Home Internet/TV/Phone - are you as confused as the next person?

I have been in technology all of my adult life and it is amazing how confusing things are getting in pursuit of being the one that controls the highway into your home.  This blog is an attempt to give you some knowledge and let you make the choice that is best for you!

To preface this discussion, I have been a Comcast customer for 17 years in my current home and an AT&T wireless customer for over 20 years.  So loyalty is something earned and guarded carefully.  As is the case with every person out there, I believe I am paying too much to have these services in my home.  I am old
enough to compare things to over the air "free" TV and phones from the only "phone company" that existed. While I yearn for the simplicity, I know that the advances we have had would never have occurred without the deregulation of these industries.

We pay on average 5 times what our parents did for these services. We have more choices and functionality and we have become dependent on them.  Less than 20 years ago the online population looked very different.  Just as the PC made computing spread to every business and then every home, broadband services have done the same in what used to be the telecommunications industry. The pace of change is amazing and the technology is getting smaller and faster and the cloud services are making options pop up we haven't thought about.

The "Triple Play" options are a marketing masterpiece that makes the user say, "Hey, why not have them all together. Saves me money and one less call if  I have an issue."  Sounds reasonable and is really the best way to go.  AT&T and Comcast, Verizon and WOW, all are trying to control your spend for this connectivity.   The next thing will be the "Quad Play" where all of these companies will want you Cell/Mobile business as well.  The thing that prevents that today is that most of these companies don't have all four and the one that does (AT&T) is too busy fighting itself to do it correctly.

I live in the Chicago marketplace, so lets looks at the two largest players and then look at an alternative to the whole thing!

 So what prompted a hard core tech person to look at his service? Ummm... money of course.  On average I was spending around $230 per month for Internet, Phone and TV (yes I still have a land line).  The TV is the HD package with Premium channels, on-demand and DVR. I had the same hardware for approximately 4 years.  I provided my own WiFi router.

I have 6 televisions in my home. (Yeah I know...) 3 WiFi Blue-ray players, Xbox 360, 4 cell phones (use WiFi when home), and 4-5 computers, a server and 3 tablets.  Which is amazing since we only have 3 people full time at home. The main issue that made me look at U-verse was the central DVR viewed on any TV in the home.  The hardware I had from Comcast didn't  do that .  My wife likes to record show and watch them later, but in the current setup Comcast/Xfinity didn't do that.

So i broke down and called  AT&T!

What I found out was that they offered a similar package for everything and it was going to save me $100 per month.  WOW!  So I bit and bought what I was told was "the same thing" as my current package.  I was interested in how it was going to work and thought it best to try it out so I could talk about it with all of you.  The install was a little to be desired. It took the technician over 4 hours to get it all in and then we tested.  Whoa - TV great picture, phone worked (its phone cant really screw that up)(but they did) and Internet...disappointed.  As you can imagine for me that last one was the most important.  I knew that the internet connectivity would be slower, but I wasn't prepared for the VAST difference.  My previous Comcast service was at 22 Mbps Download and 5 Mbps Upload.  The AT&T rep told me that their 18 Mbps was comparable.  What they failed to mention is that their upload is 1.5 Mbps. OUCH! This is because U-verse has to put EVERYTHING through one connection. So TV, Phone, Internet are going over a connection that currently can only support up to 32 Mbps.  This also affects the TV. Only 4 "streams" can be in effect at one time.

So here is the dilemma:

You are recording 2 shows (2 streams) and you are trying to watch 3 other shows on 3 other TV's - NOT HAPPENING.  Then your Internet connection slows way down as well.  Not to mention that the hardware they use is HIDEOUS! Its signal can only travel about 25 feet.  Want to use your own - NIGHTMARE!  Not supported, cant help you. Can we send out a technician... ARGHHHH!

The phone was only 250 minutes... what?  Not unlimited.  Had to add that after I found it out and increased the price $10/ month.  WHY DID THEY EVEN HAVE THIS?

What I was promised:

What I got....

THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS IS AT&T CANNOT LOCK YOU IN! They have to give you an "early termination" fee of $150.  So if you don't like it change it!  And get the other guy to "pay" for it by giving you free stuff.

That is when Comcast knocked on my door... literally!

After cancelling, returning all the equipment and suffering from buyers remorse, a Comcast sales person showed up at my door.  

 He was there to see what they did wrong and if they could entice me back.  I looked at him and let him talk.  The more I "didn't say" the more he gave me. They gave me ALL channels, HD, Premium etc, unlimited phone, Internet at 40-50 Mbps Down and 10 Up!  Central DVR, router and set up my WiFi!  All for LESS THAN THE AT&T BILL!  Guaranteed for 12 months with only a $20 increase in year 2....

Sign me up!  Switched and will not go back to that ever.  The next step for me is to do everything over a single internet pipe on my own!  That will be coming and will cost less and have more choices.. look for future Blogs on how to do that.

What I got!

That's my experience. Use it as you will,  and if you need help, remember to call The Tech Doctors!

630-588-8325

Why use a GEEK when you can hire a PROFESSIONAL?