Charter Customer Considering E*

[Skyeclad]

I'm a CT-based Charter Comm customer and I'm considering going with satellite to improve my HD line-up and if I'm lucky, to save a buck or two. I've never been an E* subscriber so I should be eligible for a free Vip722 soon which should be a big upgrade to the SA 8300HD DVR that I currently have.

I was also considering bundling ATT DSL/Phone service to replace the Cable/Vonage solution that I currently have. Then I heard that ATT offered all three but their website is so difficult to get the bottom line of what the total package would cost in the configuration that I want.

I essentially want the E* HD DVR Advantage with second two-room tuner, 3Mb or greater DSL, Flat-Rate unlimited Local and LD Phone and I would like to pay less than $150 for all three. Is this acheivable and is it worth trying to bundle with ATT?

FYI, I don't have access to U-Verse or FIOS in my area.

Any suggestions?

 

[47HO]

In my area Dish offers the AT&T DSL packages the same price as dealing with AT&T direct, except Dish also offers you a $100 rebate to boot.

I don't want to insult your intelligence, but I have to ask: Are you sure you really need (want to pay) for 3Mbs bandwidth? I say this because many don't realize that its no faster than say 1Mbs, but just more bandwidth. That is, nothing is actually moving thru the pipe any faster, just a larger pipe to move more traffic. Anyway, I digress.

 

[datwell]

SKYECLAD: I'm confident 47HO means well, but I sure wouldn't want to part with my 15M/2M FiOS! We will stay with E* for TV for the time being but Verizon's FiOS internet service is outstanding!

Just my 2 cents.

--Doug

 

[tigerfan33]

I live in Alabama and use to be with Charter for cable. I switched to E* and am not looking back. I had a choice of going to D*. Too many empty promises by D* over the years. Do you remember the ad that said 1500 hd channels. That was D*. If I ran a business like Charter did, I would be broke within a year. Don't get me wrong E*is not perfect but with the choice I had as far as tv E*wins hands down!!!

 

[SarKen]

I do not think E* offers phone service. So it might be cheaper to use your local phone company for a DSL and Phone package.

If you are a sports fan and watch a lot of local HD you might want to stay with Charter. E* does not offer FSN NE or NESN in HD and New England does not have that many local channels in HD on E*. I think only the Boston market has them. You can use an OTA to for local HD, but then you can only record one HD local channel at a time.

Do not be fooled by the VOOM channels. After the first few months you will have seen all the programming on them.

I love my E* service! Just passing along a few things that people are not happy with after they sign the 18 month contract. If you have any questions ask them hear first, I wish I did.. Do not be fooled by sales reps at E*. When I signed up 18 months ago I was told the NESN HD would be available soon. I am still waiting…..

Ken

 

[hancox]

I currently use Charter for Modem and Phone, D* for TV. Charter's one good fault is that it doesn't nail you as badly as some of the other cable co's with regards to having their services without TV.

Your results may vary...

 

[jself1982]

I only use Charter for the internet, I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO CHARTER CABLE FOR TV!!

Go to Dish, you will not regret it.

 

[harshness]

I say this because many don't realize that its no faster than say 1Mbs, but just more bandwidth. That is, nothing is actually moving thru the pipe any faster, just a larger pipe to move more traffic.

3Mbps is three times "faster" than 1Mbps. Don't attempt to apply the principles of fluid dynamics to Internet speed.

 

[suntea]

Make the move - you will never miss Charter Cable. If they are anything like Nevada, the quality was terrible, the service unreliable and the HD programming no where near as good as Dish.

 

[Drone35]

I have Dish HD service and ATT DSL 3 meg down and 512 up and love them both ! I had Cox cable internet service which was outstanding, but the 50$ a month started cramping my style, the 3mps at ATT is $29.99 and u really can't tell the difference to much! I'd say go for it, u will like them both!

 

[Skyeclad]

I do not think E* offers phone service. So it might be cheaper to use your local phone company for a DSL and Phone package.

If you are a sports fan and watch a lot of local HD you might want to stay with Charter. E* does not offer FSN NE or NESN in HD and New England does not have that many local channels in HD on E*. I think only the Boston market has them. You can use an OTA to for local HD, but then you can only record one HD local channel at a time.

Do not be fooled by the VOOM channels. After the first few months you will have seen all the programming on them.

I love my E* service! Just passing along a few things that people are not happy with after they sign the 18 month contract. If you have any questions ask them hear first, I wish I did.. Do not be fooled by sales reps at E*. When I signed up 18 months ago I was told the NESN HD would be available soon. I am still waiting…..

Ken

Ken,

Actually it's ATT that is offering the Dish Network as a 3 way bundle with Internet and Phone. Sounds good but their site makes it very difficult to figure out if it's any kind of real deal.

I'm no sports fan so I won't miss the few things that Charter offers.

 

[Skyeclad]

I currently use Charter for Modem and Phone, D* for TV. Charter's one good fault is that it doesn't nail you as badly as some of the other cable co's with regards to having their services without TV.

Your results may vary...

Hancox,

I'm in your neck of the woods actually, Trumbull. I priced Charter's 5MB service at $49 w/o TV and my Vonage costs $30. I'd like to see if DSL can do better otherwise, there really won't be any price differential between Charter and E*, only product differentiation.

 

[Skyeclad]

I have Dish HD service and ATT DSL 3 meg down and 512 up and love them both ! I had Cox cable internet service which was outstanding, but the 50$ a month started cramping my style, the 3mps at ATT is $29.99 and u really can't tell the difference to much! I'd say go for it, u will like them both!

