Saving Money on Cable, Internet, and Phone Bills
In order to save money on your cable, internet, and phone bill one has to spend money to save money in the end. I wish this was not so true, but given the majority of money saved will be in the hardware needed, investments must be done upfront to reap the rewards not too far down the road.
First lets recognize the area that cable providers stick it to the consumer, leasing fees. The leasing fees are often associated with how many tv’s need a “cable box?” With the average of five to ten dollars per tv, this can easily be fifty bucks of your cable bill if you have three to five tv’s in the building. The next area is your cable modem. I have seen this on the low end of a little less than ten dollars to as high as twenty dollars per month. This is crazy to through your money away on this device! The cable modem may also be providing your land line phone. This is important to note, because it will determine which modem to purchase later described in this article.
First, replace all your cable boxes, with an Amazon Fire Stick or Ruko. Both devices have advantages over each other per the need of end user. They are plug and play devices that only require you to change the input on your tv to an available HDMI port. Both are Alexa compatible as well. Of course these devices do much more than just manage the cable channels you already pay for. They have many free service options and applications as well.
Now onward to the cable modem. Note: Please check with your cable provider on compatibility of the listed modem suggestions below. The cable modem can come in two orientations. One with voice over IP and without VOIP. If you have a landline already, you will need it with, where as if you only need internet services, then get it without. There is price difference. We recommend the Netgear Nighthawk series.
Both modems are DOCSIS 3.1, and can support plans up to 2-2.5 Gigabits.
With VOIP: (Follow Link to Amazon)
Netgear Nighthawk CM2050V Phone and Internet, no built in WiFi
Without VOIP: (Follow Link to Amazon)
Netgear Nighthawk CM1200 Internet Only
Next you will need a WiFi router. You may need only one router if your home or business is less than 1500 square feet. However, if your area square footage is larger, we encourage a mesh network system versus a stand alone router to cover up to 4,500 square feet. We also encourage to keep all the functions of the units separate for performance and ease of troubleshooting by not combining the modem and router in one.
The Nighthawk series is a great option and solid performer for all things needed.
One Year Later…
Long term, starting likely after a year, when you would have already paid for the devices otherwise via leases, you will start to save money. Your cable bill will reflect a change right away of course. Remember to return any cable company owned equipment to avoid any continuing lease fees. Also, if you need any assistance with setting up or configuring any of these devices, please reach out to us to schedule a service call if you are within our service area.
