i have cox cable and am down to $109. a month. that includes the cheapest internet, phone with caller ID and about 75 channels for TV, no HBO, etc.. the internet is of course slower than their best but good enough and much faster than dial up.

I can also use another "CLEC" with their own network ("Cavalier") telecom.

If this 'Cavalier' is the same Cavalier that's near/in Philly, I looked into it when I was looking online for good DSL deals. I heard little good about it, and most complaints were about their customer service and tech support. Before going anywhere near them, I'd suggest investigating them as thoroughly as possible !

Scott

all I can say is good luck, seems it is all so expensive these days, bundling can sometimes help cut on the costs. I know I have Verizon fios and all my phone services with verizon and doing that bundling did save me money, I have the cheapest phone options they had for long distance so I do not have the free long distance but I don't use it much and can use my cell phone too. We have direct tv with everything but the sports package and it has gone up a lot recently, I am considering looking at dropping some of the movie channels which we rarely use anyway, seems we have seen them all and they just don't show that many new ones I am interested in. I always kept them for the Sopranos which we loved.
Personally the one thing I would not give up is my Verizon fios internet I am way spoiled with the speed and constant service I absolutely love my fios.

I just researched this for my mom. She currently has basic Comcast cable TV, but Verizon phone and I just put her on Verizon DSL.

The "bundle" for Verizon phone and DSL is costing her $70 per month. If she got DSL through Comcast along with her cable TV service, they wanted $100 per month for the two. This is in the surburbs of Philly.

You can always call Verizon and see what $$ they'll charge for the 3-bundled services.

Keep in mind with all the tax and crap they add on, that's an extra $15-$25 per month they don't tell you about until you get your bill. Good luck.

Thanks for all the responses to the "$100/mo challenge".

As for Cavalier, probably the same as in philly. We did use them for a couple years. Service was reliable, but customer service was a pain. They didn't have automated bill-pay (at that time, anyway), so getting cutting off from a late bill, and then the reinstall fees, were a major pain for this household.

For what it's worth, we also used DirectTV a few years back. Great channel selection, but severe rain storms a couple times/year would knock out the signal. I wonder if it's better now.

As for comcast's so-called "high speed" internet, while it's good enough, it's definitely not blazing - this is from my subjective experience with it (not by measuring download speeds). I'll bet any DSL would feel just as fast, even if the benchmarks on paper are less.

Hello I don't usually post (a bit shy, i guess) but this subject is what I am looking into myself. I currently have dial up internet, driving me crazy, but DSL not available in my area, I spend 85.00 a month on land line and long distance. My tech savy children suggest I get satelite internet, give up land line, and go with cell phone. I have been looking into this past couple of days and this is what I am considering. Give up land line phone, Wildblue satelite for 50.00 a month after 200.00 equipment purchase. Share cell phone plan with sister for 50.00 a month. Set up wireless network and share satelite with Mom (she lives next door)cutting that cost to 25.00 a month. Overall savings 25.00 a month and I would have high speed internet. Still looking into options.
I have directv at 45.00 a month and not looking there to save money.
Just my findings and hope it will give you some ideas.
Maybe someone else has other ideas to share.
Thanks
Murphy

Murphy I sure don't want to stop you from doing what you want but I highly suggest you do some google searches on Wildblue (ratings and reviews), I have heard so many night mare stories about them I always try to warn anyone considering going there. Please so your homework on this one before jumping in.
there is a wildblue forum over at DSLR you can stop by and read some of the posts there also.
WildBlue Satellite

I recently was helping my sister do some evaluations since she too was considering going with them. Read the contract carefully and know that one of the main complaints is that if you try to stop your service (even after contract ends) they continue to charge your account, to the point many said they had to close their bank account to stop it.
I went to several online review and rate sites to get some ideas, like these.
Reviews for WildBlue
(you can find plenty)

the fine print
Promotion Agreement

Have you considered an air card? that is what my sister ended up going with and she is very happy with her results.

An air card? I'm reading thru this thread because I'd love to find a way to get faster service. I live somewhat in the boonies, no cable and most around here went with Hughes or Wildblue and not happy with that service at all! More info on this air card please. TIA.

Sheila :)

I should know by now to google before posting a query. I had talked with AT&T months back about the Sierra Card. They told me it wouldn't work in my area. According to some of the hits on google there are other USB Cards out there. What are some of you using? Are you satisfied with service?

Sheila :)

I have had Wild Blue for 3 years, and while it is better than dialup, it's not all that great. Hughes Net may be better, but don't bet on it. Since I had no other alternative, I learned to live with its shortcomings, and it worked fairly well for me.

I just got a Verizon air card, since I get a pretty good signal where I live. However, it is $10 per month more than Wild Blue, and I'm not sure it is really worth the difference in cost. I have fulfilled my WB contract commitment, so I think I can have that account put on "inactive" until I decide whether I really want to stay with Verizon. I bought the aircard on EBay for a pretty good price and this way I did not have to sign a 2 year contract with Verizon---I'm just on month to month. The cellular air cards are not the way to go if you are a heavy user as there is a 5GB monthly limit. Anything over that is charged at an exorbitant fee. You must have good cellular reception in your area for this to work. Currently only AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint offer this.

