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Post by theodat on Apr 2, 2007 19:59:55 GMT -4
Has anyone gotten their new cable bill? I used to be with Charter and now am being told my "discount price from Charter" is being increased. First call they told me I had a late fee that is why I had prorated charges... Next call was told rates were going up. This month $180 because of the prorated fees..But not to worry..they will settle down right around $160..whew thank goodness! With my new electric bill and cable bill I am reeling...Sorry local restaurants, gotta pay my new bills won't have that extra money to frequent your establishments. But I will be home watching "Life Styles of the Rich and Famous"...
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Post by sarahj on Apr 2, 2007 20:11:35 GMT -4
Thanks for reminding me why my hubby and I went to directv!!
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Post by falgar25 on Apr 2, 2007 20:30:01 GMT -4
I switched from DishNet to ABB a couple of years ago. Considered DirecTv at the time but the prices were about the same on and apples-to-apples comparison. Haven't looked into prices since then, are they that much different for the same service?
$160/month? What are you signed up for? That sounds like you might have internet access too.
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Post by heather on Apr 2, 2007 20:44:09 GMT -4
So did power rates go up? Just got my new bill for last month and it is about $200 more than normal. We had some warm weather last month so I was expecting it to be lower.
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Post by theodat on Apr 2, 2007 21:41:20 GMT -4
Yea I have internet..which in my opinion is the only thing that is worth it. For the highest speed which is about 6mb down and 512k up it is $46 a month which is what i used to pay for dialup with an extra phone line. I almost got direct-tv but stayed with cable once they finally got highspeed internet. Verizon does not deliver in my neighborhood so that is not an option..
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Post by Rob on Apr 3, 2007 9:21:02 GMT -4
I love Atlantic BB. They are very responsive and my cable has never gone out. I also have a high speed internet connection that has only gone down for 10 minutes. They are way better to deal with than DirectTV and HD and Digital Cable is awesome!
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Post by Frank on Apr 3, 2007 9:56:15 GMT -4
I got a package deal with ABB. Cable with the HBO channels, High speed internet, and unlimited local and long distance for about $160/month. I haven't got my first bill yet, but it should be close. Everyone my wife calls is long distance so our phone bill alone used to be $125-150. I am hoping this is a good decision.
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Post by ljp on Apr 3, 2007 10:31:46 GMT -4
theodat - I have the same exact issue, although I haven't gotten my bill yet.
A while ago I had a little problem (long story) but while working through it I discovered that the regular billing was almost twice for the services that I had and that I was still paying as a former Charter customer which was a great deal for $60 bux for everything! ( I am currently paying just under $120.00 per month for digital, HD, every pay channel and Internet including all taxes and fees) They told me (about a year ago) that within the year I would be contacted and that my billing would change to reflect what every other customer was paying. I was told it would rise to about $160.00 or $180.00 per month. No one has contacted me but it appears from your bill that they are just raising your rates without even notifying you. That kind of sucks.
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Post by theodat on Apr 3, 2007 10:50:13 GMT -4
The telephone package with ABB is not that great of a deal..they advertise it for $35 a month unlimited long distance, call waiting, etc. Verizon offers a similar program for $39 (before they tax me with taxes added it is about $51). I just want to have a phone that works when the power goes out..if your electric goes out so does your cable modem and router..and then the issue of 911 does 911 go directly to 911 or is it a roundabout way? When an emergency hits I want action right away. Remember what happened during the real disaster on 09-11-01..Cell phones went down and communications were impossible.
Just food for thought.. As always this is just my opinion. I am not trying to change anyones mind I am just supplying you with information as I see it and you can do what you want with it.
Don't get me wrong either...I love my cable..but it sure is expensive.
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Post by jake on Apr 3, 2007 15:26:09 GMT -4
I changed to direct T V when Charter 1st took over the cable system and raise the rates; (couldn't wait to tell them to shove their rate increase). You couldn't pay me to go back cable T V. Direct T V has much better reception, more channels, and I actually lost reception more during storms with cable than Direct TV. I do use AAB for my internet service, and have no compliants.
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Post by Fred on Apr 3, 2007 18:29:21 GMT -4
Has anyone had experience with both DSL and Atlantic Broadband? How do they compare?
I have Verizon DSL for my internet. It's ok, but service is inconsistent. It seems to go down regularly and their only solution is to tell me I've got something wrong at my end.
