Cable TV + Internet + VoIP Ads Offer No Real Savings

Lately I have been receiving the same offer from DirecTV in the Sunday newspaper offering "big savings" on their different cable TV packages. Cable TV is expensive. My current plan through Wide Open West (WOW), is expensive. So I figured I would do some investigating into how "cheap" these deals from DirecTV really were. As I began my investigation into their prices, I stumbled across a seemingly nifty little website claiming to offer price comparisons for all sorts of the services offered by the major Cable TV providers today: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Cable TV (of course), and high-speed Internet. What I found was sadly not shocking.

I have attached a file in Open Office Spreadsheet format to this story containing all of the details (as near as I could decipher them) comparing DirecTV and Dish Network, along with some data from Wide Open West and Time Warner Cable. Keep in mind that this data is all based on my location (Columbus, OH), so your availability of services from these companies will probably vary both in price and accessibility.

Now, in order to explain what I did, let's first discuss the nifty little website that I mentioned earlier, Whitefence.com. This website, I quickly learned, is affiliated with only some "participating affiliates," which means that you can only compare DirecTV and Dish Network prices and options on this site - at least in my area - and there were no other participating cable companies like Time Warner, COX, or WOW! on this site. So now I was left to going to each company's website one at a time to determine the true costs of service, including all the fine print.

So let's start by reviewing the various websites. Time Warner of Columbus, OH has a truly abysmal website for the size and resources available to the company known as "Time Warner," but I believe Time Warner still operates primarily as a bunch of franchises, which helps explain why my moderate midwest city's Time Warner franchise has a bad website - it's not a centrally run operation. (or at least it doesn't appear to be!) WOW! has an OK website, but it's pretty terrible for investigating prices and package deals, and as I've found in currently relying on WOW! for cable TV and Internet services: they don't keep pricing up-to-date on their website anyway. DirecTV and Dish Network have similar easy-to-use websites, although they too fail for using too much Flash and hiding their bundled package pricing, terms and conditions, and other service fees from the user.

The next issue to tackle: How much are the services? Well, you'll find that with each Cable TV and Internet service provider that they have sufficiently pursued different pricing strategies for their customers to distinguish themselves from the competition, and it is therefore somewhat difficult to make an accurate 1-for-1 comparison between services. For all 4 company's that I looked at, it's easiest to price compare if you know exactly what you do and do not want. For instance, at a minimum I want 4Mbps or faster Internet service plus an HD-DVR with Discovery Channel HD included in whatever package I went with. Now, it's typically buried deep behind several layers, but getting HD service typically requires buying the Digital TV package with 70 or more channels to "qualify" you to receive HD channels. So I went searching for prices. As you will see in my spreadsheet (if you choose to download it), getting this level of service typically requires about $120/mth in service charges. You *can* get away with less than that during the 6-12mth introductory periods that switching providers would gain you, but you will then typically end up paying MORE than $120/mth in service fees after your introductory period is over.

So what about programming content though? Are all services created equal? Certainly not! For instance, DirecTV didn't offer any kind of Internet service as far as I could find (although they may), and Dish Network offered it, but it wasn't available in my area, and even then they are only promoting satellite download speeds up to 2Mbps, and that's not any improvement over standard service from Road Runner through Time Warner. The satellite companies were offering 30 or more "HD" channels, although I have to wonder if this simply meant that THEY were sending an HD signal to my receiver, not that the channels were actually providing true 1080i HD programs. All of the major networks in my area have a local HD channel, but most of the content that is shown on them is still produced in standard analog quality which means having HD for those programs is worthless. Time Warner and WOW! both offered discounts for purchasing their "bundle" deals - Cable + Internet + VoIP, but those deals don't include the fees for leasing a DVR from them, having HD content, or getting Internet service that is 4Mbps or faster. Once I added those services back in, I'm right back to $120+/mth. And lastly, the satellite companies, DirecTV in particular, do not have favorable terms of service for the consumer. Here's why:

1. For DirecTV, the DVR is owned by them, but I still have to pay $199 up front to "purchase" the HD DVR unit, and then I am charged a $5.99/mth HD access fee for using the DVR.
2. There is an "up to $480" cancellation fee with DirecTV if you cancel your service within 24 months (for the higher-end services, whatever that means, although I assume having an HD DVR would qualify as "higher-end"), and while I wasn't able to find out what the cancellation fee was on Dish Network's website, they also had verbiage in their terms and conditions about not being able to cancel within 18 months without other potential fees being charged.
3. The introductory rates are only good for so many months, and then the monthly fees go up by $15-$20/mth. (or possibly more)

Given these hidden factors in the prices that Cable TV service providers are charging these days, I don't think I will be switching my Cable TV and Internet provider any time soon. I've done this sort of analysis several years ago, and came to the same, sad conclusions - find a Cable TV provider that provides the best service and combination of options with the least amount of "hidden fees" and you'll probably be getting the best price and contract terms at the same time. The "deals" advertised by these companies are usually not really deals at all for the majority of consumers.

NOTE: I am in no way affiliated with Vonage, but I do have to recommend them HIGHLY for their VoIP service. Out of all of the service providers we use for the things we consider either entertainment or utilities they have been, by far, the best service provider we have used during the past 4 years. Great service, reliable (despite what I continue to hear from naysayers around the 'net), and ALL of the features you need in phone service without all the extra hidden fees from the Cable, Telco, or other companies currently promoting VoIP services as part of their package deals.