Internet Held Hostage

[Bronxiniowa]

I left DirecTV for Mediacom it will be two years this December because they offered an unbeatable bundle that included internet, video and phone for just twenty dollars more than I was paying for DirecTV alone -- a savings of about sixty dollars a month. That kind of saving was too good to turn down, especially since Mediacom carried almost every HD channel I watched on satellite, added TiVo for no additional cost, and their mini receiver fees were far lower than that of either sat provider.

But lately I have become irritated with Mediacom's sub-par picture quality on many sports channels, their refusal to add any additional channels, and their awful customer service, so I have considered going back to satellite TV. But if I break the bundle, Mediacom charges me upwards of eighty dollars for high-speed internet, which is essential to my work. That would put my monthly TV/internet bill (I would have to drop phone, which I wouldn't mind) back up around two hundred bucks.

Has anyone experienced the same situation -- your cable company holding you hostage by gouging you on internet? And no, before you ask, there is no other provider in the Des Moines, Iowa, metro that offers comparable internet speeds.

 

[Voyager6]

I am stuck with Comcast. I bundle my internet with their basic tv (sd box) to get a better rate than on internet alone. I use Vonage for phone. I don't even have the Comcast box hooked up.

 

[DWS44]

That's pretty much the way it is here...the local podunk cable company has the monopoly on broadband in our county. No option but to pay their rates to keep high-speed internet. At least the rates aren't too outrageous for the speeds available. Heck, up until the late 2000s, they forced everyone to subscribe to basic cable tv (even if you didn't use it) or they wouldn't even let you have broadband. They finally dropped that requirement at least.

 

[Bronxiniowa]

I bundle my internet with their basic tv (sd box) to get a better rate than on internet alone. I use Vonage for phone. I don't even have the Comcast box hooked up.

I'll call them and see what they would charge me for that.