Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Internet Pricing

Have you heard about that van attack in Toronto?  Well, the perpetrator is a self-described "incel".  Incel is short for "involuntary celibacy"--in other words, a dude who can't get laid.  These guys, instead of investing in a little grooming and some social skills, decide that they need to get women back. 

Lovely little internet subgroup you've got there.

Anyway, I'm obviously not an incel, as I've been getting screwed by my ISP for many years now.

My recent purchase of a Roku TV has convinced me that I need to increase my internet bandwidth.  While talking to my ISP yesterday about some email settings on my new computer, I asked about increased bandwidth.  The support person looked and gasped out loud, "Ohmigawd, you only have 1 Mbs download.  How do you even live on that?"  It's not like I'm on dialup or anything, but dang.

I can easily get 6x my current bandwidth, so I agreed to do that.  Then I waited for the shoe to drop regarding cost.  Then it was my turn to be shocked; the price they quoted me for 6x the bandwidth is 1/2 of what I'm paying now.

They can do that because I'm willing to sign a 1-year contract.  I asked what happens at the end of that contract, expecting the price to skyrocket.  The answer was that I could go month-to-month (which I've apparently been doing for a decade or more), sign another 1-year agreement, or terminate service.  Will anyone tell me these options, I asked?  No, he said, I'd have to ask.  Otherwise they'll just jack up my rate (about to what I'm currently paying) and I'll automatically go month-to-month.  If I ask, they'll (probably) be able to put me on another contract at a reasonable price.

So I've already added a reminder on my calendar next April.  I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars a year more for internet service anymore.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Each device you have probably maxes out at 5mbps. So if you have three devices running at the same time, you need at least 15 mbps download speed.
WiFi/wireless speed is 1/4 to 1/3 of your wired speed. So if your download speed is 15mbps when you plug it in (Ethernet), then your wiFi speed is 4-5mbps.
If you're watching 1080p cable or netflix on roku and you're only getting say 5mbps, you're going to get a better picture if you plug it in rather than stream it wifi/wireless. Because the 1080p requires 4mbps, but you're wifi is only 1.6mbps (5mbps/3).
If you're getting comcast internet, it slows down by half during peak hours (8p-12a). So if you're getting 10mbps, it's 5mbps at 9p. Divide that by 4 for your wifi speed, and that's 1.25mbps.

If you go month-to-month, they may charge you, say, $55/month. If you sign a one-year contract over-the-phone, they'll offer you, say, $45/month. If you go in in-person to their store, they'll offer you say, $40/month.
If you bundle it with your cable or phone service, it's even less (but then you also have to pay for the cable or phone, which gets the overall price point above what you were paying only for internet).

When you do an internet speed test online to make sure you're actually getting the speed you're paying for, go to someone else's website. So if you're getting Comcast internet, go to AT&T's website to check your internet speed. Do a speedtest in the morning with all other devices not connected to the internet.

Auntie Ann said...

I figure car insurance works the same way. As a car ages, its value goes down, and collision insurance should get cheaper. But, if you never ask and renegotiate the contract, you won't see the reduction. That's how every car insurance commercial can say they reduce your rates by hundreds of dollars: because simply renegotiating a new contract will do that automatically.