The latest trend in home entertainment and communications from the big media and telcom companies is to bundle two or more services into a single discounted package. This trend started with cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter and Cox and moved to national phone carriers who now offer TV and broadband in select areas on top of traditional phone service. But are these just marketing ploy's to get all your business or does bundling television, internet, and phone service really save you money? I've been covering digital products and services for years and in this article I'm going to look at these package deals and find out if going to one company for all your TV, broadband, and phone needs is the best or if shopping around is the way to go.
There are some concerns to handing over every one of your vital services to one company. Your phone, internet, and your cable are all important parts of your life, and you know that price, quality, and support are vital. If you go with a bundle deal you may wonder how flexible is your contract? Could you get out of it if you needed to? What about the hardware? What does it cost? Are you stuck with it? Well, fortunately most companies tend to work hard at keeping their customers. When a sign-on promotion finally ends, a customer can either extend it or ask about any other promotions. The most important thing here is to actually call the company. You can even choose to lock in your rates, though you might not be too happy if the actual rate is suddenly lowered.
Hardware is something that hinges on the company that you decide to go with. For instance you will receive a digital receiver and a modem in most cases, though if you pay a little extra you will receive a DVR. You can buy these outright, or you can return them to the company once your contract ends. You are responsible for returning this equipment however, and if you fail to do so you will find that it will be very hard to get an account with that company again. The good news is that most companies are the same as far as their policies go. The only other foreseeable problem is the instance of a service outage. After all, having all of these services on one plan can cause some serious issues. Luckily, most companies are becoming more and more reliable.
Back in the'90's, people suddenly realized that satellite dishes were becoming small enough to mount on the side of a house or on a roof. It offered clear picture and more programming options. But things changed soon enough, because even though satellite was cheaper, special cable deals began to introduce digital channels which were as clear or better than their satellite rivals. Satellite companies are also plagued with issues in harsh weather when signal degradation and loss can occur. Satellite providers do offer Internet service but it's generally slow and suffers from serious lag issues. It's really only a good option for subscribers that live in a far off region that does not support any other type of high speed internet. Many telecommunications companies, however, are taking advantage of the growth of fiber optic networks to spread stable high speed broadband and digital television across the country. Unfortunately, fiber optic connections are currently only available in small areas and it will be years before they're widespread. One thing that you will need to watch out for however are the telecommunications companies that bundle TV through a third-party company like Dish or DirecTV. with a satellite service. For me, I like to go straight to the source and I get a little worried about what kind of support I'm going to get when the company I pay my bill to has to go to another company to fix something when it goes wrong.
You've probably realized by now that the best choice is a cable provider such as Time Warner Cable, Comcast, or Charter. Using digital cable you can have your phone, your Internet, and your television all from one company that runs and supports each service themselves. While you could of course choose to pay for all of the services separately from different companies, why would you? Especially when you see the potential savings! Look around and see what kind of deals you can find. Chances are you can easily find something that is tailored to your needs. - 29943
There are some concerns to handing over every one of your vital services to one company. Your phone, internet, and your cable are all important parts of your life, and you know that price, quality, and support are vital. If you go with a bundle deal you may wonder how flexible is your contract? Could you get out of it if you needed to? What about the hardware? What does it cost? Are you stuck with it? Well, fortunately most companies tend to work hard at keeping their customers. When a sign-on promotion finally ends, a customer can either extend it or ask about any other promotions. The most important thing here is to actually call the company. You can even choose to lock in your rates, though you might not be too happy if the actual rate is suddenly lowered.
Hardware is something that hinges on the company that you decide to go with. For instance you will receive a digital receiver and a modem in most cases, though if you pay a little extra you will receive a DVR. You can buy these outright, or you can return them to the company once your contract ends. You are responsible for returning this equipment however, and if you fail to do so you will find that it will be very hard to get an account with that company again. The good news is that most companies are the same as far as their policies go. The only other foreseeable problem is the instance of a service outage. After all, having all of these services on one plan can cause some serious issues. Luckily, most companies are becoming more and more reliable.
Back in the'90's, people suddenly realized that satellite dishes were becoming small enough to mount on the side of a house or on a roof. It offered clear picture and more programming options. But things changed soon enough, because even though satellite was cheaper, special cable deals began to introduce digital channels which were as clear or better than their satellite rivals. Satellite companies are also plagued with issues in harsh weather when signal degradation and loss can occur. Satellite providers do offer Internet service but it's generally slow and suffers from serious lag issues. It's really only a good option for subscribers that live in a far off region that does not support any other type of high speed internet. Many telecommunications companies, however, are taking advantage of the growth of fiber optic networks to spread stable high speed broadband and digital television across the country. Unfortunately, fiber optic connections are currently only available in small areas and it will be years before they're widespread. One thing that you will need to watch out for however are the telecommunications companies that bundle TV through a third-party company like Dish or DirecTV. with a satellite service. For me, I like to go straight to the source and I get a little worried about what kind of support I'm going to get when the company I pay my bill to has to go to another company to fix something when it goes wrong.
You've probably realized by now that the best choice is a cable provider such as Time Warner Cable, Comcast, or Charter. Using digital cable you can have your phone, your Internet, and your television all from one company that runs and supports each service themselves. While you could of course choose to pay for all of the services separately from different companies, why would you? Especially when you see the potential savings! Look around and see what kind of deals you can find. Chances are you can easily find something that is tailored to your needs. - 29943
About the Author:
Anna Sussman presents consumers with Time Warner Cable TV reviews and deals. If you're thinking about purchasing digital cable services check out Anna's articles first.
