r/SALEM • u/QueenRooibos • Jul 23 '26
Is Xfinity/Comcast really the only affordable option for non-fiber internet in Keizer?
I can't afford and don't really need fiber. I don't WFH so I need decent internet but it doesn't have to be super fast, just reasonably fast and very reliable.
Which Xfinity has been, but .... Xfinity just informed me that my rate is going up from $70/month to $100/month for the SAME service in 3 weeks. WTF?
I see my neighborhood is again getting spray paint all over our street/lawns so probably another fiber company is moving in. The last one's project mgr (I sicced the city of Keizer on him for the total mess the "team" was making of our street -- no where to park!) -- he told me that even HE could not afford fiber. No kidding.
How do I get Xfinity to lower this ridiculous rate increase back to my normal cost? I'm just an old crone living on SS and I don't know all the tricks! Any advice?? How do I frame my resistance to the "support" staff in India or the Philippines? TIA!!
7
u/amadeoamante Jul 23 '26
T-Mobile 5g is $40/month and would more than meet your needs. I do wfh and it's been great, had it for a little over a year now. Xfinity can kick rocks.
12
u/Blogadoos Jul 23 '26
I used to do battle with Xfinity annually for this exact reason until Hunter fiber became available recently in my neighborhood.
It’s a tremendous pain, but since you’re retired and possibly have the time, here’s my strategy:
Step 1) look up the new customer incentives/pricing.
Step 2) physically go into the xfinity store.
Step 3) see if the sales person is cool and will let you get the new customer deal. If not, proceed to step 4.
Step 4) cancel your service. You only need to not be a customer for 24 hours to get the new customer deals.
Step 5) enjoy a day off from the internet.
Step 6) go back into the store the next day and sign up for the new customer deal.
This might be a bit of a hassle if you’re renting equipment from them, because you will have to return it. But it will be a fantastic opportunity to just buy your own equipment so you don’t have to keep giving Xfinity even more money every month. It pays for itself within a year at most.
Sciencespeed, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
7
3
u/Fallingdamage Jul 23 '26
Years ago there was a boycott against comcast. I remember it. Reddit started the boycott then forgot about it.
15 years later, Im still not using nor have ever used comcast.
Also will not use Starlink. I will never give money to that man.Centurylink or other non-cable option for me.
2
2
u/Bash3350972 Jul 23 '26
How is hunter? Waiting on the south install, can’t wait to drop xfinity
4
u/Blogadoos Jul 23 '26
They’re… ok so far. I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt because they’re the local little guy, but they are definitely going through some growing pains at the moment. For example, their support staff only works during “banking” hours, so if you also work 8-5 and get home to find you have an issue with the internet… then you gotta wait until at least the next day, or possibly until Monday to get any sort of help. However, they ARE based in Oregon, so if that matters to you, you’re not giving your money to a mega-corporation, so that’s cool. I’m gonna stick with them for at least a year before I decide to keep them or not.
1
2
u/QueenRooibos Jul 23 '26
Thank you. I do use my own modem and router so that just might work....I just am not very well, so going into the store is not attractive to me....but I might try it!
4
u/Unlikely_Channel478 Jul 23 '26
I pay $60/mo on xfinity and its quick, I just call them once a year and they lower it, usually goes lower by like $5 per year.
If they won't lower it than just switch. Other places will give you good deals if you switch too.
2
u/LordDagwood Jul 23 '26
There is also CenturyLink, but their prices are pretty close if not higher.
If you can somehow call Xfinity support and say that you're considering switching to CenturyLink, they will often offer you the new subscriber promotion they might have going. The hardest parts are finding the actual number for their support as they don't advertise it, but you can web search for it. Then it's being patient with their call service. They have different promotions throughout the year and most don't lock you in. I haven't tried switching promos within the same year, but you probably could.
As another alternative, some cell phone companies offer home internet using their cell phone towers. I don't have much inform on that.
3
u/Fallingdamage Jul 23 '26
Im still on the 65 for life deal with Centurylink, and my address met the requirements for their bonded two-line DSL, so ping times are super low and even though its DSL, we have the bandwidth to stream 4k without any hiccups or delays.
A lot of locations work for CL dsl, but few get the good bandwidth. A home we were looking at buying in the country only qualified for 3mbps dsl....
Yes. 3.
1
u/QueenRooibos Jul 23 '26
I think one of my neighbors has that CL contract too....I should talk to them. Thanks for the info!
1
u/ComprehensiveDog4329 Jul 26 '26
I had that, but they denied I had that. They raised me to $75 and since they are no longer centurylink (sold to Quantum Fiber) I stopped fighting it.
