Cut the Cord Consultant?

[lgselsor]

Is there such a person as a "cut the cord" consultant who can advise us on what we need to do to ditch cable, what hardware and other devices are needed, what internet service is the best or cheapest in our area, and what telephone service we should get to replace our current Spectrum/Time Warner bundled package which keeps going up every couple of months even after we call and complain and threaten to leave. We are fed up with cable! We would also need someone to do the installation of the equipment. We live in Marinette, WI 54143 and would really appreciate a referral since I am, by admission, a technology Neanderthal. Contact me at [don't post your email address on the forum]

Grant Selsor

 

[hang-the-9]

Best Buy Geek Squad may be a good place for you to start. There is likely only a few internet service providers in your area, doing a web search should be able to show you which. https/broadbandnow.com/Wisconsin/Marinette

No idea why your prices would go up every few months, do they offer a multi-year contract? Phone service is eh, do you need home service? You don't have cell phone(s)? Many households don't have phone service to the house, just use cell phones. I don't remember the last time I called a house phone number, but it was years ago. Your internet will likely still be through the same company, you will need to do a bit of research about what shows you "must" have are available outside cable tv service. You have DSL in the area, but it will not be as fast, and often it's not as reliable as cable.

I have Charter/Spectrum and have a 3 year bundle of internet/TV/phone/DVR that is about $130 a month, that includes HBO and I think another premium channel. Every time I had a cheaper bundle and it expired, I just contact customer support online and ask them what can they do with the price increase to drop it again, never had them not do it for me. Last time I did it, the price went from about $190 to about $140 and I got faster internet service at the same time. It really depends on how you handle the request, if you start complaining to the service rep and being difficult, they are a lot less likely to help you.

 

[inzane4all]

"Cutting-the-Cord" may or may not be difficult. It all depends on what you want to go with. I have been using Roku's for several years now and haven't looked back at cable. However, Cutting-the-Cord can have different meanings to different people. When I started off, I relied entirely on my local media to play content to my TV's using Plex/Emby and my Roku's (I still use this setup to this day). There was no YoutubeTV/SlingTV or any of those apps we see today that provide live content. I subscribed to SlingTV and then moved to YoutubeTV because I like sports, and my kids like watching their shows on CN, Disney, etc.....

So did I really "cut-the-cord"? It's more like I migrated to newer technology that gives me the ability to pick what I want to watch. But in the end, with the amount I pay for a 500 Mbps download speeds (I game a lot and work remotely from home at times) and for YoutubeTV, you start to get close to cable subscription pricing. You can save yourself some cash by going with lower speeds, but it all depends how you use your network (4k content, 1080p content, streaming?) This also goes hand in hand with your current networking hardware.

So you have to ask yourself: Can I do without live TV or premium shows at all or do I want more control on the content I watch? "Cutting-the-Cord" is very misleading. It's more like "Upgrading-the-Cord". Your just getting your content in a different form, but still paying for the content.

And btw, Geek Squad are the worst, especially if you are non-tech-savy. They will milk you for your cash. Don't go with them. I don't understand why some tech people recommend them. They'll rip you off, seriously. Just research and use the net to get familiar with non-cable tv setups.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Can't help with cutting the cord. I'm too much of a channel surfer to do that, but phone service...

I've been a MagicJack customer for seven years now. One year renewals are up to $50/year now (from $19.99), butI really cannot complain. Most people pay that much per month.

I pay $30/month for my very basic Walmart cell phone serivce ($360/year) and another $50/year for my "home phone" service. Granted, I need to maintain my internet service ($75/month) to keep the home phone operable, but I pay that anyway, with or without my "home phone" service.

-Wolf sends

 

[USAFRet]

Similar to the above MagicJack, I have an Ooma. $5/month, flawless service for several years.

 

[hang-the-9]

Yes Best Buy may not have the best techs, but they are often the easiest ones to track down, and quality of their service really depends on the techs in the store. I have seen a few good ones, a friend of mine had Best Buy setup his TV and they did a good job, wired well, mounted well, clean, remote all programmed for various things. Local computer shop would also work, or just some research like on here.