Cutting my cable bill expense

Hi all,
My cable bill is now $140 dollars, includes tv, internet, and phone.
We just added a second cellphone and will soon drop the landline, ah,
I feel like a 20 something.
A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
use my isp from home.
I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
work or coffee shop wifi signals.
What is the downside?
Thanks, Mikek

On Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:56:16 -0500, amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>My cable bill is now $140 dollars, includes tv, internet, and phone.
>We just added a second cellphone and will soon drop the landline, ah,
>I feel like a 20 something.

Poverty is more than a mind state.
<http://www.knology.com/Page/Bundles/View/single_service_pricing>
Cable $58 to $76
Phone $17 to $31
iNet $64 to $79
That's $139 at the bottom end, plus taxes which works out to about
$150. At those prices, the incrimental cost of a 2nd cell phone
(about $12 to $22 including taxes) is barely worthwhile.

>A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
>use my isp from home.

Nope. You're using your work ISP for access and your home ISP
(knology.net???) for email. If you're going to do that, you migth as
well use Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or other free email provider. There's
not much else your home ISP can provide remotely, except maybe SSL/VPN
service for using the account securely at a coffee shop.

>I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
>work or coffee shop wifi signals.

If the coffee shop charges money (most don't), then get whatever they
are using (iPass??).

> What is the downside?

Limited bandwidth, limited hours, download quotas, weight gain from
greasy pastries, overpriced coffee, etc.

With more than one cell phone, you're probably best off with the
family plan. If you're using cellular data, that doesn't apply
because the various providers haven't gotten their act together on
family plan shared minutes for data, yet. If only one phone, think
about pre-paid. I use PagePlus Cellular where my total bill runs
about $30/month. For VoIP, I use Future-Nine.com for under $7/month.

The biggest cost reduction to cable/internet service is to share the
cost for the connection with a neighbor. Of course this is proscribed
in the TOS (terms of service) so don't tell anyone I suggested it.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 9/28/2011 2:26 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:56:16 -0500, amdx<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> My cable bill is now $140 dollars, includes tv, internet, and phone.
>> We just added a second cellphone and will soon drop the landline, ah,
>> I feel like a 20 something.
>
> Poverty is more than a mind state.
> <http://www.knology.com/Page/Bundles/View/single_service_pricing>
> Cable $58 to $76
> Phone $17 to $31
> iNet $64 to $79
> That's $139 at the bottom end, plus taxes which works out to about
> $150. At those prices, the incrimental cost of a 2nd cell phone
> (about $12 to $22 including taxes) is barely worthwhile.
>
I'll start this discussion where I started a few days ago.
I'm in some agreement with you.
The wife was phone shopping and I couldn't pull her back from the edge!!!
We have one cellphone and two land lines. The plan was to drop one
landline and add a cellphone, I thought the cost would just about be a
wash but the convenience factor was high.
She got taken in by the only one day left with free activation. (saving
$70) Rather than the $70, 700 minute plan, she went for the 1400 minute
$90 plan. now what did cost $73, is now over $100.
But it is more convenient, once I figure this new phone out!!

Now about the iNet, yes about $65 a month, if I drop that, it's $800 a
year. That would be a nice savings, but I just set up online banking so
I suspect I want the more secure service.


>> A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
>> use my isp from home.
>
> Nope. You're using your work ISP for access and your home ISP
> (knology.net???) for email. If you're going to do that, you migth as
> well use Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or other free email provider. There's
> not much else your home ISP can provide remotely, except maybe SSL/VPN
> service for using the account securely at a coffee shop.
>

Ok, not sure I understand all that.
I need access to the internet and mail, so I assume I need somebody to
act as my isp, even if I don't log on through my home cable system, I
think I still go through knology to get online?
If you recall, at work I'm in the marina using someone else's wifi
signal, (only seen 43 signals).

>> I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
>> work or coffee shop wifi signals.
>
> If the coffee shop charges money (most don't), then get whatever they
> are using (iPass??).
> o
>> What is the downside?
>
> Limited bandwidth, limited hours, download quotas, weight gain from
> greasy pastries, overpriced coffee, etc.
>
> With more than one cell phone, you're probably best off with the
> family plan. If you're using cellular data, that doesn't apply
> because the various providers haven't gotten their act together on
> family plan shared minutes for data, yet. If only one phone, think
> about pre-paid. I use PagePlus Cellular where my total bill runs
> about $30/month. For VoIP, I use Future-Nine.com for under $7/month.

My 17 yr old son got a prepaid plan (with texting) for $35. Worked
good for 5 weeks then he lost the phone. I had ask him and my daughter
how much he paid for the phone, they both said "you don't want to know".
I don't want to know.