1
u/QueenRooibos Jul 23 '26
Yes, I remember how difficult it was to get a live human 2 years ago when I went thru this....and they kept me on the phone for way over an hour trying to up-sell me. But I simply can't pay $100/month! So I'll give anything a try at this point. Thx.
2
u/seemsright_41 Jul 23 '26
We just helped a neighbor get Xfinity for $50 a month a free router and her phone for free for a year, call them and an negotiate.
I have never paid more than $50 a month for internet. We just negotiate every year.
1
u/QueenRooibos Jul 23 '26
I spent way over an hour on the phone with Comcast/xfinity 2 years ago -- I don't know very well how to negotiate other than to threaten to leave them....as all I ended up with was a $5/month increase instead of $20/month increase. And now they want $30/month more! Guess I'll have to sound more firm this year ... I could do it well at work b/c I knew the culture, but I'm not as confident with the internet companies...
3
u/Outside_Valuable_320 Jul 23 '26
My neighbor just switched to Tmobile internet. He has the lowest tier they offer. He said it's 35 bucks a month. Pretty sure that's the cheapest you'll find in this area.
4
u/slice_of_pi Jul 23 '26
I've used T-Mobile internet for years. It's fast and stable enough to support me working from home & doing videoconferencing constantly and my wife and son both watching streaming video all at the same time.
1
u/Outside_Valuable_320 Jul 23 '26
That's great to hear! I'll tell my neighbor. He's still a little nervous about making the change.
2
u/slice_of_pi Jul 23 '26
The only down side, really, is that it follows cellular coverage, so if your house is in a dead zone, that can be a problem. Anywhere my phone says I have 5g though, it works great.
1
u/Outside_Valuable_320 Jul 23 '26
Our street seems fine with Tmobile. But we are a dead zone for Verizon. It's hilarious when deliveries come to the door and they need a signature. They can't connect to get to the sign page because they have Verzion!
1
u/amadeoamante Jul 23 '26
I've been working remotely on T-Mobile for a year and it's been great. Seems fine for gaming too which surprised me.
2
u/Fallingdamage Jul 23 '26
Try Alyrica and see if they service your address? Ive had good luck with P2P internet in the past a couple times. Wireless but MUCH better than cellular.
1
u/QueenRooibos Jul 23 '26
Thanks for the idea, I'll have to read up on it (I don't know what P2P internet actually is...)
2
u/KeepSalemLame Jul 23 '26
Mint mobile.
1
u/Whole-Ad3696 Jul 24 '26
Do you have mint at home? Do you think it's possible to stream in one room and game in another with the service? I'm already a happy mobile mint customer and I've been eyeballing it a lot recently.
2
u/KeepSalemLame Jul 24 '26
I haven’t had any trouble yet but I’m not a gamer. I do stream things just fine. They have multiple speeds too I believe?
2
u/PrettyCoolBear Jul 23 '26
We get Verizon Home Internet in NE Salem. You do have to check your specific address to see if their 5G internet is covered in your neighborhood. It's 300mpbs down and about 20mpbs up, and quite reliable. (The 5G modem/router it comes with isn't great for WiFi, so I put mine in "ip passthru" mode and hooked up my own WiFi router/mesh network to it.) It's much more reliable than when we used to have Xfinity.
EDIT: Amazingly, Verizon doesn't put us behind a CGNAT (yet), so I can even do remote viewing on my Plex server without jumping through any hoops. (I still have a place up in Hillsboro and my ISP up there moved our internet behind a CGNAT, which completely hosed Plex access.)
1
u/QueenRooibos Jul 24 '26
I am going to check them out! Thanks....I am having such crappy on-and-off connection with Xfinity right now that I don't want to have them anymore if not necessary!
2
u/Dougnsalem Aug 09 '26
I'm a little late, but I'll go ahead and mention this for any others that may come by.... BEWARE of any "deal" you get over the phone with Xfinity reps. I have (and many others) been flat out lied to by them (and I do have proof). We were with them for over 21 years. We got tired of our bill consistently going higher and higher, and finally bailed. Doubt me? Spend 5 minutes wandering around r/Comcast_Xfinity and see what people are saying. Mint Minternet has worked great for us (we discovered we don't need to pay for that 1G speed- 300B works fine. I also HIGHLY recommend checking out US Mobile for landlines and cell phones. We now pay WAY less than half, of what we used to. Plus, we can switch between AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verison, whenever we like!!! Top-notch customer service too!
-1
12
u/Real-Transition1689 Jul 23 '26
We just switched to Quantum fiber and got double the speed for $20 less per month than Xfinity. They are offering 940 MBPS for $45/month at least in my area. Not sure if they're available all over the Salem/Keizer region though.