wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·BroadVoice
| reply to BF69
Re: Why?
said by BF69  :said by wifi4milez :Why would you want to purchase your own cable modem? Although I no longer use TWC, if I recall correctly the monthly charge for the cable modem was built into my overall cost. Even if its not, I cant see it being more than $3 or $4 per month. At that rate, it would take over 2 years to break even (using the $100 price point mentioned in the article). Also, if you have a company provided modem and it stops working they bring you another free of charge. Perhaps there is a benefit to spending money on something that offers no additional benefits over renting it, however I just dont see it. Cable modems arent like routers in that you can change settings and mess around with them (legally at least!), so in my opinion this is one of those "whats the point?" items. Well I can speak for Charter that they charge $5 a month for a regular D2 modem. That's $60 a year. For that price you can buy your own. So if you have service for 10 years you're paying $600 for a $50 modem. In 2019 for $600 you could probbaly buy a 65 inch OLED TV. The only problem with that argument is that you wont be renting the same cable modem for 10 years. They usually do network and equipment upgrades every two years (or so) and give you a new one. I can also tell you that cable modems (typical RCA ones) start dying after around 24 months anyway, so a simple call to TWC and they are at my place with a brand new model at no charge to me. I can say that between me calling TWC due to issues, and them proactively changing devices out, I probably had 3 different cable modems in 5 years. I didnt pay a penny for any of them , as opposed to $300 if I needed to buy them myself (again using the figure in this article). If you are using the same cable modem now that you bought back in 1998 then more power to you, but I have a sneaky suspicion thats not the case! 
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When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.
-Ronald Reagan-
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| said by wifi4milez :The only problem with that argument is that you wont be renting the same cable modem for 10 years. ou, but I have a sneaky suspicion thats not the case! My mother rented one from Charter for 7 years. Same modem. Only reason why it wasn't longer is because she went with DSL. |
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice
| said by BF69 :said by wifi4milez :The only problem with that argument is that you wont be renting the same cable modem for 10 years. ou, but I have a sneaky suspicion thats not the case! My mother rented one from Charter for 7 years. Same modem. Only reason why it wasn't longer is because she went with DSL. It is very unusual for a modem to last that long. As I said however, the convenience factor alone makes renting worth it, especially for non-technical people. If you own your modem and dont have a spare (and it breaks), be prepared to spend weeks waiting for it to be replaced/repaired OR be prepared to go out and buy another.
Everyone has different preferences however, so I suggest people look at both options and make their decision!
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When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.
-Ronald Reagan-
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| said by wifi4milez :said by BF69 :said by wifi4milez :The only problem with that argument is that you wont be renting the same cable modem for 10 years. ou, but I have a sneaky suspicion thats not the case! My mother rented one from Charter for 7 years. Same modem. Only reason why it wasn't longer is because she went with DSL. It is very unusual for a modem to last that long. As I said however, the convenience factor alone makes renting worth it, especially for non-technical people. If you own your modem and dont have a spare (and it breaks), be prepared to spend weeks waiting for it to be replaced/repaired OR be prepared to go out and buy another. Everyone has different preferences however, so I suggest people look at both options and make their decision! it can take Charter a week to make house call. If I own a modem and it breaks I can go to wal-mart and get a new one that day. If my bought modem lasts a year that's break even over renting. So if it lasts 18 months I'm ahead of the game. |
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
·Verizon FIOS
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
·BroadVoice
| said by BF69 :it can take Charter a week to make house call. While they might not be able to come out that day, you can always drive over to their office and get a new one (for free) during business hours.
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When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.
-Ronald Reagan-
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b10010011
Whats a Posting tag?
join:2004-09-07
Bellingham, WA
·Comcast Formerly ..
| reply to wifi4milez
said by wifi4milez :The only problem with that argument is that you wont be renting the same cable modem for 10 years. They usually do network and equipment upgrades every two years (or so) and give you a new one. This is not always the case. I just helped a lady out that I work with. She was having computer issues and while I was at her house I noticed she still had an old Motorola cable modem that is not even DOCSIS-2  .
I gave her one of my extra modems, set it up and her speeds instantly doubbled. I told her to return the old one and make sure they stopped charging her for it. |
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verolom
join:2002-03-23
Eagleville, PA
2 edits | reply to wifi4milez
Moto SURFboard 4200, had it since 2003. Never had to reboot it or had any issues with it. It may have to retire soon if I opt for a DOCSIS 3 modem  |
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xpkranger
RIP Georgia Theater
Premium
join:2000-10-27
Atlanta, GA
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to wifi4milez
said by wifi4milez :
It is very unusual for a modem to last that long. Weird. I've owned and operated the the same Motorola SurfBoard modem 24/7/365 since 2001. I've saved TONS of money by buying. Every time Comcast made an upgrade, I got a commensurate speed increase. I've NEVER had to reboot it for any reason other than a human at Comcast screwing something up at head end. I'm sure 10 Mbps downstream is almost average nowadays, but should I decide to move up to the next tier and get a D3 modem, I definitely don't see myself renting a new one. They'd probably want to sell rent me a locked down wireless router too. Are Motorola's really that much better than any other modem? Just my experience, FWIW.
/knock on wood.
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My pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xpkranger/ |
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