Received the latest cable bill last night with a $50/month price hike! Apparently they increased the pricing for everyone, but also some promotion ended for us so the price was going up to $250/month. We used to have the premium gold package with all the channels years ago, but every time the bill increased above $200/month, I would downgrade the cable TV package to keep it at slightly under $200/month. Finally it got down to the most basic cable TV option they have, plus internet (200 Mbps down / 35 Mbps up), and a land line, and still it went up to $250/month! We almost never watch cable TV anymore because of the insanely excessive amount of ads on EVERY channel, it's just too frustrating to sit through.
 
So this morning I called them and cut the cable TV service. That's after 15+ years with the same provider. 
 
They offered me a bunch of discounts to retain the cable TV service, which actually made it slightly cheaper than what I had been paying for the last year (just under $200/month), but nope, what's the point if we don't even watch it now.
 
Having just the internet (same speed) & phone will be $105/month from now on.
 
I should have done this a lot sooner lol.

 

There are also some good free streaming services to watch TV shows with. 
 
My Samsung "smart TV" offers many free channels including "Samsung TV Plus", though there are commercials
 
When I looked at the paid streaming services, they had become as expensive as Comcast TV services.
 
Also I do get a "free" streaming box from Comcast as part of my internet only package, this offers me a few more channels (with commercials)

Cool GTX
There are also some good free streaming services to watch TV shows with. 
 
My Samsung "smart TV" offers many free channels including "Samsung TV Plus", though there are commercials
 
When I looked at the paid streaming services, they had become as expensive as Comcast TV services.
 
Also I do get a "free" streaming box from Comcast as part of my internet only package, this offers me a few more channels (with commercials)

We have a 55" Samsung smart tv, I should check out their services if it's included, thanks for that.
 
We have Netflix 4K, which is ok. Also Amazon Prime Video which has been good, but they have just started putting ads on all the movies (unless you want to pay an extra $3/month). I'm thinking of canceling my Amazon Prime subscription because the next day delivery isn't next day half the time, so not sure exactly what significant benefit I'm getting out of it since Prime Video is mostly 3rd party now and has ads. I really really do not like ads, to the point I'd rather not watch a movie if it's going to be broken up with ads.
 
I'm almost expecting Steam to start inserting ads in the middle of gaming...
 
 

did that 4 years ago.  Tired of Frontier and their prices.  Switch internet companies and only use youtube TV.   It's nice because I can use it at work and at home and my mom doesn't have to pay for cable because it has family sharing.   Youtube TV does the news and sports, that's all I need. I have saved thousands.  Frontier begged me to come back.

Everyone is trying to save money so there are loads of alternatives. 

It's sad how many companies show no loyalty to long time customers. They never say oh you been a customer for 8-12 years, here's a special deal for you supporting our company for so long.  
Soon as our Cable contract is up, were going to ditch cable internet for fiber. Same price were paying for 500/10 we can get 500/500. 
 
 
 
 

 
Our cable provider managed to screw up our internet service since removing cable TV. Trying to deal with their brain dead reps is incredibly frustrating - the level of incompetence is bewildering. A week later we are still running on degraded internet service when it should not have been touched at all, and they seem incapable of fixing it or even comprehending there's a problem. Very likely going to switch to a different provider and go fiber optic. Just lucky that we have a choice.
 

ty_ger07

Nereus
For about US$135/month I can get a fiber connection (940Mbps down & up) with no TV, but the fiber network is only connected as far as outside our apartment door, they then have to wire up the inside, and after seeing the ugly mess they made in my neighbor's apartment... no thanks. Maybe some time in the future if I can do the wiring myself.

Fiber doesn't use wires. It is optical.  I wonder what mess they made.  All they need is to give you a single fiber cable to a little box that they provide; and that box has a wall wart power adapter that plugs into a standard outlet.  From there, it's just your normal ethernet cable and router that you provide.  It looks just like any other internet connection, except it is an optical cable instead of a coax cable or phone line.
 
I can't imagine having cable 10 years ago.

I realize fiber is fiber and not coax or anything else. When I say "do the wiring myself" I mean the SC/APC cable and channel through walls and back of a closet etc, so when the installer comes out he basically just has to connect to the green headers at each end (it's APC not UPC for Verizon). There's a demarcation point outside our apartment door, directly above the door frame. I'd run from there to our home office and then hook up my router (ASUS RT-AX86U / AX5700) from there.
 