>
> The biggest cost reduction to cable/internet service is to share the
> cost for the connection with a neighbor. Of course this is proscribed
> in the TOS (terms of service) so don't tell anyone I suggested it.

So how do the coffee shops work this out?

So If I got a cheap isp and log on through someones wifi, the cheap isp
could limit my bandwidth?
Thanks, Mikek

amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Hi all,
> My cable bill is now $140 dollars, includes tv, internet, and phone.
> We just added a second cellphone and will soon drop the landline, ah,
> I feel like a 20 something.
> A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
> use my isp from home.
> I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
> work or coffee shop wifi signals.
> What is the downside?
> Thanks, Mikek

I don't use my cell much, got consumer cellular for $25 a month. Includes
slow data.

A friend dropped comcast entirely and is now using t mobile for tv and
Internet. Her phone rebroadcasts wifi. She uses a HDMI out of her laptop
from the phones wifi.

Greg

On 9/28/2011 6:15 PM, gregz wrote:
> amdx<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> My cable bill is now $140 dollars, includes tv, internet, and phone.
>> We just added a second cellphone and will soon drop the landline, ah,
>> I feel like a 20 something.
>> A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
>> use my isp from home.
>> I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
>> work or coffee shop wifi signals.
>> What is the downside?
>> Thanks, Mikek
>
> I don't use my cell much, got consumer cellular for $25 a month. Includes
> slow data.
>
> A friend dropped comcast entirely and is now using t mobile for tv and
> Internet. Her phone rebroadcasts wifi. She uses a HDMI out of her laptop
> from the phones wifi.
>
> Greg

T-Mobile has no issue with tethering. That is probably a better solution
than dealing with wifi from the phone. Seems to me you would hit the
T-Mob 5G limit quickly if you streamed a lot of video.

Incidentally, a basic phone is maybe $25 with tax, but that doesn't
include a long distance plan. I still keep my phone line for the DSL +
911, but have the phone set up so there is no long distance on it. All
the toll calls are essentially bundled with the cellular plan.

On Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:56:16 -0500, amdx wrote:
> I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
> work or coffee shop wifi signals.

huh?
You don't need no steekin `ISP` "to gain access to the net over
work or coffee shop wifi signals."

Once you're connected to the Access Point, you _are_ on the net.

An email account is a whole 'nuther thing. Gmail, probably.

Jonesy

On 9/29/2011 8:15 AM, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:56:16 -0500, amdx wrote:
>> I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
>> work or coffee shop wifi signals.
>
> huh?
> You don't need no steekin `ISP` "to gain access to the net over
> work or coffee shop wifi signals."
>
> Once you're connected to the Access Point, you _are_ on the net.
>
> An email account is a whole 'nuther thing. Gmail, probably.
>
> Jonesy

Tell me more, Can I get rid of my isp and use my neighbors wifi
to pull up google as my home page? (my neighbors like me)
Email is another situation, and easy to get around.
Mikek

On Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:42:12 -0500, amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>>> A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
>>> use my isp from home.
>>
>> Nope. You're using your work ISP for access and your home ISP
>> (knology.net???) for email. If you're going to do that, you migth as
>> well use Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or other free email provider. There's
>> not much else your home ISP can provide remotely, except maybe SSL/VPN
>> service for using the account securely at a coffee shop.

>Ok, not sure I understand all that.

It's easy. The ISP does many things. However, you only need the ISP
for one thing and that's getting your computers on the internet. Once
you're on the internet, you can get the other traditional ISP services
(email, web hosting, support, etc) from other vendors, some of which
are free.

When you drop into a coffee shop, you're using the coffee shop's ISP,
not your own, for internet access. You might be required to use their
ISP's SMTP server for outgoing email, but that's very unusual.
Everything else, you can get from other providers. For example, the
coffee shop's ISP does not provide YOU with email service.

>My 17 yr old son got a prepaid plan (with texting) for $35. Worked
>good for 5 weeks then he lost the phone. I had ask him and my daughter
>how much he paid for the phone, they both said "you don't want to know".
>I don't want to know.

If he's on Verizon, almost any CDMA phone can be provisioned. I have
a side biz doing just that. The customers that lose their phones are
usually faced with either a $200 retail phone from Verizon, or a $50
used phone from me. *228 and follow the instructions to activate.

If the phone is AT&T or T-Mobile, he'll need to get a new SIM card to
replace the one he lost. Otherwise, it's a similar ritual to Verizon.

<http://www.mobilekarma.com>
<http://www.dotcells.com>
<http://www.usedcellphoneshop.com>
and of course, eBay.

> So how do the coffee shops work this out?

