[Run Silent]

Same here. I don't have cable TV, but had Xfinity for internet for quite some time. Cost was $89 for 200mb speed.

Local power company just finished installing fiber in my area, so I switched. I now pay $59.99 for 500mb, no added fees other than tax. Total bill comes to like $63. Also guaranteed not to increase.

I pay about $15 for Disney plus that comes with ESPN+ and Hulu. I'm all set.

[dreamingat30fps]

I'm curious what you all do that you need these super high speed plans? In FL I have xfinity internet and cable included in the HOA. I believe it's the lowest tier internet plan they have but I have never felt the need for more.

In NC I have spectrum and also have their cheapest tier cable internet which I believe is like 50Mbps. No issues with that either and we both work from home. We pretty much watch streaming content exclusively have all kinds of smart devices (especially in FL) and have never thought damn I need some faster internet.

Now upload speeds I could occasionally use a faster speed as uploading a couple gig video can take forever, but I've notice even the higher tier plans usually don't give you much more upload speed.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I'm curious what you all do that you need these super high speed plans? In FL I have xfinity internet and cable included in the HOA. I believe it's the lowest tier internet plan they have but I have never felt the need for more.

In NC I have spectrum and also have their cheapest tier cable internet which I believe is like 50Mbps. No issues with that either and we both work from home. We pretty much watch streaming content exclusively have all kinds of smart devices (especially in FL) and have never thought damn I need some faster internet.

Now upload speeds I could occasionally use a faster speed as uploading a couple gig video can take forever, but I've notice even the higher tier plans usually don't give you much more upload speed.

In my experience the providers push you into the higher speed networks with pricing. For example, in NC, I can get AT&T gig for $60, 100 Mpbs for $50 or 300 Mbps for $60. Now I never get anywhere near gig on wifi and everhhing there is wireless, but I get 300 Mbps so a drop to 100 might be noticeable enough that the extra $10 / mo. is worth it. If 300 Mbps weren't the same exact price as gig, I'd do that. So, I just left the faster speed. (Gig was actually cheaper than slower speeds when I started due to promo pricing.)

In FL, I connect my laptop to the gateway via Ethernet and get over 900 Mbps. Is it absolutely necessary? Probably not, but I do get and send some large files and it is nice to have. And again the savings for dropping down in speed are negligible.

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

That’s a great deal, especially guaranteed not to increase.

Agreed. Wish I had that option.

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Now upload speeds I could occasionally use a faster speed as uploading a couple gig video can take forever, but I've notice even the higher tier plans usually don't give you much more upload speed.

That's why true fiber is much better as opposed to the Gigabit service which the likes of Xfinity or others offer. Being symmetrical the download and upload speeds are the same. None of that 35mbps upload crap.

As for needing higher speeds, I think the bandwidth is also impacted. When you have a higher speed Internet plan, more people/devices can take advantage but of course you need the appropriate WiFi router to take advantage.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

That's why true fiber is much better as opposed to the Gigabit service which the likes of Xfinity or others offer. Being symmetrical the download and upload speeds are the same. None of that 35mbps upload crap.

As for needing higher speeds, I think the bandwidth is also impacted. When you have a higher speed Internet plan, more people/devices can take advantage but of course you need the appropriate WiFi router to take advantage.

Yeah, that is a nice thing about fiber. I do lose a lot of speed depending what router I'm using. Don't get full potential unless actually hard wired into the modem. Still not too shabby. I like the fast speed for when the wife is streaming stuff and I'm playing video games.

Now the 5G ultra wide band is a game changer. I could get rid of all internet if that covered my house. First pic is of my fiber and second is the 5GUW that I get by my office.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I'm curious what you all do that you need these super high speed plans? In FL I have xfinity internet and cable included in the HOA. I believe it's the lowest tier internet plan they have but I have never felt the need for more.

In NC I have spectrum and also have their cheapest tier cable internet which I believe is like 50Mbps. No issues with that either and we both work from home. We pretty much watch streaming content exclusively have all kinds of smart devices (especially in FL) and have never thought damn I need some faster internet.

Now upload speeds I could occasionally use a faster speed as uploading a couple gig video can take forever, but I've notice even the higher tier plans usually don't give you much more upload speed.

Much of the content being streamed even though it's "HD" or "4k" are compressed and lossy. I can easily see the difference with 1080P content streamed from Amazon versus the actual movie on uncompressed Blu Ray. Some of us are hosting media servers where we access our media libraries over the Internet. Yes, the performance of this streaming is a function of the upload speed of your service. But with Comcast, I have to buy into the faster tiers which in this case is Gigabit service to get the faster upload speed.

With regards to downloads, I'm assuming you're not a gamer. I just fired up the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare game. I was immediately greeted with the notice a patch is downloading for the game. 22GB. And yes that's with a B. Took only a few minutes to download that patch over my Gigabit service. Layer that on top of other things running on your network and you have some significant bandwidth contention. Then there are the patches required for various devices on your network. For Windows, some of the patches are pretty large.

[RickFLM4]

So I called AT&T again today, this time to cancel my landlines in FL (one for home and one for business) about 10 years after everyone else cancelled their landlines. At the end of the call, the agent asked me if I wanted her to check the pricing of my internet in NC. Told her I called yesterday but sure go ahead.

After I gave up thinking I could get a better deal, she comes back and tells me I am entitled to the $40 special (for gig, including their gateway) for as long as I have the internet plan linked to my cell phone. Great deal! Only issue is the deal I am on now doesn’t expire until Monday so I need to call back then. What are the chances I call back on Monday and get the same response from the next agent.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Yeah, that is a nice thing about fiber. I do lose a lot of speed depending what router I'm using. Don't get full potential unless actually hard wired into the modem. Still not too shabby. I like the fast speed for when the wife is streaming stuff and I'm playing video games.

