One ISP, Monthly Rate Increasing

Cpt_Kirk

Cpt_Kirk

En-Route
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
3,296
Location
Georgia
Display Name
Ted Striker
Our apartment only has one internet service provider and they're increasing the rate 50% coming in the next two months. I want to keep it at $40/month. Without threatening to move to someone else, what else can I do to keep the same rate? Threaten to cancel?

We don't watch tv so all we get is internet.
 
How much data do you use each month? A cellular hotspot or tethering to a phone might work. They have data caps though.
 
Here's a guess: You are heavy users of the avail internet bandwidth.(no TV)

The ISP knows this.

You are being asked to pay for your fair share.

Hello net neutrality.


What can you do? Really nothing. They set the prices, you can ask for a discount, but I am betting that Charter calculated the number of cancellations vs the retained revenue and decided that the best case was to go ahead and raise them. Business decision, if you don't want to buy what they're selling, it's a semi-free country.
 
docmirror said:
Here's a guess: You are heavy users of the avail internet bandwidth.(no TV)

The ISP knows this.

You are being asked to pay for your fair share.

Hello net neutrality.
Click to expand...

This would be more akin to metered billing as opposed to flat-rate billing which as far as I know, no ISP in the U.S. is doing. If he's a heavy user though, most ISPs have data caps on their broadband plans. If you break those caps they either charge you more for more data, or they just throttle your download/upload speeds so you're not inconveniencing other users.

Net neutrality has nothing to do with this.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Our apartment only has one internet service provider and they're increasing the rate 50% coming in the next two months. I want to keep it at $40/month. Without threatening to move to someone else, what else can I do to keep the same rate? Threaten to cancel?

We don't watch tv so all we get is internet.
Click to expand...

Yeah, threaten to leave for a cell hotspot or complain about the service, sometimes canceling the service and starting the service again in someone else name can get you a intro rate again.
 
Let me get this straight, you don't have a TV bill and you get all your web and entertainment for $40/month and you think that $60/month is too much? What do the folks who only use it for email and the occasional shopping or bill paying think? When they find out that you are hogging the bandwidth they may suspect you're the reason the bills are going up.

This is exactly what net neutrality is about; everyone pays the same no matter how much is used. The providers have to raise everyones bill to cover the big users usage.
 
cgrab said:
Let me get this straight, you don't have a TV bill and you get all your web and entertainment for $40/month and you think that $60/month is too much? What do the folks who only use it for email and the occasional shopping or bill paying think? When they find out that you are hogging the bandwidth they may suspect you're the reason the bills are going up.

This is exactly what net neutrality is about; everyone pays the same no matter how much is used. The providers have to raise everyones bill to cover the big users usage.
Click to expand...

BS

That's some commie logic right there

This ain't the 56k days.

And netflix isn't exactly like hosting a mp3 server.

With the way technology goes, if someone tires to charge me more for the same bandwith I'd tell them to kick rocks.
 
James331 said:
BS

That's some commie logic right there

This ain't the 56k days.

And netflix isn't exactly like hosting a mp3 server.

With the way technology goes, if someone tires to charge me more for the same bandwith I'd tell them to kick rocks.
Click to expand...

Like I said, Charter has already quantified the number of people who will go away, and according to their dartboard, they'll make more money by raising rates, and giving less service to a smaller group of customers.

In a sort of left handed way, it makes sense. The OP is one of the heavy users, and they need the infrastructure to support that use. If they raise the rates, some of those big users will go away, and Charter can reduce it's bandwidth expansion for later by billing the people who stay more money. Then, take that added income, and go make improvements down the road.

Not saying I agree with it, but there is a certain amount of elegance in the deal. Some low BW users will surely leave too, but plenty of BW hogs will go as well, lessening up the overall need for speed.
 
cgrab said:
Let me get this straight, you don't have a TV bill and you get all your web and entertainment for $40/month and you think that $60/month is too much? What do the folks who only use it for email and the occasional shopping or bill paying think? When they find out that you are hogging the bandwidth they may suspect you're the reason the bills are going up.

This is exactly what net neutrality is about; everyone pays the same no matter how much is used. The providers have to raise everyones bill to cover the big users usage.
Click to expand...

Utter nonsense. Net neutrality hasn't a blessed thing to do with usage tiers.

Rich
 
FORANE said:
Is DSL an option?
Click to expand...
Don't know much about it.

cgrab said:
Let me get this straight, you don't have a TV bill and you get all your web and entertainment for $40/month and you think that $60/month is too much? What do the folks who only use it for email and the occasional shopping or bill paying think? When they find out that you are hogging the bandwidth they may suspect you're the reason the bills are going up.

