Time to save money and cut back - Internet/Phone (UPDATED)

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: dquan97
Call Vonage to threaten to cancel and they'll give $15/mo for unlimited service.

The promotion is over, I tried calling last week and they said it was done. Sure enough, reports of everyone recently on FW are the same, no one is getting the $15/mo plan anymore.

Yeah, I dropped Vonage a couple years ago now. They tried really hard to get me to stay - offered me even a few months free for being a loyal customer (for ~3 years). I needed a crowbar to get the Indian CSR dude off the phone (said "no" to him about 2 dozen times before I had to get rude).

 

[vi edit]

Here's an idea:

http://www.dailywireless.org/2...mtocells-for-everyone/

What cell phone provider do you have? I just found out that Verizon is offering a femtocell box for their network. Reception in my home is horrible thus requiring the need for traditional land line. It burns my ass that I have to pay $70 a month for a family cell phone plan that I can barely use in my own home and then pay another $45 to have a phone hang on the wall only to be used a couple times a week.

Enter the femtocell. It gives me extra coverage in my house and the minutes that I use with it don't count against my plan. It basically turns my cell phone call into VoIP.

Verizon's box is $250 with no monthly fee. That's 5 months of land line.

 

[13Gigatons]

Internet = DSL
Phone = Prepaid Cell or Magic Jack
TV = OTA DTV (at least it's digital now) or Satellite

Save lots of money......

 

[AstroManLuca]

I have Qwest 7 Mbit DSL with their Price-For-Life guarantee and it runs me just $34/mo. Fast and reliable internet.

Comcast basic is $13/mo but only because I have bad TV reception (bottom floor apartment). If you can put an antenna on your roof, do it.

For phone I'm on my parents' family plan. Skype is a decent solution if you need a home phone. Very cheap (better than Vonage or Comcast).

All told I'm paying much less by sticking with the basic services offered by many companies than I would if I were bundling.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: vi edit
Here's an idea:

http://www.dailywireless.org/2...mtocells-for-everyone/

What cell phone provider do you have? I just found out that Verizon is offering a femtocell box for their network. Reception in my home is horrible thus requiring the need for traditional land line. It burns my ass that I have to pay $70 a month for a family cell phone plan that I can barely use in my own home and then pay another $45 to have a phone hang on the wall only to be used a couple times a week.

Enter the femtocell. It gives me extra coverage in my house and the minutes that I use with it don't count against my plan. It basically turns my cell phone call into VoIP.

Verizon's box is $250 with no monthly fee. That's 5 months of land line.

WRONG.

I was going to suggest this yesterday... until I read a few things. Verizon's implementation counts against your minute totals. Not only that, Verizon's femtocell isn't access-resticted, meaning anyone with a cell phone within range of your femtocell gets to use your bandwidth.

Not cool if you ask me.

AT&T's announced device sounds a little better, it's access restricted (your specified access only)... but there's no word on whether it provides "free unlimited" calls or whether it charges against your minutes.

Direct from Verizon's FAQ:

Do I have to pay additional fees to use a Network Extender?
No. There are no additional costs to use the Network Extender. You only need to purchase the unit. All rates and policies associated with your chosen calling plan also apply when connected to the Network Extender.

 

[vi edit]

Good catch. My reading comprehension FTL.

I was reading this article:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2339607,00.asp

Saw this part:

"Using the Network Extender doesn't use up any additional minutes on the user's plan or accrue additional charges, a Verizon spokeswoman added. "


Missed this one:

"However, users will be charged against their plan, in minutes, for any calls they make."

D'oh!

Oh well. I still can't get coverage in my house and this seems like a better option than trying to use a booster. I don't really care about the connections. I live on an acre lot and the next one I build on is over an acre and a half.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I keep Skype so I have a number to give out to people I don't want to talk to and so I can call customer support for hours on end and not worry about burning cell phone minutes.

For a whopping $6/month, it's worth every penny

I don't see why people use Vonage for 4X the $ 😕

If skype had any decent phones, absolutely. But the way the skype market is right now, the phones just flat out suck.

Pliable is going to link you to this.

I have the same phone. It's good, but it has its moments...

Discontinued. As with the SPH200D, the only other good skype phone. Sure they are available used, but they are approaching $350-400. Which pretty much kills the benefit of skype being cheaper.

Holy crap! You're not kidding! I should sell mine!

Yep, its crazy. All the good skype phones are discontinued, all that's left now is the wifi phones (Belkin & Netgear) which both get shit reviews. According to some over at the Skype forums, there are no new models on the horizon.

Yep, I sold mine and doubled my $, just paired a BT headset with my HTPC for Sype, I have the HTPC on 24/7 anyway.

I'll just go with cell only if Skype dies, I really don't use a phone that much anyway, my daughter & her BF have phones on my family plan, and they're the heaviest users. All 3 of us are using unlocked iPhones on a TMobile family plan 😀

 

[aphex]

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm a douchebag, you need to dual 1 with Ooma 🙂

 

[aphex]

Ok, so some first Ooma impressions.

It was easy as heck to set up, the box is actually very nicely made and the whole setup works great through my wireless bridge (Ooma is 30 feet away from my main router on a different floor) Sound quality is SUPERB. Seriously, compared to my failing Vonage box, this thing is just insane. Crystal clear, no lag, its perfect. Only annoyance so far is having to dial 1 again for long distance, Vonage didn't need that but its a very small issue so no worries.

Looking forward to seeing how well this works.

Also, as an update to the OP. I've since killed digital cable and dropped my net speed down to 7/1 (I really don't notice a difference except downloading large files, HD streams just fine).

My cable bill is now;

Basic Cable (1-28) incl. all local HD - $10/mo
Internet (7/1) - $47/mo

 

[Babbles]

I am in the same sort of position. I want to drop my cable TV, but the problem is that there are a few channels I do enjoy that I can not find online: History, History International, Science, Discovery, TLC, and so forth.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Babbles
I am in the same sort of position. I want to drop my cable TV, but the problem is that there are a few channels I do enjoy that I can not find online: History, History International, Science, Discovery, TLC, and so forth.

Are you on Comcast? I learned lastnight that they have a service called Digital Economy for $29/month that includes a number of the channels you listed above.

 

[darkxshade]

Just cancel everything and use free dialup from netzero

/90s

 

[Babbles]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: Babbles
I am in the same sort of position. I want to drop my cable TV, but the problem is that there are a few channels I do enjoy that I can not find online: History, History International, Science, Discovery, TLC, and so forth.

Are you on Comcast? I learned lastnight that they have a service called Digital Economy for $29/month that includes a number of the channels you listed above.

Yeah, I am on Comcast. . . that sounds like it may be a good deal. Thanks!