I don't need the TV--I got DirectTV back when cable raised their rates and dropped some channels, and I'm glad I did. DirectTV is cheaper and has a much bigger variety of channels.
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Post by falgar25 on Apr 3, 2007 19:55:52 GMT -4
I've never had DSL myself (too far down the island) but a friend had it for a while. Had problems regularly, had the tech out a number of times, always heard it was my friend's problem, never Verizon's. He has ABB now and I believe he likes it.
I thought about Verizon DSL but, as I mentioned above, I'm too far down the island. Thought about Verizon's phone package, but didn't like the price. I have had no problems with the ABB phone service. The battery in the router is supposed to last eight hours, we'll see what happens. If I remember correctly, there have only been a couple of times in four years that the power has been out for that long.
I switched from Charter to DishNet for better service at a similar price. I switched from DishNet to ABB for local channels and high speed internet. I considered DirecTV, but thought the price was similar for cable and I would have had to pay again for internet.
I don't believe my cable has been out since I had it installed. DishNet was pretty good too, it took quite a storm to make it drop out. Charter pretty much sucked.
As someone who has been paying normal ABB prices from the start, I don't feel too bad about the former Charter people finally catching up. Still, even if the prices must rise, ABB could be decent about it.
I believe the 911 service has yet to be proven (or disproven). Ideally, it would relay your address to the 911 operator so they would have the same information they would have if you called through Verizon. There are two catches: if the relay doesn't work, the operator would have to ask for the address; and, if you move the modem to a different house without informing ABB, then the address that is relayed woudl be incorrect. I don't have any experience with how well, or poorly, this system works. Perhaps someone else on the forum will.
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Post by Frank on Apr 4, 2007 7:51:36 GMT -4
theodat: The ABB phone comes with a battery backup that is good for 5-6 hours. I am surprised how well it is working. When the power went out, phones kept ringing. The $35 per month is actually $39 because of the $4/month rental of the cable modem with battery backup. I don't know if all the taxes are added to my bill b/c it uses the internet for service. Verizon adds $12 in taxes every month to their $39.95 monthly package.
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Post by shoreterp on Apr 4, 2007 13:35:28 GMT -4
I'm just waiting with fingers crossed for DSL to make it out my way...
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Post by lbaker05 on Apr 4, 2007 20:03:50 GMT -4
We recently moved here in Nov. and signed up with ABB... it was the worst cable service I have ever had... and I've lived in 5 different states with 5 different cable companies. We switched to Direct TV after 2 months and we have never been happier. My advice.... Dump ABB... BTW it's been almost 4 months since we canceled our service and ABB is still sending us bills! Everytime I call they seem to have no idea what I'm talking about... they have some serious kinks to work out!
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Post by BlueMule on Apr 5, 2007 4:37:39 GMT -4
You should have been around for Charter Communications who was here prior to ABB. They were about 20 years behind the rest of the industry with equipment and software.
BTW, welcome to KIO, lbaker05.
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Post by theodat on Apr 5, 2007 13:20:23 GMT -4
Hey you never welcomed me! What do ya do around here?
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Post by lbaker05 on Apr 17, 2007 17:11:27 GMT -4
Thanks for the welcome, bluemule.
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Post by lynn on Apr 26, 2007 17:21:59 GMT -4
Is the ABB really faster than Verizon's DSL? Does it make a noticeable difference?
I have the package deal with Verizon DSL and the unlimited phone service (I have direct tv and don't want to give them up).
I received a flier from ABB about their package deal - for the DSL internet and unlimited phone service and it sounds pretty good. They say its like 10x faster than verizon. Frank, you said you have the service, can you tell the difference? Thanks.
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Post by Fred on Apr 26, 2007 19:44:42 GMT -4
Lynn,
I bit the bullet and got the broadband service from Atlantic. Have had it now for a couple of weeks. I still have Verizon DSL--I didn't want to drop it until I was sure I wanted to keep Atlantic BB. I can tell you now that broadband is much better than DSL. It is faster than Verizon (3Megs per second vs 700 Kb) and it's always there. DSL drops out after a period of inactivity and sometimes it's hard to get back on--especially in the evenings and other busy times--whereas broadband is always on. Atlantic BB is more expensive than Verizon DSL, but I'd rather pay a little more and be assured I can use it when I want. I'm going to drop the DSL!
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Post by Frank on Apr 27, 2007 12:23:37 GMT -4
I don't have anything to compare it to other than dial-up. I went with broadband a few years ago as soon as it was offered. Never looked back.
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