This is exactly what net neutrality is about; everyone pays the same no matter how much is used. The providers have to raise everyones bill to cover the big users usage.
Click to expand...
It is more than I want to pay. We have a budget and we're doing our best to stick to it. Don't get upset because our bill is a small fraction of yours. We're not necessarily heavy users and Netflix is hardly a once-a-week occurance. I could go on but I really don't need to explain myself to you.

I'm merely asking for ways to keep it at $40/month, if I can control it. If not, we'll hatch some other plan.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Don't know much about it.
Click to expand...
DSL in my experience is a little slower than cable but plenty fast to stream a movie. The phone company in your area may be able to provide it to you.
 
Being in a rural area, I'd absolutely kill to be able to pay $60/mo for unlimited data at cable speeds.
 
cowman said:
Being in a rural area, I'd absolutely kill to be able to pay $60/mo for unlimited data at cable speeds.
Click to expand...


Me too. I pay $120 a month for flaky sattelite. I tried to bring a T1 into the house but the provider backed out.
 
1. Find out if DSL is an option and see what the rates are.
2. Find out what the rates are for new customers (intro rates) for your existing service.
3. Call your current ISP and tell them you want to cancel. They will send you to the "retention department".
4. Tell the retention dept that you want to cancel and go to DSL, unless they can make you a better deal.
5. They will probably make you a better offer right there.
6. Even if it's an intro rate, take it and then repeat all the above after 6 months or a year or whatever.

This has usually worked for me, I've done it a few times. Though one time I did have to actually cancel and switch to DSL. Then switched back in a year and got the "new customer" rates again.

Play the game!
 
RussR said:
1. Find out if DSL is an option and see what the rates are.
2. Find out what the rates are for new customers (intro rates) for your existing service.
3. Call your current ISP and tell them you want to cancel. They will send you to the "retention department".
4. Tell the retention dept that you want to cancel and go to DSL, unless they can make you a better deal.
5. They will probably make you a better offer right there.
6. Even if it's an intro rate, take it and then repeat all the above after 6 months or a year or whatever.

This has usually worked for me, I've done it a few times. Though one time I did have to actually cancel and switch to DSL. Then switched back in a year and got the "new customer" rates again.

Play the game!
Click to expand...

I play that exact same game.....

And ,while talking to the rep /retention operator I will remind them that competition is a wonderful thing and there are a few new wireless connections here in the hole... I politely hint that they have millions tied up in underground cables ,line amps, switchers, gateways etc etc... The wireless guys just mount a antenna and all the new customers just have to point their directional antennes at that mast and if 50% of your customers dumped cable then you are slitting your own wrists.....

They quickly offer a VERY attractive yearly rate with no contract...:yes:...;)
 
FORANE said:
DSL in my experience is a little slower than cable but plenty fast to stream a movie. The phone company in your area may be able to provide it to you.
Click to expand...
I'm looking. Not really impressed by the DL/UL speeds for the price. Maybe I'm missing something.

RussR said:
1. Find out if DSL is an option and see what the rates are.
2. Find out what the rates are for new customers (intro rates) for your existing service.
3. Call your current ISP and tell them you want to cancel. They will send you to the "retention department".
4. Tell the retention dept that you want to cancel and go to DSL, unless they can make you a better deal.
5. They will probably make you a better offer right there.
6. Even if it's an intro rate, take it and then repeat all the above after 6 months or a year or whatever.

This has usually worked for me, I've done it a few times. Though one time I did have to actually cancel and switch to DSL. Then switched back in a year and got the "new customer" rates again.

Play the game!
Click to expand...

Thank, Russ.
 
partner up with a couple others in the apartment and share :)
 
N801BH said:
I play that exact same game.....

And ,while talking to the rep /retention operator I will remind them that competition is a wonderful thing and there are a few new wireless connections here in the hole... I politely hint that they have millions tied up in underground cables ,line amps, switchers, gateways etc etc... The wireless guys just mount a antenna and all the new customers just have to point their directional antennes at that mast and if 50% of your customers dumped cable then you are slitting your own wrists.....

They quickly offer a VERY attractive yearly rate with no contract...:yes:...;)
Click to expand...

This is basically what I did last time. I got to the retention people and told them that 'xxxyyy wireless internet guy is on the roof right now testing my line-of-sight, he says I'm good to go'. I got my old rate back for 12 months.
 
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