The cord is officially cut! No more cable TV!

[disneysteve]

The deed is done. I cancelled our Comcast cable service today. I just kept internet.

Old bill: $236.40
New bill: $96.79
Savings: $139.61 per month

SlingTV: $30.00
Locast: $5.00

Net savings: $104.61/month or $1,255.32/year

I do need to buy a new cable modem. We used to own ours. Then when we upgraded to the triple play with phone, I sold ours and have been renting one. Now we can go back to a basic one. I should be able to find one for under $50.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Which streaming device are you using (ie, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, etc, I have Roku with $30 Spctrum any 10 channels, $12.99 Disney +, ESPN +, and Hulu.

[disneysteve]

We have Apple TV in the family room. We have a Roku TV in the bedroom, so no ongoing cost for either of those.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Also during sports seasons I buy MLB TV $120 entire season and $200 NBA league pass but I couldn’t buy NBA for 2020 season, and I could easily afford, I honestly could not watch anymore. Don’t ask me why.

[disneysteve]

Also during sports seasons I buy MLB TV $120 entire season and $200 NBA league pass but I couldn’t buy NBA for 2020 season, and I could easily afford, I honestly could not watch anymore. Don’t ask me why.

None of us are that into sports so no sports packages here.

We do have Netflix and Disney+. We also have Prime, but mainly for shipping though we have watched the occasional show like Mrs. Maisel.

[Captain Save]

I was just speaking to my wife's cousin during thanksgiving about this .. She had Cable but she doesn't even really watch TV .. I think it's pretty much evident that Cable as we knew it is dead.. Live Sports is the only thing keeping it alive ..

[disneysteve]

I was just speaking to my wife's cousin during thanksgiving about this .. She had Cable but she doesn't even really watch TV .. I think it's pretty much evident that Cable as we knew it is dead.. Live Sports is the only thing keeping it alive ..

We watch TV daily, but $30/mo. for Sling and a $40 antenna gets us everything we had and more. We sprung the $5/mo. for Locast because the antenna reception is not dependable and getting local channels is important to us.

I just ordered a modem/router on ebay, $42.60 with tax. As soon as that comes and I set it up, I'll return the Comcast one and get that off our bill and we'll be done.

[Captain Save]

We watch TV daily, but $30/mo. for Sling and a $40 antenna gets us everything we had and more. We sprung the $5/mo. for Locast because the antenna reception is not dependable and getting local channels is important to us.

I just ordered a modem/router on ebay, $42.60 with tax. As soon as that comes and I set it up, I'll return the Comcast one and get that off our bill and we'll be done.

Yes, that's the real robbery with cable companies.. the equipment cost.. not just the cost but the fact that they act as if their equipment is the best for their service. I bought my own 7 or so years ago and got faster internet. new modem and a fast wifi router

[disneysteve]

Yes, that's the real robbery with cable companies.. the equipment cost.. not just the cost but the fact that they act as if their equipment is the best for their service. I bought my own 7 or so years ago and got faster internet. new modem and a fast wifi router

Yep. We had our own modem but stupidly when we upgraded a few years ago to the Triple Play, I took their modem and never replaced it. We've been paying $14/month for it. My own procrastination here which cost us way, way more than what buying our own would have cost.

I should have the new one within the week and can return this one and get that off our bill.

[QuarterMillionMan]

When I had cable TV the taxes, fees, and rental amounted to $30 extra, rip off.

[HundredK]

We have comcast as well. Did you get the free Flex service with your internet? It gives you free premium Peacock. We don't even use the box, just plugged it in once to activate it and then set up peacock on our roku. Also, a note, don't buy just any modem - comcast publishes a list of the ones that will work, we have tried the non-approved ones in the past and it's been a nightmare. And currently, due to comcast's cruddy policies (they basically screw the people who they know have no choice but to use their service due to exclusivity contracts with complexes), we are stuck renting one from them anyway, as they will not give unlimited data in our area unless you also rent a modem from them (and because of working from home, we 100% need unlimited data).

[HundredK]

Another hint - I'm not sure what level of internet service you're getting for the $96 or if it's a special deal. If they are making you pay rack rate, then just give it about three months, and you should be able to qualify for a new special deal. I always look for the deals that last at least 24 months at a reduced rate for the full time (some are sneaky and say 2 years, but the reduced rate is only for 12 months). We were paying $125 for our gigabit internet including modem rental, and now for the next two years we are locked in at $96.

[amarowsky]

Congrats disneysteve , I'm glad to hear you arrived at this decision! Caution, I'm about to ramble about how much I like your move here! (I hate wasting money by supporting cable companies....).

Getting rid of cable is one of the best things you can do! Great move getting your own modem too! Avoiding that rental fee pays for itself almost always within a year or much much less in some cases. I tend to replace my modem and/or Router every 3 years(or as soon as I have to start restarting it @ any normal frequency [beyond firmware updates & norm maintenance]). I try to re-sell them online to re-coop a significant % of the replacement cost for the next replacement purchase.

*Note - (I took this advice from my wife's cousin who's a HxC IT guy. It totally makes sense that any piece of cheaper hardware [$60-200avg price] that will run for 1,000 days or will have enough miles on it to justify replacing. Especially while it's still useful.) I Adopted a similar move, but I think I'm going on 3 years w/ my current router and it's rarely messing up on me [using google wifi + 2 year old surfboard modem]. SO I'll wait until it just barely starts to screw around, and then I'll likely replace this unit. If you find the right deals on Slickdeals.net you can get the latest model ) . I mean for function of enabling the internet wirelessly to my home, it's well worth the $100-150 total cost every ~3 ish years (assuming new cost on sale + $$ recovered from selling old Hw = Well worth new stuff every 3 ish).

it's not a good hill to die on, that you saved a small amount (Probably <$20 in $ spent, not counting the time lost) by holding onto a router and/or modem longer than it is worth. My thought is, if its like 4-6 year old gear, and you have to restart your stuff more than 1 or 2 times per week, due to performance issues. You should upgrade right away (unless you have very low value of your time, tight fixed income, or another reason that any $ is much more valuable than your convenience).



**I wonder... How their power will shift, when internet access wirelessly is ubiquitous. Their being the cable providers, once there is an affordable substitute to cable internet (beyond just your phone). It's interesting to watch this power struggle. I really despise the agendas of cable news companies..... And this seems to help reduce their influence, which is quite strong on the less critically thinking customers/fans. It's a fascinating future, the where/how/when/why people will consume their media/news/entertainment. Good move to reduce your unnecessary waste while still getting more than enough access to information

[bjl584]

I still have Comcast but have thinking about cutting ties.
I don't watch much tv in summer but I do in the winter
Still debating what to do

[disneysteve]

I still have Comcast but have thinking about cutting ties.
I don't watch much tv in summer but I do in the winter
Still debating what to do

Think about what channels you really watch a lot. Then check some of the alternatives to see if those channels are included. We found that Sling covered pretty much every channel we like and gave us a bunch of new ones we are enjoying as well.