Price of Internet/ Phone/ Cable on STX

In the states the cable companies and phone companies are fighting for market share.
Here we have a small market, high fixed costs, difficult climate and terrain..... they are not minting money as you might expect.

You can get Dish network Silver 200 service for around $40/m wi a DVR and 29 HD Channels.

Sloop Jones

Sloop,

I don't think Dish is that cheap. I think the service is $40 but tack $10 for HD and another $11 or so for HD DVR and you are up quite a bit higher than that (around $60).

I'm not complaining as I love having Dish here, but Dish does tack a lot on for the extra's (HD fee, DVR fee, extra receiver fees etc.). It's definitely not cheaper than Innovative, but for the same price you get a lot more.

It is much more expensive per subscriber to run lines in a rural area such as STX than it is in most of the densely populated areas in the states where you can get these sort of deals. That said, it is very frustrating that there are no options for true broadband (no I don't consider 1mbit broadband anymore in light of the speeds that people are now getting in the states). It isn't that important now but in the next few years a 1mbit connection will feel slower than a dialup connection does right now as the convergence of web and television moves further along. Hopefully our friends at Broadband VI will get an affordable solution!

Sean

Sean,
Dish is currently NOT charging for the HD. I would call them and inquire. If you connect the dual receiver to phone or internet they won't charge for the 2nd TV feed either.

They do have a $6 DVR fee but that can be multiple DVRs for one price. I'm running 2 duos and a single for $6

The family pac with Dish is currently $20. The 200 pac is $47.99 but for the first year it's $32.99. Add in the DVR fee and your at $38.99

Most my customers land in the $50 - $70 range. Multiple TVs, average package, and DVR.

Current promos are $15 off any pac for 12 months and HBO SHO free for 3 months.

The kicker is the networks from All American Direct.
www.mydistantnetworks.com

I have 3 receivers, 2 722's and an old single tuner non HD DVR. One 722 is hooked to a phone line and the other is hooked to the internet. My old single tuner DVR isn't hooked up (no phone jack nearby and it doesn't have internet capability). I am not paying though any "disconnected receiver fees" though (having 2 of 3 connected waives that it seems). I have the 250 package with HBO and Showtime. Cinemax is .01/year still for me so that's it for premium channels. My bill has been about $122/month.

Going to the Dish website what I have is being priced out at $125/month after all new sub deals are over. I put in DC to make the website work which adds locals so take of $3 for locals that aren't offered here through Dish and that's what I pay.

To use Sloop's example of Top 200 with 1 HD set getting a DVR the Dish website quotes me at $68.99. Take off $3 for locals and you are at $65.99. That is after the intro rate goes away....with the intro rate it is $50.99 ($15 off for 12 months).

When you add in the All American Direct Networks it of course goes up quite a bit more ($15 for SD and like $20-25 for HD). With the exception of this though Dish is competitive with stateside pricing for cable TV (of course they have to be as they compete there).

Again, I am not complaining but I have noticed that the quoted prices in DISH advertising seems lower than what I and most people end up paying. It is a great product and down here there really isn't any need to underestimate the cost as its comparable to Innovative for a lot better service!

Sean

I worked for Comcast for 20+ years. Digital cable, digital phone, Internet - I had it all...for free. I'm not a big TV watcher. But I do miss the digital phone and my cable modem. Man do I miss my cable modem!

Here on STX we have Dish and Broadband VI. You can't get much better in the VI. Skys The Limit is my Dish guy and he rules. He was my Huges Net guy, too, when we had that service a few years back. Great people and great service.

i have several customers who pay 19.99/m. They are hooked up to Dish wi. a 30" dish receiving top100 service and the HD pak.

Some use the "Enervative" basic service for the networks. one has "an over the air antenna", ,and some don't care about networks.

sloop

My situation is

Innovative silver(?) package + HBO + One additional converter
Innovative DSL @ 512K
Innovative Phone with no features (Don't need the phone but it's required for DSL)
Total cost ~$150 per month

For TV, DISH isn't an option because it's a condo. Direct TV would be an option.

For Internet, I have Broadband VI 512K at work and am convinced it's significantly faster than Innovative. Although, I can't quantify it. Choice is an option but I have never tried them. I don't think an air card from a cellular company would because of the cost of extra data. Same thing for satellite Internet.

So I'm wondering if someone has come up with a better combination of Innovative/ Direct TV/ Broadband VI/ Choice/ Air card that is a good VALUE.

Hey all, I'm trying to find the number to our local STX Dish retailer. (Skys, I'm assuming that's you)
I just moved into a new place and have been following these threads. Seems dish is the best bet.
Jesse

Yeah Jesse, use Sky, he's great!

Sean

For TV, DISH isn't an option because it's a condo. Direct TV would be an option.

Your condo assn allows Direct dishes but not Dishnetwork dishes??? What condo are you living at?

Sean,
Thanks for the kind words!

 

Sean, It's Questa Verde. They worked out a deal with Direct TV. I assume because it's a lot smaller dish. But then I've heard most of the programming is in Spanish.

Broadband VI seems faster because for the first 40 seconds or so of a new connection/stream they burst up to somewhere around 2.8 - 3.0 mbps from what I can tell. After that you go back down to your subscribed rate (I should qualify by saying this is the burst rate for my 1 mbps service - not sure if 512k is the same or about half for burst rate.

My situation is

Innovative silver(?) package + HBO + One additional converter
Innovative DSL @ 512K
Innovative Phone with no features (Don't need the phone but it's required for DSL)
Total cost ~$150 per month

For TV, DISH isn't an option because it's a condo. Direct TV would be an option.

For Internet, I have Broadband VI 512K at work and am convinced it's significantly faster than Innovative. Although, I can't quantify it. Choice is an option but I have never tried them. I don't think an air card from a cellular company would because of the cost of extra data. Same thing for satellite Internet.

So I'm wondering if someone has come up with a better combination of Innovative/ Direct TV/ Broadband VI/ Choice/ Air card that is a good VALUE.

Quote:"Sean, It's Questa Verde. They worked out a deal with Direct TV. I assume because it's a lot smaller dish. But then I've heard most of the programming is in Spanish."

Sugarlander,
I service Dishnetwork at Questa Verde. I only reach certain buildings because the "owners" decided the Direct installs were cheaper. I currently have about 10 accounts on that property. Multi Dwelling Unit - Digital Home Advantage. We've been on property for about 4 yrs..
I was approached by your board members when Choice was pulling out of the TV biz last May and quoted them 4 more small dishes to cover the balance of the buildings, all pretty well out of site, and some new trunk lines. I then quoted an hourly or drop fee for any work inside the units. They wanted "free" so they talked with Directv.
Lots of spanish on Direct. Dish offers more channels in HD than Direct offers in English.
Call me if you'd like to discuss.
340-718-2488
Alan

Thanks for the info GoodToGo. I was wondering if the number of users in other condos could cause slow speeds. I know that can be the case with cable modems. Not sure about DSL though. I have my wireless router locked down and pretty sure there is no malware on my PC.

Alan - I used you recently at my restaurant (that shall remain nameless). You do good work. If there is a way to tie into the existing DISH system, I'd be interested. My condo is a the top of the hill near the pool.

Yes you can possibly tie into the system. Which building?? That's the idea, to share the dish system so everyone doesn't require a dish.

Please call or PM me.