Internet prices are designed to be compared badly. The big number on the page is a twelve-month promotion. The real price starts in month thirteen, and the equipment fee, the installation fee and the price of the speed tier you actually need are all somewhere below the fold. We have switched providers twice and negotiated with the existing one three times, and the checklist below is what we now write down before picking up the phone.
Before you call anyone
- The speed you actually use. Run a speed test on a busy evening and note the number. Then think about what the house does: streaming on two screens and video calls on one need far less than the top tiers. Most households are sold two or three times the speed they use.
- Your current bill, in full. Base price, equipment rental, any fees, and the date your promotional rate ends if you are on one. This is the number you are comparing against.
- Whether you are under contract. An early termination fee can wipe out a year of savings.
- Which providers actually serve your address. Coverage maps lie by street. Type the full address into each provider's site and take a screenshot of the offer with the date on it.
The four numbers to get from every offer
- The promotional price and how many months it lasts.
- The regular price after the promotion. Ask for it directly; it is often not on the page.
- The equipment fee per month, or the cost of bringing your own modem and router.
- Installation or activation fees, and whether they can be waived.
Add them up over 24 months, not 12. A $40 promotion that becomes $85 in month thirteen costs $1,500 over two years. A steady $55 with no promotion costs $1,320. The flashy offer is the more expensive one.
Call your current provider first
Before switching, call the company you already have and ask for the retention department, or say the words "I am thinking of cancelling". The person who answers that call has discounts the regular agent does not. The last time we did this, the bill dropped $25 a month with no change in service. It took eleven minutes.
Have the competitor's offer in front of you, with the screenshot. Be polite and specific: "Provider X is offering this speed at this price for this term at my address." They will usually match or come close. If they do not, you have lost nothing.
When switching actually made sense
Only once, for us. A fiber line reached our street, and the new provider offered double the speed for the same money, with no contract and no equipment fee. That is the kind of difference worth the hassle of a new modem and an afternoon of reconnecting devices. A $10-a-month difference is usually not, once you count the installation fee and the promotional cliff.
The equipment question
Renting a modem and router costs $10 to $15 a month, forever. A decent modem and router bought outright cost $150 to $200 and last five years or more. If you are staying with a cable provider for more than a year, buying is cheaper. Check the provider's list of approved modems first; not every model works on every network.
Set a reminder
Whatever you end up with, put the date the promotion ends in your calendar, one month early. That is when the next negotiation happens. The company is counting on you forgetting.