Now the 5G ultra wide band is a game changer. I could get rid of all internet if that covered my house. First pic is of my fiber and second is the 5GUW that I get by my office.

Wanting faster speed on your phone makes even less sense to me than high speed at home. What are you doing on your phone that requires so much speed?

Originally Posted by zx10guy

With regards to downloads, I'm assuming you're not a gamer. I just fired up the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare game. I was immediately greeted with the notice a patch is downloading for the game. 22GB. And yes that's with a B. Took only a few minutes to download that patch over my Gigabit service. Layer that on top of other things running on your network and you have some significant bandwidth contention. Then there are the patches required for various devices on your network. For Windows, some of the patches are pretty large.

True, I guess that's the only thing I forgot about. Luckily I don't game very much, but when I do turn on my gaming PC or Xbox after not using it for 6 months I have to leave it there all day downloading crap.

I guess it has just not been enough of an inconvenience for me yet to get higher speed internet.

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

What are the chances I call back on Monday and get the same response from the next agent.

15%

[MsGoGoMoto]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I'm on Century Link Fiber 1Gb for $65 a month, price for life guaranteed to not increase.

Hulu, Netflix and Disney are free with my cell phone service I believe.

Whatcha talkin bout, Willis?

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

So I called AT&T again today, this time to cancel my landlines in FL (one for home and one for business) about 10 years after everyone else cancelled their landlines. At the end of the call, the agent asked me if I wanted her to check the pricing of my internet in NC. Told her I called yesterday but sure go ahead.

After I gave up thinking I could get a better deal, she comes back and tells me I am entitled to the $40 special (for gig, including their gateway) for as long as I have the internet plan linked to my cell phone. Great deal! Only issue is the deal I am on now doesn’t expire until Monday so I need to call back then. What are the chances I call back on Monday and get the same response from the next agent.

That's a great deal! I don't understand how or why it's tied into your cell phone though. You use their fiber service in your home, right?

I'm reasonably certain when you follow up with them on Monday you'll get the same deal because "I assume" you've got her on record stating as such. I think phone conversations are recorded though that's on their end. I almost always do everything via chat online because it will be a permanent record on my end in case I ever need it as evidence. Having said that, I'm pretty sure they'll give you what they said they would. Again, that's a really good deal assuming the gateway is connected to your home setup.

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by MsGoGoMoto

Whatcha talkin bout, Willis?

I know, right? I can't believe ANYONE is willing to guarantee a price for life. I think we get fvcked by the providers here in GA.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

That's a great deal! I don't understand how or why it's tied into your cell phone though. You use their fiber service in your home, right?

I'm reasonably certain when you follow up with them on Monday you'll get the same deal because "I assume" you've got her on record stating as such. I think phone conversations are recorded though that's on their end. I almost always do everything via chat online because it will be a permanent record on my end in case I ever need it as evidence. Having said that, I'm pretty sure they'll give you what they said they would. Again, that's a really good deal assuming the gateway is connected to your home setup.

Price is tied to cell phone (I think) because when I originally signed up for their fiber service it was a deal for existing customers and I had to “link” them and agree to auto payments. At the time it annoyed me because they changed the address on my cell phone account to NC without telling me. Didn’t matter to getting bills, which are paperless and autopay, but prevented me from getting a phone shipped to my house in FL the next month and I wasted a lot of time figuring out what happened.

I actually called them previously and went through chat, both times getting passed among three different departments. All 6 people were useless until I got this lady in the Loyalty Dept. She gave me a number to call to get back in touch directly with that dept. and assured me everyone in the department is excellent and has been around for years. So we’ll see how it goes on Monday.

[TiMSport]

Ahh yes, the "loyalty department". Haha, I've dealt with a few of those at companies like Comcast. It's all the same damn people sitting in neighboring cubicles! Lol.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

Ahh yes, the "loyalty department". Haha, I've dealt with a few of those at companies like Comcast. It's all the same damn people sitting in neighboring cubicles! Lol.

At least she sounded like a New Yorker vs. others that were probably in India or the Philippines.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Wanting faster speed on your phone makes even less sense to me than high speed at home. What are you doing on your phone that requires so much speed?

If I had access to 5GUW at home I could add a hotspot device and connect my router to it for ~$5 a month to my unlimited data plan I believe. It would just reduce my overall cost while providing better speeds.

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

If I had access to 5GUW at home I could add a hotspot device and connect my router to it for ~$5 a month to my unlimited data plan I believe. It would just reduce my overall cost while providing better speeds.

Interesting but that would require you to be at home with your cell phone in order to take advantage of that, right? I don't know if you have family but if not, I guess it wouldn't matter?

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

Interesting but that would require you to be at home with your cell phone in order to take advantage of that, right? I don't know if you have family but if not, I guess it wouldn't matter?

I think you can get a hotspot device and have it as an additional device on your plan, like having multiple phones and ipads.

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

I think you can get a hotspot device and have it as an additional device on your plan, like having multiple phones and ipads.

Ahh okay, in that case that would be great.

[TiMSport]

I hadn't done a speed test in a while and got this just a moment ago. Not bad for Xfinity's service via WiFi. Now if I had true fiber of course the upload speed would be so much better. For the record, this is using a laptop.

[RickFLM4]

That’s a great speed over Wi-Fi.

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

That’s a great speed over Wi-Fi.

Actually I just ran it again and got a better result.