Favoring Fiber

IN AN EARLIER ARTICLE, I detailed how Charter Communications wasn’t so much my internet provider as my extortionist. I thought I’d dealt with it all in an equitable manner. But then, exactly two years after our relationship began, Spectrum abruptly increased the price it charged for internet access by 67%, from $29.99 a month to $49.99. I guess we didn’t have a relationship so much as a contract.

While I didn’t take too kindly to that, after a while—with a Zen-like grace—I accepted it, not so much because I thought it was fair, but because no one else in Kansas City could provide a lower price. All that changed immediately after I returned from a road trip to Cleveland, where I saw an old friend and witnessed the eclipse.

Besides the finances, the only thing in the Flack household that I’m in charge of is the mail. My wife, much like many millennials, thinks mail is from a bygone era of civil political discourse, cursive writing and the landline. If asked about the mail, she replies, “If it’s that important, someone would text me.” Therefore, it is my job to inspect the mailbox each day and place any pertinent correspondence on her desk, and then remind her about it a few days later.

While I was eagerly reviewing all the mail that had built up while I was away, I noticed a postcard from Google Fiber, mentioning that for $30 a month it would provide 100 megabits per second (mbs) of internet connectivity.

Of course, I’d heard of Google Fiber, mostly due to numerous previous mailings and especially a commercial that had played ad nauseam. In it, a man speaks glowingly of how Google Fiber takes playing video games to the next level. I remember thinking that, while fast download speeds could be useful, here was a grown man admitting to playing video games.

Still, this new dirt-cheap Google offer was a game changer, and it didn’t hurt that it came with “FREE high quality Google wifi equipment,” which was far smaller and far sexier than what Spectrum provided.

First, though, I thought maybe I could get the best of both worlds—Google’s $30 pricing without having to go through the hassle of changing providers. So, I called Spectrum and politely asked, “I just received an offer from Google Fiber for $30 a month. Can you beat it so I don’t have to face the hassle of changing providers?”

The Spectrum rep responded, “That sound’s rough.” Though A.J. was a ray of sunshine, and after we joked a little about the internet, its importance and its pricing, she told me there was nothing she could do. She also oddly mentioned, “You need to do what’s best for your family,” which made me wonder if I was changing internet providers or sending my wayward son to military school.

I decided not to take a verbal no for an answer, and went online to chat with Ren about my Google offer. She wasn’t as fun as A.J. and brusquely mentioned that Spectrum provides 500 mbs vs. Google’s 100. I replied that I only needed 100 mbs, as I was a grown man who didn’t play video games. She then asked me what streaming service I used. I replied that I only used Sling Orange with the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) upgrade for a total of $46 a month.

Then she mentioned that she could provide a Spectrum package that included the internet and 150-plus channels for $86 a month. I thought about asking if it included TCM and if she could check her math as my cost to watch TCM via Google would be $10 less, or $76 a month ($30 + $46). Instead, I typed “thank you” and ended the chat by clicking on the “x.”

The next step was to confirm how much internet I needed. Was 100 mbs enough? Internet speed, unlike money and good looks, is only useful up to a point, so I used a calculator from Consumer Reports to determine that I needed exactly 69 mbs.

I subsequently signed up for Google Fiber. The online process was quite seamless, though there was an issue finding the fiber jack that Google had thoughtfully installed before I purchased my home. Google mentioned that if I couldn’t find it, it would send a technician out tomorrow, to which I immediately thought, “I’m obviously not dealing with Spectrum.” I asked the rep to hold off and then asked my wife, who took me by the hand to the jack’s location in the garage.

I set it up so that I’d have a week of overlap between activating Google Fiber and firing Spectrum, as I still had concerns whether 100 mbs would be enough (it was) and whether the jack’s location in the garage of a three-story townhouse was an issue (it wasn’t).

By the way, do you know anybody who’s interested in a gently used Spectrum modem and wi-fi router?

Michael Flack blogs at AfterActionReport.info. He’s a former naval officer and 20-year veteran of the oil and gas industry. Now retired, Mike enjoys traveling, blogging and spreadsheets. Check out his earlier articles.

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