Don't Lease Your Cable/Fiber Modem: A Lesson in Not Getting Ripped Off
I've been struggling along since the move, using my phone in hotspot mode for internet access. It just barely suffices, except that I don't have the bandwidth I need to upload videos to Youtube. This is the reason why the VR Let's Play videos have stopped coming.
After looking at the options in my area, I decided to go with Centurylink because they offer reasonably priced 1 gig fiberoptic internet. It's considerably more expensive than the same quality of connection costs in Europe or east Asia, but for the US it's not too bad.
However they also want me to lease the modem. This adds an extra $10 per month to my internet bill. Until it's paid off? No, indefinitely. It's not hard to see what a raw deal that is. They let you go and buy your own modem but don't advertise the option as they want you to lease.
That left me with a couple of possible modems to choose from. I wanted one with a built in 802.11n router. I also wanted it to support every type of service Centurylink offers in case I have to downgrade to a cheaper service in the future. That narrowed the search by quite a bit.
Here's the list of compatible modems. It's impressively comprehensive and includes many older modems which won't allow you to get the most out of the service you're paying for. That was obviously off the table for me.
A couple minutes of comparison later, optimizing for features vs. price, I decided on the Zyxel c1100z. I was able to nab a used one for just $38 off Amazon and it ticked all the boxes. The only thing it didn't have was channel bonding which I'd never heard the proper term for until then, though I used software to achieve the same thing many years ago.
The modems which do offer that one additional feature start around $200. Regardless of the benefits, I wasn't looking to spend that much. Centurylink also sells modems in their brick and mortar stores, but as you might imagine there is a pretty hefty idiot tax applied.
Plenty of the compatible models on the list support only a single type of service, presumably recommended to users buying that service, though if they lease it then the savings get pocketed by Centurylink rather than passed on to the consumer.
There are also more recent, improved versions of the same modem from Zyxel. The c2100z and the c3000z, both offering channel bonding. Again though, the steeply increased price suggest that while this is a popular and desirable feature, it's not one I can afford at the moment.
If you're currently leasing your modem, you could save a bundle by buying that exact model (or a cheaper but still compatible one) and renewing service using your own modem instead of the company's. It doesn't take long (4 months in my case) to start racking up savings.
Stay Cozy!
I think that for the internet is expensive. Another case if for entrepreneurship in internet cafe business. But sometimes we do have to be willing to pay expensive for our daily activities that require large bandwicth.
An internet cafe wouldn't really work as a business model in the U.S. anymore. There is free wi-fi almost everywhere you go.
Hi alex
Wow "The modems which do offer that one additional feature start around $200. "
I hope my modem dont die soon lol it has like 15 years with me
best regards
Well very nice suggestion to get cheap model I do the same by purchasing adsl model from the market it cost me less than isp provider model
Good move. I bought mine used to and it was totally worth it!
Hi Alex, sensitive issue for me, in my country the internet is the worst in the world, watching a video or download something is torture.
They look for any pretext so that you continue paying more than what you should.
Thanks for the warning, it looks a lot like how things work around here.
They offer 12mb internet but what they give you is one that downloads at 140kbps and uploads files at 20kbps
Ah, I've been wondering why you stopped the Lets Play videos for awhile. Didn't know if you'd just been too busy to record them or what. Glad to hear that they'll come back at some point in the near future.
Also, I guess I should consider myself lucky that my ISP hasn't charged us anything for one of their modems and just included it for free. Though, they do ass rape me on the cost of the internet, so it kind of just equals out I suppose.
I was just searching upgrade for my modem because mine is very old. It's ancient. I'm sure that Socrates was alive when I first bought it.
"I was able to nab a used one for just $38 off Amazon and it ticked all the boxes.", like really??😱😱 We can get a full internet package with that amount in our country😂😂 That means the money used for buying a new modem there can give a 1 year payment of internet here.
thanks bro @ alex. I really agree with this post. it's time now the modem has become a necessity. when the internet is already a part of us. especially with the media we use now is very necessary.
hopefully healthy always bro.
stay cozy