Charter would be $50 for their 5 meg service but that's not cool. I would rather see if I can bundle a 3 Meg service plus flat rate phone for about $60. So far, I only see this price for the 1.5meg service + phone.

 

[John Kotches]

In my area Dish offers the AT&T DSL packages the same price as dealing with AT&T direct, except Dish also offers you a $100 rebate to boot.

I don't want to insult your intelligence, but I have to ask: Are you sure you really need (want to pay) for 3Mbs bandwidth? I say this because many don't realize that its no faster than say 1Mbs, but just more bandwidth. That is, nothing is actually moving thru the pipe any faster, just a larger pipe to move more traffic. Anyway, I digress.

This is site specific. Some sites max out in the T1 range; others are much faster.

I routinely download software / patches / service packs / OSs and can sustain just under my rated 5 Mbits/second as long as the far side can do so.

Please feel free to insult my intelligence.

Cheers,

 

[John Kotches]

3Mbps is three times "faster" than 1Mbps. Don't attempt to apply the principles of fluid dynamics to Internet speed.

Yep

Some sites are speed constrained; but I am finding more and more sites are pushing above 3Mbits/second.

There is the question (entirely valid) as to whether or not it's worth the $$$ difference to get the extra speed. With ATT DSL (I have Charter at this time) it's $10 between the tiers ($15/25/35) in my area. Once DSL is available at my house I'm switching over to save a few $$$

As someone who works from home on a regular basis; I know the answer for me.

 

[bfbchief]

Do it...I too was a Charter Customer in CT...(I Still have them for internet as I have no other choice where I live in CT)...but I feel DISH is so much better. Charter was awful. There Customer service was AWFUL...I am so much better off with Dish.

My parents who also live in CT (same town as me but in a different section) also get rid of Charter and bundled everything with ATT and they couldn't be more happy. Their DSL is always up (where their Charter internet was always up and down, and everytime they would call charter they would say there is no problem...until one day after MONTHS of calling they finally came out and found a problem on a pole down the road from my parents)...SO DO IT...you wont regret it.

I'm a CT-based Charter Comm customer and I'm considering going with satellite to improve my HD line-up and if I'm lucky, to save a buck or two. I've never been an E* subscriber so I should be eligible for a free Vip722 soon which should be a big upgrade to the SA 8300HD DVR that I currently have.

I was also considering bundling ATT DSL/Phone service to replace the Cable/Vonage solution that I currently have. Then I heard that ATT offered all three but their website is so difficult to get the bottom line of what the total package would cost in the configuration that I want.

I essentially want the E* HD DVR Advantage with second two-room tuner, 3Mb or greater DSL, Flat-Rate unlimited Local and LD Phone and I would like to pay less than $150 for all three. Is this acheivable and is it worth trying to bundle with ATT?

FYI, I don't have access to U-Verse or FIOS in my area.

Any suggestions?

 

[SarKen]

Ken,

Actually it's ATT that is offering the Dish Network as a 3 way bundle with Internet and Phone. Sounds good but their site makes it very difficult to figure out if it's any kind of real deal.

I'm no sports fan so I won't miss the few things that Charter offers.

Then I would say go for it. In New England you will need two dishes. One for 110/119 and another for 61.5. Not sure if that will be a problem.

I dropped Comcast to go with E*. The only thing I miss is NESN HD. I am paying a little over $10.00 more then my in laws and I have HD, All the Movie channels and two DVRs. They only have two SD TVs no movie channels and no DVRs. Comcast keeps changing the way they price there package. Just divided up the packages again, so they have to pay an extra $5.00 to get the speed channel.

Ken

 

[Tampa8]

Depending on where you live in CT, you may not be able to get the faster/fastest speen ATT offers, even if the website indicates you can. They only offer 1MB where I am. That said, we have Charter at work, I have had Dish for years. No comparison at all - Dish is much better in PQ overall and in cost. As mentioned at this time you would not get NESN HD.

 

[Skyeclad]

I just called AT&T and they bundled a E* Top200, HD, DVR + 1 additional tuner, Unlimited Local/LD phone w. services incl vmail, up to 6M 'Elite" DSL for $134.97. The CSR said that I would not be able to get this deal online as they were using a "come back" offer to reduce the cost of the phone. This deal sounds good but I have to make sure that this offer isn't a reduced price for a limited time. That sounds like a pretty good deal although I have to assume that the quote didn't include tax, tip, license, fees, etc : ) Have to watch out for those little extras that surprise you when the bill comes.

They do extend the $200 rebate offer from E* and pay the activation too.

 

[Skyeclad]

Then I would say go for it. In New England you will need two dishes. One for 110/119 and another for 61.5. Not sure if that will be a problem.

I dropped Comcast to go with E*. The only thing I miss is NESN HD. I am paying a little over $10.00 more then my in laws and I have HD, All the Movie channels and two DVRs. They only have two SD TVs no movie channels and no DVRs. Comcast keeps changing the way they price there package. Just divided up the packages again, so they have to pay an extra $5.00 to get the speed channel.

Ken

110/119 abd 61.5? Are these different satellites? Why would my setup require pointing two separate dishes at two different satellites? I don't ask because I disagree, I just know absolutely nothing about Sat TV so it seems odd to me. Plus I don't recall seeing too many people with 2 dishes on their roof. Sometimes I do but I assumed that they had a LOT of TV's.