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jasonpbecker t1_iw356wk wrote

FWIW, $60 for internet is pretty standard, regardless of provider. While it's true there's no real other choice within Baltimore City, home internet access isn't really metered by person but by household. If you're lower income, there may be some subsidized plans available for you that are much less expensive.

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SpiceySlade t1_iw2yi5r wrote

Baltimore has a noncompete deal with Comcast. There really isn't a better option.

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No-Lunch4249 t1_iw388xl wrote

Not entirely accurate. Exclusivity in franchising agreements was outlawed nationally decades ago. But at that point Comcast already had its claws in Baltimore, and the simple fact is that the startup cost on the infrastructure to provide city wide internet is so much that it doesn’t really make sense for a new company to try and wedge in.

This is why pursuing neutral host infrastructure legislation, where the city or a third party owns the fiber, or providing a municipal option (see Chattanooga) is the only real route forward.

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dopkick t1_iw3bcl2 wrote

The municipal fiber thing sounds amazing based upon communities that have successfully implemented it. Then I consider Baltimore's track record at just about... everything. Sigh!

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[deleted] t1_iw3cqli wrote

Chattanooga’s had it for like 15-20 years and apparently have had like 1gb that whole time. Which is insane because Baltimore was lucky to get 1% of that 15-20 years ago

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dopkick t1_iw3etu5 wrote

I think Baltimore's only had 1 gbps (now 1.2 gbps) for like 4-5 years. And the upload is still a fairly slow ~50 mbps. So much for the free market delivering better services at a lower price.

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No-Lunch4249 t1_iw3g0bu wrote

Yeah…

Did some research into Chattanooga’s once upon a time and it seemed pretty incredible, symmetrical up/down 1GB for like $100 a month

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No-Lunch4249 t1_iw3c1dj wrote

Yeah I think a lot of places that pursue this have a publicly owned electrical provider, so while it’s public it’s not really directly controlled by the city

Choptank Electric Co-Op on the eastern shore is pursuing this also, but that’s very rural and it’s a bit of a different challenge

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[deleted] t1_iw3ckvr wrote

AFAIK comcast has or had a noncompete in Baltimore for cable tv, which meant no one else was going to lay fiber for internet since they wouldn’t be able to sell tv too

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No-Lunch4249 t1_iw3efd6 wrote

Fairly certain that the cable TV franchising agreement is also non exclusive, but they do have the effect of dampening competition because the government (in this case Baltimore City) is basically saying “this is our preferred provider.”

IIRC Verizon and the city couldn’t come to a deal on a franchise agreement that would have coexisted with Comcast’s, and that’s why FiOS in Baltimore died

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todareistobmore t1_iw3m0az wrote

No, it's really just the natural monopoly. The buildings that have FIOS service in Baltimore get TV through FIOS too. The problem is that Comcast already provides service to every residence in the city, and their network rollout is long since paid for.

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friendly-fubar t1_iw31f7b wrote

I’m single and was able to renogotiate back to $40/month (a deal they offer folks who just start). I own my own router/modem and have auto pay setup. You just need to threaten to jump to a competitor.

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deadest_of_parrots t1_iw380hr wrote

When I threatened to go to a competitor the rep laughed and said good luck. I switched.

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LukeW0rm t1_iw3dr2k wrote

They laughed at me but I switched to port networks then T-Mobile. Xfinity begged me to come back for $39, which I took, because it is more stable

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dopkick t1_iw3b80f wrote

Yeah, this doesn't always work... sometimes it does, sometimes they don't care. I think it used to work more in the past (my dad used to be the king of free HBO/Showtime/etc) but it's hit or miss now. Especially when Baltimore basically has no actual choice.

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call_me_ping t1_iw64a52 wrote

Unfortunately sometimes it's a game where you gotta just give up on the unhelpful phone rep, hang up, and call until you get someone that'll give you the deal.

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DrJungeyBrungenMD t1_iw2zfjy wrote

I have had a great experience with Verizon 5G but I’ve seen others complain

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puptrait t1_iw483uh wrote

Call Xfinity. Request the solutions department. Tell them you were thinking of switching to T-Mobile 5G and heard they are lowering bills for existing customers in the neighborhood to $25 to get them to stay.

Be sure to mention your Hampden neighbors are receiving that specific offer, or they'll likely default to saying they don't have any offers available.

TLDR You could be paying less for the same service

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deadest_of_parrots t1_iw37weu wrote

I’ve gone to the t mobile internet for $30 a month (bundled in with my phone plan) I think it’s $50 if you don’t have a plan with them. I love it.

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JustArmadillo5 t1_iw3h4dw wrote

Wait they give you a deal if you’ve already got a phone with them? I just pay $25 for the unlimited hotspot and I really didn’t want to give up my internet on the go but if they knock off $20 I think I can afford both! And still under the $60 OP mentioned :)

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hotdoggingjukes OP t1_iw7z2ms wrote

It seems like a lot of other people are suggesting t mobile so I’ll check it out. Thanks!

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FriedScrapple t1_iw395xk wrote

I got T-Mobile and have been happy with it. I did have a problem with the router at some point but they sent me a new one without any hassle.

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mrm0324 t1_iw3bbyv wrote

You only pay $60?

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dopkick t1_iw36ey9 wrote

Comcast is really the only game in town unless you live in a handful of buildings where you can get Fios or some others. TMobile and Verizon 5G are hit or miss - more miss. Read reddit for some reviews of those and you'll probably nope out. Port networks has a wireless service but it serves limited areas and is SLOW.

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[deleted] t1_iw3ceab wrote

$60 is cheap for xfinity. They will def ramp up your price without your input at some point.

Tmobile is cheaper and faster, but comes with its own downsidez

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diegggs94 t1_iw40feg wrote

Tmobile 5G worked great for me. $50 a month with the carrier I think or just in general

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MahoganyShip t1_iw4aefv wrote

If you can get TMobile home it’s $50 unlimited forever and it’s just as good as Comcast

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call_me_ping t1_iw655zu wrote

if you can finesse your way onto someone's family plan for cell service...

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