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I live in Austin and have Time Warner Cable, my bill is roughly $173.00 per month. This is includes Internet (30 Mbps down/5Mbps up) and basic cable (no premium

I live in Austin and have Time Warner Cable, my bill is roughly $173.00 per month. This is includes Internet (30 Mbps down/5Mbps up) and basic cable (no premium channels). For people living in Austin, I doubt we will see increased speeds or better price offerings from AT&T/TWC until the day Google Fiber is available to significant portions of the city's population.

cwal37 13y ago
Holy shit, are those prices normal for Austin? Everywhere I've lived (Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee) I've paid roughly $40-50/month for just internet from Comcast that's also a bit faster than yours. I've always been on promo deals, but even the "regular" price is $70-80.
- caw 13y ago
  TWC is ridiculous on price. My complex was wired for it but they would only sell me "business class" rather than consumer. I instead got U-Verse (18 down / ?? up) for $45 per month.
- dopamean 13y ago
  I'm in Austin. I pay 48ish for 15 down 3 up.
- js2 13y ago
  TWC in Cary, NC for 5/30 service (nothing else, just Internet) is $72.38/month. And they just sent me a letter saying rates are going up. My only theoretical alternative is AT&T but last I checked they don't even know my address exists (my house was built in 2004). Meanwhile Wilson, NC built out its own network after getting fed up with broadband providers not willing to service her citizens. Of course that won't be happening elsewhere in NC since TWC successfully lobbied the state legislature to prevent other towns from doing so. Anyway, here's the pricing in Wilson http://www.greenlightnc.com/about/internet/ http://www.greenlightnc.com/about/internet/ 20Mbps Internet-only $39.95 40Mbps Internet-only $59.95 60Mbps Internet-only $79.95 100Mbps Internet-only $104.95 1Gbps Internet-only $154.95 All symmetrical. Much better than anything from TWC or Comcast or AT&T.
  - cwal37 13y ago
    My hometown in the Chicago suburbs attempted to build out their own fiber network to provide service to residents sometime in the mid 2000s. I was in high school at the time, but I still get so damn angry thinking back on Comcast's explicit lobbying and campaigning against it. They sold the older population in town that it was this huge gamble. I can still picture the signs Comcast put in people's yards. They were bright red, had dice on them, and said "Don't gamble with our tax dollars." There were letters to the editor in the local papers on both sides, but it was clear from almost the beginning that too few people understood the value of municipal fiber, and the vote didn't pass. Today, my parents have barely functioning UVerse. Also, your internet option is super gross, that's really too bad. I recently moved for work to a more rural area, but thankfully the same package was available.
- ahlatimer 13y ago
  Define "normal." If you let your rate increase after your promotional period ends, then yes, but it only takes one phone call to retention to get that back down.
  - cwal37 13y ago
    Right, but I don't think the average person does that. I haven't paid their "normal" or listed rate, but I imagine the typical family just pays.
    - ahlatimer 13y ago
      I don't have any particular insight into it, so I don't know. I imagine TWC does, though, but I don't know how keen they would be in sharing that.
gnoway 13y ago
If you're paying $173/mo for that internet and actual 'basic cable' - big 4 + pbs/shopping/church - you are being abused and should cancel immediately. That sounds overpriced given any definition of basic cable I can think of.
- jmsduran 13y ago
  That's what I'm thinking too. Soon I plan to dispute my bill before the annual increase, or threaten to cancel and switch to AT&T.
  - gnoway 13y ago
    Why wait?
  - manacit 13y ago
    There's no need to be that extreme - just call them and ask for a lower price, you'll get it. If they push, tell them a neighbor just signed up at a lower rate or similar, you'll get a big decrease of your bill pretty quickly.
walexander 13y ago
Basic cable runs over clear QAM and can't be blocked per FCC rules. It gets broadcast over the line unfiltered if you have Internet. So if you are paying for it, stop.
- PhantomGremlin 13y ago
  Wrong. The FCC caved on this recently. [1] This isn't just a hypothetical situation. Comcast in Oregon now encrypts the OTA network channels. [2] [1] http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57533637-38/fcc-allows-cable-operators-to-encrypt-basic-cable-tv-signals/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57533637-38/fcc-allows-cab... [2] http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/cable-tv/limited-basic-encryption/ http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/cable-tv/limite...
mikeyouse 13y ago
They're offering new customers your exact service for less than half of what you're paying. Definitely get on the phone and threaten to leave: http://imgur.com/rIrcxmJ http://imgur.com/rIrcxmJ
- ahlatimer 13y ago
  My roommate works in retention at TWC. GP can definitely call and get that cut quite significantly. GP may not even have to threaten to leave -- just ask them to see if any promotions are available for that area. If they don't or don't offer enough of a discount, then threaten to cancel, get transferred to retention, and likely get an even better rate. The reps definitely have limits in what they can cut you down to, but $173/mo for basic cable and the 30mbps connection is pretty far from what they can get you down to.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

cwal37 13y ago

Holy shit, are those prices normal for Austin? Everywhere I've lived (Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee) I've paid roughly $40-50/month for just internet from Comcast that's also a bit faster than yours. I've always been on promo deals, but even the "regular" price is $70-80.

