this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2023
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First, look into 5G competitors. They have higher latency but usually decent speeds. Unless you’re playing tournaments in competitive video games, they work just fine.
Then, call your ISP with a complaint, and say you’re considering moving over to that competitor. You have to actually be willing to make the move though, because retention lines are starting to care less and less about actually keeping you. I had one actually just say “okay done the line is cancelled.”
Be sure you actually call them on their bullshit though. “They aren’t as fast” may be true, but “I don’t actually need the speeds you’re offering 99% of the time.” “They have high latency” again may be true, but “I don’t actually use the internet for anything that requires an obscenely low ping.”
It’s annoying to have to do, but you can save money with it. And you may actually find a competitor you’re willing to make the move for, saving yourself some money in the process.
For me, unless the 5g has truly unlimited usage, data caps (even slowdowns) would be a bigger deal than the latency.
One provider in my area does 1Gbit truly unlimited, the other has 1Gbit but with 1.2TB caps (which we would probably hit each month)
That’s a good point as well, and people should likely check their own current cap as well, because a lot of people don’t realize they have a cap already.
In my town, I used T-Mobile Home Internet for a bit. The speed increase was great for a bit, even tho I liked to game. But after a point, the internet was congested from 3 PM to 10 PM. It was wonderful for the first 3 months, and then I had to constantly call the IT/Networking department. Imaging calling them twice a week, every week, and going through 3 router swaps, and a minimum of 20 minutes of phone tag, from September 2022 to February 2023.
"You said that last week."
"Okay, it's past november. It's still slow. My phone has no issues with data or calling."
"It's now close to Christmas, and it's even worse."
"Yet again, its still slow. Why does my phone still work just fine?"
"It's february and still shit."
"Then why can I use my phone just fine?"
"So I'm paying $50 a month to get the bottom of the last barrel?"
So now I'm back to using copper wires because at least it only gets slower during heavy wind, not people wanting to download songs and spy on their children when I'm trying to just relax after work.
My choices are Verizon FiOS and Xfinity. I'd rather stay with FiOS than move to 5G because I do have some applications that benefit from 1% highs being <20ms ping. Plus when I looked at 5G the pricing was still around that $40-50 range for a decent line of service.
It's just annoying because FiOS has a "2 year price guarantee" for new subscribers but is shafting my prices after 12 months. Xfinity is ~$5 cheaper but setup fees are ~$200 and I have to buy my own modem if I don't want to pay the $10-20 rental fee. All that assumes Xfinity doesn't raise their rates in 2 years.