As you know, here at SkyStream we are all about saving people money. We thought we would share with you another way the Cable/Internet Company is making money from you each and every month and also how to save money each month.
If you get Internet from a company, there is a very strong chance that you are also using one of the Modem/Routers that they gave to you when they had a technician come to your house and set up your service.
Cable/Internet providers are not happy with just gouging you each and every month for cable alone, they also want to make money on the equipment that is used to deliver their service to you. Whether you know it or not, you are being charged each month for each cable box, DVR, and Modem/Router that is in your house.
These fees are usually shown on your bill as equipment fees, DVR Rental, HD Cable Box, Modem Rental, Wi-Fi, and a lot of other names that are meant to not stand out on your bill.
While you cannot get away from paying a rental fee each month for a proprietary cable box or DVR, you can purchase your own Modem/Router.
I’ll admit that I was using the standard Modem/Router from my cable company for a year or so before I realized that I was getting the short end of the stick.
I noticed that on my bill I had two separate fees each month for my Internet service. The first one was $5 rental fee for my Modem. The second fee was $4 for Wi-Fi. So, in essence I was paying $60 each month to use their modem, and another $48 each month for the Modem that I was already paying for to blast out Wi-Fi. I found it ridiculous that I was paying $108 each year to rent something and using one of its main features (Wi-Fi).
So I began researching if I could purchase a Modem/Router that was compatible with my Internet service. I actually found that on my internet provider’s website they had a list of compatible routers that I could use for internet and Wi-Fi.
I found that there were about 20 different models from which I could choose. I purchased one for $90 (I wanted the Mack Daddy), but there are many different models that can be bought for about $60.
Please note – You will need to call your Internet provider once you have received your new modem so that they can provision it (Place it in their system as the modem that you have on your account and send it a signal so it will receive the internet from them.)
Once you have the modem provisioned and it’s receiving Internet you may want to change the name and password for your new modem. This process is different for each modem, so please refer to your owner’s manual or quick start guide.
IMPORTANT!!! – Make sure that you call your Internet provider and have them pick up the old router or drop it off to them. They will charge you each month that you do not return the unit, whether you are using it or not.
Break Even Point
You will need to figure out your break-even point for buying a new router. This is the amount of months that it will take before you have saved as much money to cover the cost of the modem that you purchased.
Step 1 – Get your latest monthly bill from your Internet provider and figure out how much they are charging you each month for the Modem/Router and WiFi fees (If they apply.) My cost each month for both of these services were $9.
Step 2 – Find the Compatible Modem/Router that you want to purchase (Mine was $90.)
Step 3 – Divide the cost of the Modem/Router by the amount of money you will save each month by purchasing it. In my case it was $90 divided by $9 which equals 10 months.
It would take 10 months before I started saving money by purchasing my own Router/Modem. It may seem like a long time to start saving, but if you have a router for many years the savings start to stack up.
At the end of the day I have saved over $324 over the past 5 years and my WiFi signal is ten times stronger than it was with the stock modem they gave me when I first signed up. The best part is now that I have saved over $324 dollars, I could go out and buy a newer $90 router and be in the green by over $200.
The only downside to this is that you have to purchase the router first and spend the money out of your own pocket. But the three upsides are that you will get better WiFi signal, faster internet speeds (Many of the cheaper internet providers modems, don’t get the full speed you pay for), and you will save money each month after your break-even period.
We hope that this is helpful and eye opening. The Cable/Internet companies have been deep in your pocket for a long time. Hopefully this gets their hand a little further out of your pocket.
Below are links to sites that will show you what routers are compatible with different internet providers. Always make sure to call your Internet provider to make sure the device you want to purchase is definitely compatible with their service.
As always, Stream on!
Xfinity / Comcast – http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/
Time Warner Cable – http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/support/internet/topics/lease-or-buy-modem.html
Charter Communications – http://www.charter.net/support/internet/compliant-modems-charter-network/
Cox Communications – http://www.cox.com/residential/support/internet/article.cox?articleId=b2ec95d0-7ef9-11df-5590-000000000000
Optimum by Cablevision – http://optimum.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1791/onet
Bright House Networks – http://www.buyacablemodem.com/timewarner.php
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