Comcast Cable Internet With Bundles, Etc., Need Feedback, Advice, Any Wisdom!!

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 Mom and I currently have a phone/internet bill from AT&T that runs around $70 a month and a cable bill that's about that as well. The Comcast wouldn't be as high, but we rent a DVR!!! And the DVR is necessary in our case. I trimmed our channel packages down to where we could get our 2 fave channels, but we do miss seeing a couple of others.
I see these bundle packages they offer where you can get tv (cable), internet, and phone for one price, but they do not tell you about the hidden fees (such as renting their modem!!!) And then when the special price period is over, who knows what the price will be?! I've even wondered if I got cable internet and tv only if I could drop the AT&T all together and use "Basic Phone" or "Magic Jack". But I'm afraid that if I do something like that and it goes to he**, it would be expensive to get everything back how it was and then I'd have to deal with Mom's reproachful remarks, as we share the expenses.........
HELP!!!!
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[Geek-9pm]

Comcast is is huge. Very huge.
You should have already saw this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast

Criticism and controversy.
In 2004 and 2007, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey found that Comcast had the worst customer satisfaction rating of any company or government agency in the country, including the Internal Revenue Service. The ACSI indicates that almost half of all cable customers (regardless of company) have registered complaints, and that cable is the only industry to score below 60 in the ACSI.[139] Comcast's Customer Service Rating by the ACSI surveys indicate that the company's customer service has not improved since the surveys began in 2001. Analysis of the surveys states that "Comcast is one of the lowest scoring companies in ACSI. As its customer satisfaction eroded by 7% over the past year, revenue increased by 12%."
 

Additional reading:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/CMCSA/845254023x0xS1193125-09-33975/1166691/filing.pdf

We expect advances in communications technology, such as video streaming over the Internet, to continue in the future, and we are unable to predict what effects these developments will have on our businesses and operations In recent years, Congress has enacted legislation and the FCC has adopted regulatory policies intended to provide a favorable operating environment for existing competitors and for potential new competitors to our cable systems. The FCC adopted rules favoring new investment by local phone companies in networks capable of distributing video programming and rules allocating and auctioning spectrum for new wireless services that may compete with our video service offerings. Furthermore, the FCC and various state governments have adopted measures that reduce or eliminate local franchising requirements for new entrants into the multichannel video marketplace, including local phone companies.

In some locations in the USA small companies are trying to get into the local cable and Internet business. It depends on where you live. There was talk about the FCC putting some restraints on Comcast. It will not happen.

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Hi,
There is another cable company in town called "WOW!" (used to be named "Knology"). The problem is that our apartment complex does not get WOW.
It's ridiculous really!!!
I had a friend that worked for many years with Comcast until a couple of years ago when they did a big change up in the company! They said she could either move to Atlanta and work at the call center there of be demoted way down and get half the pay she had been making. She told them good bye! They let many of their experienced workers go and hired new help that would naturally work for less pay. Wait until these workers get some experience under their belts...they'll be done the same way too. These companies do not care 2 cents about their workers (except for the CEOs and top brass)!
The problem with Comcast is that at least in my town, they are practically a monopoly unless you happen to live in an area where you can switch to WOW. SIGH!!!!!!!!!
It's a crying shame.
So since I'm still held hostage though, I still need to know about what I should do in regards to bundling (or not!) and the questions I raised above...
Many thanks!
Bc

[Kryptonite]

At some point, like most of us, we are looking for answers that help us get what we want/need at the best price as quickly as possible.

Usually there are a few choices that involves trade offs.  Given the choices where you live it sounds like you basically have two companies offering the services you are wanting. It becomes a little more complicated when you discover that what these companies offer have unique names like
"bundles" "offers" "packages" and where I live they call them " campaigns ". In any event there are these words that describe the
 " packages " which include the actual products that you want but in order to get what you want you might be coerced or temped to pay more money if you take one of these bundles which includes things that you basically don't want or need. The logic me thinks has to do with what I call "dope dealer logic " : get you hooked on something at a "special price " for a given time then once you are hooked on the item you didn't originally want they raise the price because you "fell in love" with "Homeland" or Californication" or any number of other shows written for "premium channels".
The surveys they ask you to fill out tells them how long it takes for you to get hooked. So the normal freebie period is 3, 4, or 6 months. They may even include a free DVR for the same period. Comcast now called Xfinity gave me 6 months of free DVR, Showtime and HBO.
It's certainly clear to me that these new premium station shows are indeed in a whole new class of quality of writing. After watching what I call virtually commercial free shows ( commercials come at the end of the program before they give you a taste of what you will find out in the next episode then they hammer you with 5, 10, minutes straight of none stop self promotion of what next great show they are developing. The promo's are HD volume up 12 decibels over the show you just watched Hollywood developed teasers. You ARE HOOKED BABY! Now they will attempt to hook you for as much money as they can get and fools that we are we pay. They know this and it a "free market" you pay in ways that only a capitalist has no guilt charging.

There are ways to purchase only what you want but more often than not they will charge you more for less so it's hard to say no to a bundle for 99.99 than it is to a limp wrist basic tv with the slowest internet speed for 79.99. It just seems like such a good deal to get all that other stuff for 20 bucks more right?

And then you find one day this major jump from 99.99 to 159.99 because you forgot to let them know what you wanted to do after the one year promotion period expired.

When you attempt to call to get things straightened out you will be on the phone for hours talking to people in foreign countries who work from a script of offers to offer you and after hours or maybe days of calling you are happy to accept 139.99 because it seems like such a deal from 159.99. But usually you have to give something back too or "If you agree to take another two premium stations for another year they will give you a 199.99 value for 169.99 and you are ready to thank the lord for such a deal.

In the old days people like this were called snake oil salesmen. Now it's called free enterprise.

One other irony: depending on where you live; a 59.00 Radio Shake roof antenna will give you much better quality HD than cable. Of course you can't watch Californication with a roof antenna or get high speed internet either.

Let us know what you choose.

Good luck!