Definitely a Contender...For Some

One month ago I gushed about the fact that I had become a cable ‘cord-cutter’ and how pleased I was with my Verizon 4G LTE experience. With one billing cycle now under my belt I’m prepared to admit that I may have been premature in my over-the-top enthusiasm (pun intended)…but that said, I remain happy with the service and have no intention of going back to Comcast (despite four pleading phone calls from the company since I cancelled service). What I must admit to, however, is that for a household with even one “TV-Head”, it’s going to get expensive.

I logged my daily Internet habits throughout the billing cycle; you can see the daily and cumulative usage and cost in the chart below. With 20-20 hindsight, I have to say that the biggest thing I didn’t consider before making the switch was the fact that throughout November and December I have had/will have numerous houseguests.  Among these houseguests in November were my sixteen year old son who likes to play online games ad nauseum, and my television-addicted significant other. I also have yet a third person staying with me now who goes online at least some every day. The good news is that these roommates will help pay for what turned into a $180 bill…

Here’s how it happened. For the first week or so, still a bachelorette, my daily usage was between 0.3 and 0.4 Gigabits on weekdays, and far less on weekends. I realized that I didn’t HAVE to stream NPR over the computer and started listening to the radio. I also noticed that Skype video calls eat up a lot of data, so I cut back a bit on those calls in favor of the “free” Verizon to Verizon mobile calls (I know what my family members look like anyway!). Most days I don’t watch much TV, but on Saturday, 11/12, I purchased a new Blue Ray player with streaming capabilities and downloaded the software that allows me to surf directly to Netflix or Hulu on my TV. (Very, very cool!). That download and the two shows I then watched ate up about 2.5 Gigs.

For the next 10 days my friend, who got to town that weekend, and I used reasonable amounts of data—then my teenage son Nick arrived followed by the aforementioned significant other, for Thanksgiving. As it turned out, Nick’s online game didn’t seem to eat up too much data, but my boyfriend’s enthusiasm for his favorite TV shows, and the extensive library available with Netflix and Hulu, turned into nearly 10 Gigs of overage over the past 10 days or so…that’s $10/Gig, bringing the total fee for the past month to $180.

Now, that sounds like a lot, and it is, but if you consider that my last Comcast bill was $163 and all I had watched was two on-demand movies (literally, all month), and in this case there were probably 15 or more hours of television viewing, then it’s not so bad. And honestly, the TV-Head will be leaving again for a month after Christmas…I’m a big fan of Red Box so I’m betting I can get the January bill back down to less than $100.

But price isn’t the only consideration. Let’s discuss the quality of the signal and overall experience. My Internet connection is consistently fast and only for one afternoon did the Mifi device revert to the 3G network for a couple of hours. The streaming experience has been outstanding, with both Hulu and Netflix. By way of comparison, my Comcast Internet connection was notoriously inconsistent—25 Mbps one day and 1 Mbps the next. (Ironically, my colleagues at the main JSI Capital Advisors office in Manchester, NH have gone without Internet service today…their provider is—you guessed it—Comcast.)

The bottom line is that I really, really like the service and the Netflix and Hulu program offerings are extensive—more than enough even for a TV-Head like my boyfriend. Considering I was paying $145 or more previously, I’m not really going to sweat too much if I go over on data usage—although I would really like to see Verizon offer a 20 or even 30 Gigabit plan. My guess is it will eventually, as the company continues to buy up spectrum. I also love the fact that I can take my Mifi device with me and use it anywhere, and as I tend to travel frequently, that’s exactly what I’ll do.

Overall, while it’s not perfect, the cable option was FAR from perfect, and the 4G wireless broadband option is a really reasonable option for a single person who doesn’t live on the couch. But for larger households—especially those with kids—the 10 Gigabits per month probably won’t be adequate and overage charges could easily become prohibitive.