The Frugal Bostonian

I heeded someone’s new year’s advice to look at the cost of my “telecommunication services” (cable tv, phone, internet).  I currently have an RCN bundle, which provides local phone, “high speed” cable internet (it’s the slowest they sell) and basic cable tv.  I pay about $105 a month for these services.  I need the internet, I like having the landline phone, and the cable tv is a luxury.

I had received a postcard from verizon offering internet for $9.99 a month for six months, then $19.99 a month after that.  This looked like a really good deal, so I called verizon to inquire.  To get this rate, you must have phone service through them (and i wanted to keep the land phone, I was willing to give up the cable tv).  The sales rep initially quoted a rate of $69.99 a month for phone and internet.  When I balked, we whittled it down to $39 a month for six months, $49 a month thereafter.  I took the sales rep’s number and said I might call back.

I called RCN to see what it would cost for internet and phone only.  After an interminable wait on the phone, an agreeable sales rep spontaneously offered to reduce the cable by $20 a month, bringing my cost to about $85 a month.  Or, I could have just phone and internet for $47.  Because I did not want to deal with the aggravation of switching to verizon, and because the verizon monthly cost was 3-4 times the “teaser” advertisement, I decided to keep the RCN bundle for the $85 a month.

RCN customers also need a new digital cable box, which they will send to me, and charge me “only” $2.95 a month (as opposed to $4.95). 

Even with the new digital converter box, I will be paying a total of $200 less in 2009 for all three services.  But, the real fact is that I will be paying about $1,000 for these services over the course of the year.  I use the internet to do mystery shopping and otherwise make money, so it arguably pays for itself.  But I plan to spent time in 2009 exploring ways to keep my home phone number and get internet service in my home at a lower price.  I am on someone else’s cell phone family plan, but cell phone service might factor into the equation.

If you have a telecommunications bundle that you plan to keep, give them a call and see if they’ll knock the bill down.  (I started the conversation by saying that I needed to trim expenses and intended to lower my level of service).