caw 13y ago
TWC is ridiculous on price. My complex was wired for it but they would only sell me "business class" rather than consumer. I instead got U-Verse (18 down / ?? up) for $45 per month.
dopamean 13y ago
I'm in Austin. I pay 48ish for 15 down 3 up.
js2 13y ago
TWC in Cary, NC for 5/30 service (nothing else, just Internet) is $72.38/month. And they just sent me a letter saying rates are going up. My only theoretical alternative is AT&T but last I checked they don't even know my address exists (my house was built in 2004). Meanwhile Wilson, NC built out its own network after getting fed up with broadband providers not willing to service her citizens. Of course that won't be happening elsewhere in NC since TWC successfully lobbied the state legislature to prevent other towns from doing so. Anyway, here's the pricing in Wilson http://www.greenlightnc.com/about/internet/ http://www.greenlightnc.com/about/internet/ 20Mbps Internet-only $39.95 40Mbps Internet-only $59.95 60Mbps Internet-only $79.95 100Mbps Internet-only $104.95 1Gbps Internet-only $154.95 All symmetrical. Much better than anything from TWC or Comcast or AT&T.
- cwal37 13y ago
  My hometown in the Chicago suburbs attempted to build out their own fiber network to provide service to residents sometime in the mid 2000s. I was in high school at the time, but I still get so damn angry thinking back on Comcast's explicit lobbying and campaigning against it. They sold the older population in town that it was this huge gamble. I can still picture the signs Comcast put in people's yards. They were bright red, had dice on them, and said "Don't gamble with our tax dollars." There were letters to the editor in the local papers on both sides, but it was clear from almost the beginning that too few people understood the value of municipal fiber, and the vote didn't pass. Today, my parents have barely functioning UVerse. Also, your internet option is super gross, that's really too bad. I recently moved for work to a more rural area, but thankfully the same package was available.
ahlatimer 13y ago
Define "normal." If you let your rate increase after your promotional period ends, then yes, but it only takes one phone call to retention to get that back down.
- cwal37 13y ago
  Right, but I don't think the average person does that. I haven't paid their "normal" or listed rate, but I imagine the typical family just pays.
  - ahlatimer 13y ago
    I don't have any particular insight into it, so I don't know. I imagine TWC does, though, but I don't know how keen they would be in sharing that.

gnoway 13y ago

If you're paying $173/mo for that internet and actual 'basic cable' - big 4 + pbs/shopping/church - you are being abused and should cancel immediately. That sounds overpriced given any definition of basic cable I can think of.

jmsduran 13y ago
That's what I'm thinking too. Soon I plan to dispute my bill before the annual increase, or threaten to cancel and switch to AT&T.
- gnoway 13y ago
  Why wait?
- manacit 13y ago
  There's no need to be that extreme - just call them and ask for a lower price, you'll get it. If they push, tell them a neighbor just signed up at a lower rate or similar, you'll get a big decrease of your bill pretty quickly.

walexander 13y ago

Basic cable runs over clear QAM and can't be blocked per FCC rules. It gets broadcast over the line unfiltered if you have Internet. So if you are paying for it, stop.

PhantomGremlin 13y ago
Wrong. The FCC caved on this recently. [1] This isn't just a hypothetical situation. Comcast in Oregon now encrypts the OTA network channels. [2] [1] http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57533637-38/fcc-allows-cable-operators-to-encrypt-basic-cable-tv-signals/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57533637-38/fcc-allows-cab... [2] http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/cable-tv/limited-basic-encryption/ http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/cable-tv/limite...

mikeyouse 13y ago

They're offering new customers your exact service for less than half of what you're paying. Definitely get on the phone and threaten to leave: http://imgur.com/rIrcxmJ http://imgur.com/rIrcxmJ

ahlatimer 13y ago
My roommate works in retention at TWC. GP can definitely call and get that cut quite significantly. GP may not even have to threaten to leave -- just ask them to see if any promotions are available for that area. If they don't or don't offer enough of a discount, then threaten to cancel, get transferred to retention, and likely get an even better rate. The reps definitely have limits in what they can cut you down to, but $173/mo for basic cable and the 30mbps connection is pretty far from what they can get you down to.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]