Saving Money On Internet Access

The wife and I are preparing for an upcoming move and as part of that, we setup a transfer of service for the condo over the weekend.  More on the move later, but the bottom line is that I figured out an easy way to save some $ on internet access.

We utilize Comcast and I found out they charge $7 a month for the cable modem rental each month.  I was aware that they charge for modem rental, but wasn't aware how high the price is since your bill only shows the main rate, the rental is not shown separately.

You can avoid that rental charge altogether by purchasing your own cable modem.  That is something I should have done a long time ago, but better late than never.  If you are a Comcast customer you can check their list of internet approved devices.

I checked my bill to see what internet package that I have and it is referred to as 'Performance'.  I then clicked to show only Docsis 3.0 modems, which are the latest and greatest and will offer the best speed/performance and did a bunch of research on a few of them. 

I decided on the Motorola SB6120.  There is a newer version called the SB6121, but the reviews are mixed on that one.  The SB6120 seems to be the preferred one to go with on some related forums and based on reviews on Amazon as well. 

You can either go new on Amazon, or you can find them used on eBay, which is what I did.  I purchased one for $65 used on eBay and there is no tax and free expedited shipping.  For that price, it will pay for itself in just over 9 months and in month 10 and beyond, you'll be ahead of the game.  And on top of the savings, my current modem was a Docsis 2.0, the new one is 3.0, so that should result in increased speed as well.  Definitely well worth the effort in my opinion.

If you have ATT uVerse or another provider, do some online searches for supported cable modems for your service and I imagine there should be similar options.  Be sure to check with your provider for specifics. 

When I was on the phone with the Comcast rep I made sure that it was ok to swap out the rental modem with my own and she said yes, just call to switch things over to the new modem when you get it and bring the old one in and they'll take the $7/mo rental fee off your bill.

Good deal!  Also, if you haven't called to ask about current deals for your existing service, it's probably worth your while to do that.  I was able to get a good deal on an internet/HD DVR bundle, resulting in a savings of $40 a month for the first year and it would be $20 a month cheaper after that.  Good luck!

Posted in: comcast approved cable modems , eliminate modem rental fee , Personal Finance , saving money on internet modem rental