How are you connected?

Discussion in 'Sun City General Discussions' started by BPearson, Oct 7, 2017.

  1. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Amazing what has happened over the past twenty years. It was about that time (1997) when my wife and i flew to Sun City with a new computer for my folks. Wasn't long after that they joined the computer club and soon each of them had their own to play on. It was about that same time while running a local union we were marketing internet dial-up discounts to our members and tried attracting them to participate with a Cyber-Surfing USA Party. Geez, time flies.

    But back to the question; How/who do you buy your internet connection and television/cable service from? Newcomers are often dismayed to find so little in the way of choices.

    Cox virtually owns the high speed internet marketplace, with Century Link coming in a distant second. We can't even get Century Link at either home in Phase 2, so Cox pretty much owns us.

    As far as cable, i prefer Dish, though after this week, i may have to readjust my thoughts. We just switched over at the other house and when i meet them this afternoon there it will be 6 times in the past 10 days. We'll see.

    I know some folks have in fact cut the cord and are using special rabbit ears for local channels and then buying Huiu, Amazon Prime or Netflicks for special programing. Way cheaper in the long run and you are not paying for 200 channels you will never watch.

    My renter for the month of October carries his own wifi hotspot, and so that is another option available.

    For new buyers to Sun City, Dish offers new subscribers bundles, but they do it by partnering with Cox for cable and phone. Doesn't work for existing residents who already are Cox users...i know because whenever i get their awesome offers i always find i don't qualify.

    What is mind numbing to think back a scant 30 years ago and we never got that $170 bill for high speed internet and cable TV. Your phone bill was about $10-$15 a month and the tv plugged in and you paid for the electricity...the antenna on the roof was all you needed. Progress may be great, but it sure is costly.
     
  2. sussea

    sussea Member

    We put a digital antenna on our roof and get around 60 channels for television. We use our cell phone as a hot spot. We don't have a landline in our condo.
     
  3. pegmih

    pegmih Well-Known Member

    When cell phones and other devices go kaput due to some sort of problem,
    my neighbors and friends will flock to my house because I might be the only one with a landline.

    My wonderful children provide me with a cell phone but I rarely use it.

    I use my computer a lot. Repeat a lot.
     
  4. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    I was a fairly early adopter of the PC and learned to code in '85 so I want good connections whether I need them or not. i don't always get them. I was able to get a Cox deal that gave me about 20 channels plus HBO for $10 more than fast internet alone. I also installed a new roof antenna which is very clear. I can switch easily between the two.

    I have one friend that I talk to for hours so forget the cell for that. I hate current cell to cell reception for more than short calls. I have a VOIP so it's still vulnerable but that's a rare issue. Would never trust a phone spot as my wireless only. It's great for backup but I have too many wireless devices. Being a tech nerd has it's pros and cons, I'm losing the battle now as I can't keep up. But my home is getting smarter everyday.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2017
  5. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Range of answers here gang, indeed, we all rely on technology.
    Imagine what it is like in Puerto Rico, where there still is no power/connectivity in a good portion of the island.

    Anyone here ever used Ooma, VOIP?
     
  6. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    Friend has Ooma. He had a few issues but they have great customer service. I've had VOIP for years. Only issue is when the cable goes out, otherwise no difference. My sister had an issue with VOIP (Chicago suburb,very close to the city) and wanted to go back to a standard line. They told her they no longer offered a phone line in her area and VOIP was her only choice.
     
  7. BruceW

    BruceW Active Member

    We cut the cord two years ago. We have Ooma and it works fine as long as the net is up.
    We have antenna which gets about a dozen channels and we get netflix and a few others via Roku.
    Quite happy with this set up.
    If we have a zombie apocalypse and cell towers are dead we can break out the HAM radios. ;)
     
  8. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    I think there is or was a huge antenna in SC that HAMs use. I remember reading about it somewhere.*
     
  9. BruceW

    BruceW Active Member

    Could be it's a repeater for the West Valley Amateur Radio Club. I've seen some pretty big antenna towers in Sun City. I'm just a 2 meter guy for now, which means a 10 ft straight white pole about 1" in diameter. Of course I can put that on a standard TV antenna mount to raise it a bit and reach out about 35 miles. I'm licensed for the bigger stuff, but the cost of transmitters that go around the world is wallet damaging and just not in my interest sphere.
    Good 2 meter equipment lets you communicate with local law enforcement, but it had better be a life threatening emergency. State troopers don't like it when civilians use their emergency frequency and it's not life threatening. Yes, I know this first hand. :)
     
  10. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

    I've mentioned about a topic I know nothing about (where's the kick me emoticon?) I just remember reading something a few years ago. I'm sure someone here knows.
     
  11. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member


    Sorry C, closest body part i could find...http://www.dewdadschat.com/emoticons/vx/moon.gif
     
  12. Cynthia

    Cynthia Well-Known Member

  13. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member


    Damn girl, you just insured everyone will click on it.
     

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