I don't know if I'd describe myself as a heavy user, I'm on-line about 2 hrs/day. How do you calculate the 5GB?

Unless you're streaming videos or listening to lots of streaming music, you should be fine with 2hrs a day of surfing and e-mail. Wild Blue had a 7500MG limit, and I never came close to the limit even with all the MS updates and other downloads. I even downloaded some music, and I think the highest I used was 50% of my limit. Now, the 5GB air card limit would be 5 x 1024MB, so do your math to find out the total in MB.

By the way, we haven't saved money; we're actually spending more. My husband's Dish Network bill, with HD, is over $60 per month, our land line telephone bill is around $25 (no long distance), my cell phone bill is $35 + tax, and then the $60 monthly for the Verizon air card + tax. Where I live, the $50 monthly for Wild Blue has no tax added. We use my cell phone for all our long distance, and since our daughters in another state have Verizon cellular service, those calls are free. It all certainly adds up quickly, and I guess if we had to, we'd cut back somewhere.

You did not say if you also had a cellphone contract too, homebound. If you have one, consider making it your only telephone. Note: I do not recommend dropping the land line if your house has a security system that has to have a land line (but you could ask your security companies for what alternatives they may have). Luis

One thing to note about satellite connections is that VPNs often have problems because of the lag time. I'm not sure if all VPNs have problems or if it's just some, but I looked into satellite a long time ago and decided against it because the VPN my employer used wasn't compatible with satellite.

If you don't use a VPN, this won't matter.

I think the lag may also cause problems with VOIP but I'm not sure.

EVDO doesn't have the lag problem and is much faster than dialup. It's fast enough that VOIP will work with it, but that may be a violation of your TOS (cell companies don't want you calling for free using VOIP since ti competes with their core business).

We have Mediacom offering a package deal just to make it look "juicy" as others do and later get a surprise when the cost goes up along with added costs not expected.
They raised our cable $5.00 more a month again like last year. $5.00 a year is a bit much. The company we had before them (they bought out)never did that.

One thing is: They go down a lot and not only do we lose TV but Internet AND phone service too!

I'll stick to my Slooooooooow dialup for now which reads 48.0 Kbps and sometimes lower.
Beginning January 09, they were supposed to have improved their service but I haven't noticed any difference. Probably a come on because they raised their $$.

Hi to Ravencajun...thanks for the warnings. I looked at the links and did a google search and while it may be a hit or miss kind of thing and I may get "burned" by wildblue....I can not tell you how fed up I am with dial up. Willing to try anything!!! I looked into aircards too but not available in my area. At least not that I could find. My tech knowledge is very limited (read 33rpm in an I=pod world) and I generally rely on my children to guide me along. All I can say is hopefully the satellite thing will work out for me. It seems to be only option other than dial up at this point. I will try to post again and let you know how it works out for me.
Please wish me luck.
Murphy

Absolutely, good luck from another 33rpm living in an I-pod world! Do let us know how Wildblue works for you. If my dial-up gave me 48kbps I'd be content.....but alas, no such speed. Mine is the turtle plodding along!

Hi,

FWIW, although I made the switch to DSL (Verizon)on one computer, I have another computer (at another house) that's still on dial-up. I use a DUN connection from VTISP. It's been fast (in dial-up terms) over 90% of the time. Usually connect 50kps or over. Often 53.2 and once in a while 54.6 !! (beep, beep !!) :-)

Be sure to read the homepage, if interested. One shouldn't be a complete novice to use the service, though I must say I've not had any trouble with it except for only a very few disconnects. Can count them on one hand !

Here is a link that might be useful: VTISP

Yup, I also have cellular. The problem with voIP (vonage, etc) is that you are without phone service when you lose the 'net connection as comcast does every once in a while.

BTW, I called Comcast and discussed the plans. They kindly offered their current promotions to retain me, which reduced the cost considerably for a while. Went from $115 to $80ish (this for TV and internet).

If you have no other choice than dialup, satellite does fill a need. Just be aware of its shortcomings and don't expect true BROADBAND speeds. It has served me well most of the time, and since I don't use VPNs or VOIP, it was okay. But when I found out that EVDO was available to me, I slowly made the decision to make the switch.

when i use dial up i use juno. i have used it twice and never had a complaint. the slowness doesn't bother to much, if i am downloading something just get up and do something else. i buy fast computers. i have used reg cable high speed, but opted for their cheapest service this time.

stargazzer if i am downloading something just get up and do something else.

I found a nice solution for us dialup people in those cases-------
I bought an elliptical exercise machine parked a few feet away from my computer so "pump" on that 'till the DL is complete.
Good for virus scanning too. (Smiles)
Just hope I don't stop scanning etc. to get out of exercising???? "LOL"