast is a paltry 150/5. The issue being the 5 upload which can be painful in my line of work and has not changed since 2001!!! They increase download from 10->20->50->100->150 which is great for consumption but not work.

I cannot fathom having less then 5 upload.
 
Still paying $35 a month for Spectrum 15/3, but I am grandfathered in. Spectrum increased it $5 a month not long ago, and if they do it again I might as well pay $49.99 for faster speeds even though 15/3 is fine for what I do.

Spectrum provides modems no charge, but I am still using my own modem.
 
Sadly your out of luck, as usual when government allows HUGE internet providers to merge and eliminate competition your screwed.
If you were a TWC customer or had TWC in your area, You can no longer buy cheap internet from the old TWC to new Spectrum. Not only that but they make their rates a mystery when you look it up on line. There is a reason for that as well, they adjust by region and I suspect local competition.

The good news for us is since we had TWC our speed went from 6/2 ish to 25/5 at no increase in cost ($39.95).
HOWEVER my wife now working at home, her company wanted her to upgrade her speed (they are paying) and we had NO option except to go for the 100/12 @ $54.95 with Spectrum.
We own our own modem and router or it would have been $64.95.

Good news for us, our electric service (CO-OP) is laying Fiber and soon we will have the option of 100 MBPS @ $49.95 from our electric company, this WILL keep a lid on rates from other companies.
No magic to providing internet and I suspect as rates climb so will new companies. Boatloads of profits for these companies.

The reason they are pushing more speed at higher rates is they know darn well the average home user does not need the speed and data they are paying for, so its ALL PROFIT in what is not used.
Bottom line, its so cheap to provide internet access ANY price they get above "floor" value is nothing but profit.

Gosh I cant believe people still pay for TV as I read through this thread. My pay TV provider, my home/car insurance companies, my cell phone company, my home landline company all saved me so much money, the money saved, well, they paid for my 2014 ROAD KING.
I slashed the cost of all the above and they bought me the motorcycle. Very cool ... :eek:)
 
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Originally Posted By: madRiver
Just make sure where you locate that high speed internet is available.



^ This and verify it. I'm sure you're all on board with this, but don't just rely on what the cable website may say. I've heard of instances where the website said cable is available for a specific address when it's not.

Also verify cell signal at the address. We live in a valley and had no cell signal from 2011 until recently when a new tower went up down the road. It's now awesome but we can get 2 bars. I could drop my Spectrum phone service now. I'd love to have just innerwebs and antenna TV, but living in a valley requires quite the science project for that.
 
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Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Sadly your out of luck, as usual when government allows HUGE internet providers to merge and eliminate competition your screwed.
If you were a TWC customer or had TWC in your area, You can no longer buy cheap internet from the old TWC to new Spectrum. Not only that but they make their rates a mystery when you look it up on line. There is a reason for that as well, they adjust by region and I suspect local competition.

The good news for us is since we had TWC our speed went from 6/2 ish to 25/5 at no increase in cost ($39.95).
HOWEVER my wife now working at home, her company wanted her to upgrade her speed (they are paying) and we had NO option except to go for the 100/12 @ $54.95 with Spectrum.
We own our own modem and router or it would have been $64.95.

Good news for us, our electric service (CO-OP) is laying Fiber and soon we will have the option of 100 MBPS @ $49.95 from our electric company, this WILL keep a lid on rates from other companies.
No magic to providing internet and I suspect as rates climb so will new companies. Boatloads of profits for these companies.

The reason they are pushing more speed at higher rates is they know darn well the average home user does not need the speed and data they are paying for, so its ALL PROFIT in what is not used.
Bottom line, its so cheap to provide internet access ANY price they get above "floor" value is nothing but profit.

Gosh I cant believe people still pay for TV as I read through this thread. My pay TV provider, my home/car insurance companies, my cell phone company, my home landline company all saved me so much money, the money saved, well, they paid for my 2014 ROAD KING.
I slashed the cost of all the above and they bought me the motorcycle. Very cool ... :eek:)



Before it fully became Spectre, er, Spectrum, TWC was under investigation and being fined by the NY Attorney General's office for fraudulently claiming a difference of speeds based on price point. In other words, your cheapest internet connection option wasn't any slower than their "lightening fast" premium options...

I'm trapped with Spectrum and have no other options at the moment.

For the OC, I advise getting your own router if you go the cable route. Their routers are garbage that overheat and slow down unless there is external cooling...
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Spectrum basic service here is 100Mbit and I get around 115-120Mbps down and 12Mbps up when I test on my Chromebook on 802.11AC. I got 130Mbps down one time on my iPhone. It's $44.95 plus tax. I don't think they have a lower service tier. Spectrum is under the gun here, there's a lot of competition including Google Fiber and now AT&T Fiber too. I can't get either at my house but I can get up to 300Mbps on Spectrum or 75Mbps on AT&T tops. There is also a regional cable company called Grande Communications that has gigabit in certain parts of town. I can't get service from them at all at my location.

Regarding basic plans, you can get 6Mpbs on AT&T but it doesn't cost that much less than the service I have now, not worth it to me. I work from home first if something goes down in the middle of the night. I don't want to worry about having enough bandwidth to work if something goes down at 2AM. A solid connection is the difference between troubleshooting on the couch in my night clothes or driving 25 miles to the office.

There's also the practical limitations - on a 6Mbps connection, streaming 1080p Netflix is possible (I have done it), but everything else will be as slow as mud. With 100Mpbs you can stream 1080p on 2 TVs and you'll still get fast Internet on your phones, all at the same time.
 
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Originally Posted By: Brons2
Spectrum basic service here is 100Mbit and I get around 115-120Mbps down and 12Mbps up when I test on my Chromebook on 802.11AC. I got 130Mbps down one time on my iPhone. It's $44.95 plus tax.


Tax? Internet access doesnt have tax unless somehow the state of Texas does?
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: madRiver
Just make sure where you locate that high speed internet is available.



..

Also verify cell signal at the address. We live in a valley and had no cell signal from 2011 until recently when a new tower went up down the road. It's now awesome but we can get 2 bars...


Yes, I deal with cell units in security systems all day long.
You can actually even have an ok to good signal in an area however if the business or home is in a really low spot of that area compared to the surrounding terrain that business or home can actually end up as a dead spot as the signals pass over the property not down into it.
 
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