When they installed my neighbors fiber, it looked like someone handed a staple gun to an 8 year old and said "go for it" and pointed in a random direction. This is a relatively new construction apartment building so it looked really bad. Worked fine, just the aesthetics...
 

 

Nereus
 
Very likely going to switch to a different provider and go fiber optic. Just lucky that we have a choice.
 

Not having that choice sucks in the biggest possible way. Just Spectrum here and maybe Verizon DSL but not sure if that’s a thing any more. No optical here. Our street is a cellular dead zone as well. 
30 miles from the state capitol and 6 miles from a very popular city and all we have is a $250 monthly nut with no choice.
Oh yes, and Spectrum’s reps are real good at the “lie and deny” game too.

I cut the cable after realizing that the main way I was watching tv anyway was streaming. Now I am more focused on what shows and movies come out to different services and I will do a month or two then cancel them. My go to has been Prime, Netflix and Disney/Hulu bundle since I like Marvel and Star Wars shows.
 
I do agree that free TV even with commercials is ok since it's free and has some good shows. I found out Hasbro put up all the old G.I. Joe cartoons on Youtube and watched them with ads since it kind of gave it a feeling of being a kid and watching them. Unfortunately the ads don't run during the breaks in the show for them which would have been great if it did.

I cut the cable awhile back and discovered android boxes..
Never watch a commercial. I rarely watch live tv but there are ways to do it.
ip tv is cheap..I don't need it.
My Fiber 1gig service (up and down) is around $100/mo cdn.
Every tv has an android box (you might be able to install the apk's, I use, on an Android based smart tv)
Can't go into too much detail but if you need help finding out how to do it..pm me.
You will need to have a Facebook account to join the groups I use.

 
bill1024
I know I don't have all the answers..
I was watching live tv when I first got my boxes..sports events..some pay per view but I found it to be a pia to update the build on Kodi to stay ahead of the interruptions. Builds were free and they worked great. I do know there are many options available, other than BIG Cable sources.
I just like to pass the time being entertained without commercials. Everything I watch is on my demand...I binge shows from beginning to end of multiple seasons all in the proper sequence.
I would suggest getting an android box..(android tablet or phone would do) install a couple of apk's(android package) and see if you like the variety and options..Might be able to trim some of your costs..without giving up quality

 
    
I purchased my own modem and am returning the modem supplied by the ISP. I've always had my own router, but didn't think much about the modem - I was paying $12/month + tax for it for years! Buying my own one cost about 6-7 months worth of modem rental, then it's all free from there. Again, should have done it years ago. Only pain was spending 2 hours on the phone getting the ISP to register the new modem, but it's done now and max speed is a little faster too.
 

MSim

Nereus
 
    
I purchased my own modem and am returning the modem supplied by the ISP. I've always had my own router, but didn't think much about the modem - I was paying $12/month + tax for it for years! Buying my own one cost about 6-7 months worth of modem rental, then it's all free from there. Again, should have done it years ago. Only pain was spending 2 hours on the phone getting the ISP to register the new modem, but it's done now and max speed is a little faster too.
 

I like how Fiber only needs a router. 

I agree. I've had fiber for quite some time. Luckily prices for internet services are slightly regulated in Europe.

SmookinJoe

MSim
Working on cutting coax cable for internet.
 
Go from cable 500/10 to fiber 500/500 for same price. Current testing out 1gb up/down but it's only getting around 800ish for up/down. Probably drop to 500/500 and still be fine.
 

 

You can always ask the question as to how much throughput your setup s capable of.
https://www.snbforums.com/
Nat translation, firewalls etc affect total throughput.
Currently looks like you are losing 200mbs
What speeds were you getting on the 500/10 setup?
You could possibly see a similar drop on the 500/500 as you are seeing now.
Are you testing directly connected to the fiber modem/router?

They have two plans for Fiber up to 500/500 or up to 1000/1000. So far 877/877 is best speed test i have seen on 1000/1000 plan. I'm directly connected to my router. Cox Cable i would get 560/10. Cox data cap is 1025GB a month, unlimited data is $49.99 a month. No data caps on fiber. 500/500 or even 500/300 would be just fine for me. Once in awhile i like to stream my gameplay to friends, 10mpbs for whole house isn't enough.
 
My router is over 5 years old. Not sure if a new one would improve speeds due to being hard wired to it.