KnitWit Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) Hi everyone :) I haven't been around much because my dh had an accident cutting down a large, dead tree on our property on Oct. 1. A large branch dropped out of the tree just as it began to fall and fractured 3 vertebrae in his neck, broke his scapula, and fractured 4 ribs which resulted in a collapsed lung. He spent a week in trauma icu but he's home now and very impatiently trying to recover. ANYWAY...since he is a self-employed carpenter who cannot work until he is out of his neck brace, which will be at least another month, we are trying to cut our expenses as best we can. I REALLY want to get rid of our landline/internet/satellite which is a bundle package. We have Verizon phones so not sure if we really need a landline at all, however, we DO want and need high speed internet and the ability to instant watch netflix, hulu, whatever else we can find out there...espn?? Please, how do I do this? I think we can JUST get internet from our phone company for about $30/month but they said it can only be 1.5M...which I have NO idea what that means or if it's good or not. Please, please help me if you can! :) Edited October 25, 2011 by MSPolly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I can't help you with your questions, but wanted to offer :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:. Best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 So sorry about your DH. We did all of this cutting a while back. It has made a huge impact on our wallets (for the good!) Here is what we did: 1. Called our cell companies and told them we were canceling when our contract was up. They lowered our bill by half! 2. Cancelled Satellite TV and got Roku boxes to stream HuluPlus and Netflix to our TVs. If you want to watch online, you won't need the Roku boxes. 3. Bought a digital antenna (Terk brand) with an amplifier to get over the air TV. 4. Bought an Ooma phone ($179 at Costco but you can get it at Amazon or Ooma.com. One word of caution though.....our Ooma hub went out after 2 years but since we got it from Costco, they replaced it for free! I know others whose hub lasted much longer. Somehow we got a dud. However, there are some other options besides Ooma. Nettalk.com is only $39. Magic Jack is about that price as well. All of those options use internet/wifi. Internet 1.5mbps is very low. If you plan to use the internet for streaming TV and for phone, you will need to look into a different plan. We have 15mbps with a booster that sometimes gets higher. We pay TWC $44/month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thank you Twigs :) Dawn, how did you know which model of those things to buy? I am sooo not techie! This is so overwhelming! What is TWC? Is that your local isp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 TWC is Time Warner Cable. Ooma only has one model available. It is called a Hub and connects to your router. Nettalk is a different company and also sells a device that connects to your router Magic Jack is a 3rd company and I believe it hooks up to your computer and only works when the computer is on. When we bought, Magic Jack got poor reviews and we do turn out computer off. Nettalk wasn't available then. So, we went with Ooma. Dawn Thank you Twigs :) Dawn, how did you know which model of those things to buy? I am sooo not techie! This is so overwhelming! What is TWC? Is that your local isp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisamarie Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Call your phone company, tell them you want to cancel your phone/tv and just get the fastest available internet speed. I just did this yesterday (phone anyway). We are now land line free, we cut out $40/mn for the phone, upped our internet speed from 4 Mbps to 6 Mbps, and because we technically cancelled our service, we qualified for the introductory rate on our internet so we're paying $6 less a month for faster service for the next year. At which point we'll call again and get them to lower it from the full rate. If 1.5 Mbps is the fastest internet offered in your area, then that's what you have to go with and is probably what you already have. But yes, it is rather slow. We live out in the suburbs so we don't get the really fast stuff. We also just signed up for a free month of netflix. So far I like it. The only issue I have with them is that they don't have the new releases via streaming and we won't do the DVD plan. We're going to look into amazon prime to see if that would be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Contact your cable company to see what their internet rate is without cable. We use Comcast. They are the worst company ever if you have a problem, though. But it's our only option for the speed we want. We haven't had a problem since the initial hook-up though. :D Praying for quick healing for your hubby!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Have you looked into Lifeline program for your phone? I think that all phone companies have to offer it. We switched to a cell phone only ($25/mo for 750 at Net10, phone was $25). Our internet is through Comcast/Xfinity. It's 15mbps (I think) for $26/mo (special rate, going away in about 6 mos :( ) We also have a Roku (for streaming netflix and hulu plus) and a rooftop antenna for getting over-the-air TV. We could also stream through our DVD player, but I don't have it set up for that. But, it's worth checking to see if your DVD player has that capability. You can stream for free (no Roku/new DVD player) if your TV has a VGA plug and your computer is close enough. We did it this way for a long time - bought a super long VGA cable from amazon for about $10 and switched the plug as needed. It was kind of a pain, but it was cheap and effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 I don't know what Lifeline is. I will ask. So, even if you have internet through a cable company, you still need a Roku or something like that? We live *out* a bit...so maybe that's why our options are so limited. I am trying to look this stuff up as you guys post so I can know what you are talking about! LOL! Thank you so much for your answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 So, even if you have internet through a cable company, you still need a Roku or something like that? Yes, you need a Roku, x-box, wii, or computer for streaming abilities. It works just like your connection through the phone company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arliemaria Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I