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Author Topic: Modems...  (Read 3295 times)

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breadcrumb

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    Modems...
    « on: June 07, 2014, 10:37:31 PM »
    I currently get my DSL internet via AT&T. It costs me $28 a month. I only received the small break b/c I had suggested I might go to cable internet. I would be paying around $5 more w/o the break which will actually be ending in about 6-7 months. Anyway, as it turns out, my internet is not all that fast as was discussed in the "Other" forum b/c of possible telephone wiring issues.  My friend gets her internet via Comcast cable (one of those deals), BUT she has to pay a rental fee on a modem! She has one of those all-in-one pcs that she bought about 2 years ago. My modem is one I bought from AT&T and they just, in the past 2 months, sent me a replacement at no cost, when the old one went belly-up. It even provides WI-FI, whereas my old modem did not (not that I have any need for it!).
    So I need to know this, would I need a different modem if I decided to get cable internet? I just do not see paying a modem rental on top of the monthly internet fee too!
    After I get an answer to this question, I may have some extra questions as well....! ;D
    Thanks all!
    breadcrumb
    Call me "Breadcrumb". I'm certainly crummy at computer stuff!

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    Re: Modems...
    « Reply #1 on: June 07, 2014, 11:15:49 PM »
    You have come to the right place. Here on Computer Hope. Tthere are lots of experts will give you free advice. First, you need to supply some additional information about your situation. Most importantly, where do you live? Are you inside the United States or Canada? Or are you in Europe, the middle east or Southeast Asia? Each of those areas as different kinds of Internet services available.

    If you want best bandwidth, the best would be to go with a satellite system. But that is rather pricey and is not needed in most parts of the world.

    As you know,  DSl L is sent over standard telephone lines for a limited distance and this restricts the maximum speed to somewhere around 10 or perhaps 15 Mb per second. In practice, the speed in some areas is as low as 3 Mb per second. It varies a lot. It can be as low a 1.5 Mega bits per second.
    As for cable, it is by its nature capable of very high bandwidth. You could easily gets bandwidth of over 30 Mb per second. But not always.

    An alternative in some communities is a form of wide area Wi-Fi. I don't think that's the right name for it, but I recall one service I had once the I could pick up the service on my wife  router but I was not able to use it because it was a VPN. So that company had their own receiver and modem that they would mount on a pole outside my house and it provided really great Internet connection with very high speeds. Those kind of installations tend to be very localized and are not available in all communities. You have to check locally to see if somebody has that in your area.

    Regulations involving telecommunications vary from one country to the other. There are rules in place that allow customers to buy their own equipment and just pay fees for the service. In many cases, that's the best deal you can get.

    Here in the United States in some areas, it's possible to get suitable DSL service for $15 a month. If you have your own DSL modem and router.

    Another alternative used by some is to the use a data plan that comes off the cellular service. If there is good, 3G or 4G cellular service in your area, that could be a good choice. If you have to check locally to find out what the current prices are.

    Check around with your neighbors and friends and see what other people are doing. There may be in some communities, some kind of five community effort to bring free Internet into certain areas of a city or village. That might be worth looking into. In some areas.
     :)

    Salmon Trout

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    Re: Modems...
    « Reply #2 on: June 08, 2014, 02:08:07 AM »
    Would I need a different modem if I decided to get cable internet?

    Boldened to stand out against the NOISE:

    Short answer, YES, you would need to get a different modem. A DSL modem and a cable modem are different beasts. Depending on the cable provider, you may have the choice of renting one that they provide, or of buying your own cable modem (usually a modem and router combined these days). They cost about $40 upwards. You would soon see a saving, in less than a year I should think. If this was possible and you chose to do it you would need to make sure you got one that would work with your cable service, and you would probably need to get it activated on the cable company's network. This would require a phone call to the cable company where they would ask you to read a code from a label on the modem. Of course if you rent a modem the installation engineer would do all this and also if it failed the company would bring or send you another one. Also it they decide to upgrade your plan to a higher speed you might need to get a replacement to take advantage of this.

    So check with the company to see what your options are.

    [UPDATE] I believe Comcast will allow you to use your own cable modem, and it is possible to see, on Comcast users forums, various models discussed.

    Google "comcast modem rent or buy" or see here (very informative):

    "3 Ways to Get Rid of your Comcast (or Other ISP) Modem Rental Fee"

    Summary: 1. Established customers call them and say they don't want to pay to rent a modem and are thinking of leaving. 2. Wait some years until Comcast write your rented modem off and deem it customer-owned. (Danger of it becoming deactivated if they change the system in some ways) 3. Buy your own.

    http://20somethingfinance.com/get-rid-of-your-comcast-modem-rental-fee/


    « Last Edit: June 08, 2014, 03:08:51 AM by Salmon Trout »

    Salmon Trout

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    Re: Modems...
    « Reply #3 on: June 08, 2014, 02:34:54 AM »
    Most importantly, where do you live? Are you inside the United States or Canada? Or are you in Europe, the middle east or Southeast Asia?
    Somehow I do not think that a person living in Germany, Egypt, or Cambodia would be weighing up switching from AT&T to Comcast.

    « Last Edit: June 08, 2014, 03:09:52 AM by Salmon Trout »

    Geek-9pm


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    Re: Modems...
    « Reply #4 on: June 08, 2014, 02:45:16 AM »
    The OP never said where he lived.  8)

    Salmon Trout

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    Re: Modems...
    « Reply #5 on: June 08, 2014, 03:07:01 AM »
    The OP never said where he lived.  8)

    Enough with the rolling eyes already. Click on her name.

    Quote
    Gender:    Female
    Age:    N/A
    Location:    Panama City, Florida, United States

    Geek-9pm


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    Re: Modems...
    « Reply #6 on: June 08, 2014, 03:16:30 AM »
    Quote
    Enough with the rolling eyes already. Click on her name.
    Quote
        Gender:    Female
        Age:    N/A
        Location:    Panama City, Florida, United States
    OH! I never knew you could do that!

    breadcrumb

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      Re: Modems...
      « Reply #7 on: June 08, 2014, 06:45:02 AM »
      You guys are too funny! :D ;D
      It sounds like Comcast has quite the little monopoly going on to me! >:( If there's a way to get your money, they'll figure it out!
      Frankly, I'm just not sure what to do. 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 certain ones still.
      I see these bundle packages they offer where you can get tv, 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!!!!
      breadcrumb
      Call me "Breadcrumb". I'm certainly crummy at computer stuff!