We’ve been fielding a lot of calls lately about reducing cable and TV bills. Several customers have said they recently received a 25.00 increase from Spectrum.
How can you save money?
Currently there is no cheaper, better, and generally available internet other than Spectrum for our area, at this time. AT&T is available in most areas – but it is not better. Some neighborhoods are getting FIOS and that is competitive on speed; but is not available everywhere.
Only Spectrum has a local presence here. AT&T does not have an office here. They also don’t have a lot of local employees. Supporting Spectrum does more for the local economy as they have local employees. If your modem goes bad with Spectrum, you can drive to Mayfaire and get a new one. If your AT&T modem goes bad, you need to wait for one to be shipped to you.
Thinking about Direct TV? Be sure that is what you want before you go there. They will sue you if you don’t keep the contract. They care nothing of customer service.
What consumers say about DirectTV
So how do you save money? You can save money on the TV side of your bill by getting rid of premium channels and by streaming video instead of purchasing cable service.
Here’s a breakout of charges I pay:
Starter TV (that is basic TV only) $23.00
Digital Adapters (each) 5.99
Extreme Internet 49.99
Modem lease 10.00
Broadcast TV Surcharge 9.95
(crap they make up and add to your bill)
or a fee reflecting charges assessed to Spectrum by owners of local broadcast and local “network-affiliated” TV Shows.
Total: $113.00 per month.
My wonderful son just bought me a Roku TV for Christmas soooo now I can remove the physical cable to my TV and use the Spectrum App via internet for regular TV channels They would be ABC, NBC and such.
Spectrum charges $22.00 for this. So I can also save $1.00 by removing TV Cable and going with Spectrum App. only.
For this TV that has built in streaming, I can also get rid of the digital adapter – $5.99
I’ll move the Roku I just bought for this TV to the master bedroom and thereby get rid of another digital adapter for $5.99.
I’ll move the fire-stick into the guest room and then get rid of that digital adapter also; $5.99.
So with these changes I can get the bill down to just under $100.00 a month until Spectrum raises rates and / or creates new charges for my bill.
I had this under $80.00 last year, but once again it is starting to creep up to the number on my electric bill. (I understand I’m not the only one to compare electric with cable and feel short changed on value.)
other ways to save:
You can buy your own modem instead of renting one. The cost of a similar modem supplied by Spectrum is about $120.00 so you would pay for it in a year. Here’s the catch however. While Spectrum is required to service you with an alternate modem, the reality is they don’t always do that well. And if you don’t mind talking to Spectrum for hours and trouble shooting with them and potentially being charged for supporting equipment that is not theirs, then maybe your own modem is not good for you. Me, I can’t be bothered with all that and I got people for that.
Also in the 10+ years I have been here I’ve swapped out modems at least 3 times. For me, on a Saturday, this is best and fastest resolution to a broken modem.
One of my technicians has his own modem and has had issues with service from Spectrum. He can explain to Spectrum why they are wrong, I can not. He can push back when Spectrum is not doing the right thing; when they are…. wrong. I am unwilling to play that game. I rent mine. If you are not technical, I suggest you just rent yours also.
www.roku.com – see what smart TV is all about