just looked up Ooma and they now have a wireless adapter. This is nice if you have wifi in your home or get wifi free if you are in an area that has free wifi. I am just nervous about not having a landline and there being a power outage and not being able to call for assistance for an emergency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I just looked up Ooma and they now have a wireless adapter. This is nice if you have wifi in your home or get wifi free if you are in an area that has free wifi. I am just nervous about not having a landline and there being a power outage and not being able to call for assistance for an emergency. You need to check on this for your area, but in many areas if you ever had a landline connected that line will work for emergency calls without a paid service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 You need to check on this for your area, but in many areas if you ever had a landline connected that line will work for emergency calls without a paid service. Really? That is good to know. I just figured we'd use cell phones in the case of a power outage. I wonder what the international runs for Ooma (been reading on it at Costco.com. We have relatives in Canada, France, Holland, Australia, etc. etc. I guess we could keep the DSL through our phone company. A local friend has Comcast and HATES it. We may not even get Comcast *right here*...but it's near. But again...the DSL is slow. The tv stuff is uber confusing to me. Maybe it is the extreme lack of sleep I'm functioning on. I'm trying to figure this all out because the pain pills are keeping dh in a bit of a brain fog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 We switched to magic jack for the landline. We also have the Roku box for streaming tv. Internet only through cablevision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 YOu have a couple of options with Ooma for international calling. You can add $9.99/mo for unlimited calling to most overseas areas. Or, you can look at the rates at Ooma.com as to the exact rate per country. Most are around .03 per minute. Dawn Really? That is good to know. I just figured we'd use cell phones in the case of a power outage. I wonder what the international runs for Ooma (been reading on it at Costco.com. We have relatives in Canada, France, Holland, Australia, etc. etc. I guess we could keep the DSL through our phone company. A local friend has Comcast and HATES it. We may not even get Comcast *right here*...but it's near. But again...the DSL is slow. The tv stuff is uber confusing to me. Maybe it is the extreme lack of sleep I'm functioning on. I'm trying to figure this all out because the pain pills are keeping dh in a bit of a brain fog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) Just researched this.... Another option for VOIP phone (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the obi100. You can get it for $40 from Amazon. I ordered the obi110 for $50 (just 'cause it would get here 2 days faster, haha). You get a FREE Google Voice phone number, then use your obi for FREE local and long distance calling to the US and Canada and cheap to other countries. The nice thing about the obi is that it hooks into your internet modem and not your computer, so you don't have to have your computer on to use your phone line. You just plug your regular phone into the obi and it operates like a regular landline, just uses your internet connection instead of the phone line. You also have NO monthly or per use fees. http://obihai.com/googlevoice.html You can check out Google Voice's int'l rates (to an Australian landline is 2 cents/min with no connect-cost, for example): https://www.google.com/voice/rates Only trouble with VOIP and cell phones is 911 -- I've read you can pay for an E911 plan for $1.50/mo from separate companies. 1.5mps is not fast, but I just read on Netflix site that you need at LEAST 0.5 ups, so if that's the best you can do, it should work, just might not be HD. We only use OTA tv (got a nice antenna) and stream videos from Amazon Prime ($79/yr). We get lots of DVDs and blu-ray disks from our libraries. We have a blu-ray player for streaming Netflix/Amazon. SO far we haven't felt the need to stream Amazon. We watch Hulu and tv shows on our computers. Removing those fixed monthly costs really feels nice and I like the added disposable income a lot more than I'd like cable tv! Edited October 26, 2011 by ChandlerMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 we use skype to talk to relatives overseas. It's the best and free!!! It's online, so you have to have decent internet service. We talk overseas for over an hour each week, so it's so great for us. You also get picture with Skype, so kids show latest creations, purchases, etc. Great way to stay connected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Great if the other end has high speed internet. ;) My parents don't. Also, when DH goes overseas for work he is not allowed to download Skype to his work computer and isn't about to lug two computers with him. Although his company is reconsidering due to the many requests. Dawn we use skype to talk to relatives overseas. It's the best and free!!! It's online, so you have to have decent internet service. We talk overseas for over an hour each week, so it's so great for us. You also get picture with Skype, so kids show latest creations, purchases, etc. Great way to stay connected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 See, I'm concerned about my internet speed... Don't know if 1.5 is enough for Skype overseas. My dd Skypes with her friends when she is home on break. I guess it's okay, but they are just a couple of states away...not overseas. (She has a Mac) My head is spinning. I wish my dh felt up to helping me think this through! I'm leaning toward keeping the dsl with my phone company, dropping the landline and satellite and just trying to figure out the phone thing later. Except...now all the hospital/doctor folk have our home number. Didn't think that through well. :rolleyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Great if the other end has high speed internet. ;) My parents don't. It doesn't have to be this way. You can also buy a Skype phone number, which enables people to call you with their landline or cell phone, i.e., skype isn't needed. Setting Skype up this way is, I believe, more expensive than Magic Jack, but much less expensive than any VOIP I've seen offered through ISPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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