I'd like to "cut the cord" re: cable TV. The one thing that bothers me is that I really have no alternative to the local cable monopoly for broadband internet access, so even cutting the cable doesn't free me from being beholden to them. The other thing is that my TV viewing habits leans heavily to live sports. There's no shortage of services that will stream movies and episode programming, and cheap, too. I haven't found a good solution for most live sports.
Maybe something like Sling would work for you. Of course, you'd still need the broadband access.
My hometown cable / telco / Internet company, Sparrow Fart Telephone, is pricey. The rates are even higher than in most cities because, well, this is the middle of nowhere. They don't have as much population density to offset their costs. They also have no competition unless your data needs are modest enough to use ATT's or VZW's 4G, so there's not a lot of downward price pressure.
But they do make up for their prices with excellent service, timely appointments, and locally-based human support. When I call them, a human answers the phone. And if I want to talk in person with the guy who runs the tech operations, he's just a short drive or a long walk away. It's all very homey.
On the one occasion that I called with a technical problem (not even an outage, just slower-than-provisioned throughput), the tech arrived in minutes. As in, two or three minutes -- maybe five at the most. They have no competition here, but they still run the outfit as if they did. Their customer service is phenomenal.
There also was the time when one of their techs stopped by the morning after an unexpected blizzard. He was just checking up on "old folks," he said. Okay, so tact isn't one of his finer points. He told me in so many words that they didn't have many service calls that day, so the company sent the techs out to make sure the old farts weren't lying in snowdrifts with shovels in hand. Gotta keep those senior subscribers alive, after all -- and the Mormon kids who go around with shovels after snowstorms can only hit so many houses.
Here's an amusing anecdote: For the past few years, the company has been buying up other neighboring communities' telecommunications franchises and running fiber to them. Most of the communities have never been provisioned by Verizon beyond POTS, and Verizon seems just as happy to be rid of them. One of the communities is the tiny hamlet where my parents live, North Sparrow Fart.
My dad absolutely despises his satellite television / Internet company, and when I mentioned that my telco was expanding there, he asked me to have them call him with an ETA. When they called, he asked whether the YES network was part of the package because he's an avid Yankees fan. That was his number one concern. The rep repeatedly assured him that YES is available. He's been hounding me (and possibly them) ever since, wanting to know when they'll be ready to hook him up.
When I went to the office to set up my upgrade earlier this week, the lady he spoke to called me aside and gave me a Yankees tee-shirt to give to Dad the next time I see him. She remembered the conversation and how much he loves the Yankees, so she wanted him to have one of the promotional tee-shirts that YES gave them. I was impressed that she remembered. (Then again, knowing Dad, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised.)
So yeah, my local telco is pricey and the only game in town, but they do make up for it in other ways. They're the first "cable company" I've ever had that I don't hate.
Rich