I wouldn't know. I'm a tea drinker.

For ocassionally checking your email, coffee shops are fine. For web
surfing and research, tolerable. For Windoze updates, massive
downloads, file sharing, and Netflix, forget it. For the few coffee
shop networks that I manage, the biggest PITA is someone dropping in
with a laptop that's drastically out of date, and then downloading all
the necessary updates.

>So If I got a cheap isp and log on through someones wifi, the cheap isp
>could limit my bandwidth?

No. The coffee shop router will limit your bandwidth. The idea is to
prevent any individual connection from hogging all the available
bandwidth. The coffee shop may also decide to block services or port
numbers. For example, common file sharing services are commonly
blocked.

Again, you do not "get" a cheap ISP when at a coffee shop. You use
the coffee shops ISP. If you "leach" off a neighbor or someone in the
harbour, you're using their ISP. It's considered good form to ask the
owner and possibly contribute to the cost of their internet
connection.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com (E-Mail Removed)
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:42:12 -0500, amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>>> A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
>>>> use my isp from home.
>>> Nope. You're using your work ISP for access and your home ISP
>>> (knology.net???) for email. If you're going to do that, you migth as
>>> well use Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or other free email provider. There's
>>> not much else your home ISP can provide remotely, except maybe SSL/VPN
>>> service for using the account securely at a coffee shop.
>
>> Ok, not sure I understand all that.
>
> It's easy. The ISP does many things. However, you only need the ISP
> for one thing and that's getting your computers on the internet. Once
> you're on the internet, you can get the other traditional ISP services
> (email, web hosting, support, etc) from other vendors, some of which
> are free.
>
> When you drop into a coffee shop, you're using the coffee shop's ISP,
> not your own, for internet access. You might be required to use their
> ISP's SMTP server for outgoing email, but that's very unusual.
> Everything else, you can get from other providers. For example, the
> coffee shop's ISP does not provide YOU with email service.
>
>> My 17 yr old son got a prepaid plan (with texting) for $35. Worked
>> good for 5 weeks then he lost the phone. I had ask him and my daughter
>> how much he paid for the phone, they both said "you don't want to know".
>> I don't want to know.
>
> If he's on Verizon, almost any CDMA phone can be provisioned. I have
> a side biz doing just that. The customers that lose their phones are
> usually faced with either a $200 retail phone from Verizon, or a $50
> used phone from me. *228 and follow the instructions to activate.
>
> If the phone is AT&T or T-Mobile, he'll need to get a new SIM card to
> replace the one he lost. Otherwise, it's a similar ritual to Verizon.
>
> <http://www.mobilekarma.com>
> <http://www.dotcells.com>
> <http://www.usedcellphoneshop.com>
> and of course, eBay.
>
>> So how do the coffee shops work this out?
>
> I wouldn't know. I'm a tea drinker.
>
> For ocassionally checking your email, coffee shops are fine. For web
> surfing and research, tolerable. For Windoze updates, massive
> downloads, file sharing, and Netflix, forget it. For the few coffee
> shop networks that I manage, the biggest PITA is someone dropping in
> with a laptop that's drastically out of date, and then downloading all
> the necessary updates.
>
>> So If I got a cheap isp and log on through someones wifi, the cheap isp
>> could limit my bandwidth?
>
> No. The coffee shop router will limit your bandwidth. The idea is to
> prevent any individual connection from hogging all the available
> bandwidth. The coffee shop may also decide to block services or port
> numbers. For example, common file sharing services are commonly
> blocked.
>
> Again, you do not "get" a cheap ISP when at a coffee shop. You use
> the coffee shops ISP. If you "leach" off a neighbor or someone in the
> harbour, you're using their ISP. It's considered good form to ask the
> owner and possibly contribute to the cost of their internet
> connection.
>
A lurker says... Great Reply:-))

Lou

amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Hi all,
> My cable bill is now $140 dollars, includes tv, internet, and phone.
> We just added a second cellphone and will soon drop the landline, ah,
> I feel like a 20 something.
> A lot of my surfing time is at work where I have wifi access but
> use my isp from home.
> I'm looking for a cheap or free isp to gain access to the net over
> work or coffee shop wifi signals.
> What is the downside?
> Thanks, Mikek

My bill is $168. It can only go up, especially if I add hd converters. My
final setup will enable me to watch at least 3 channels at once. Luckily my
iPad can control more than one box in the same room. Comcast.

I used to pay $41 a month to Verizon, no Internet, and 450 minutes.
I now have consumer cellular 300 minutes and limited internet for $25
month, but I can change up or down as I need. I get better coverage at home
and vacation with the AT&T towers on cc.

Greg