Slash your Internet Bill!

October 9, 2008 by Lauren Fairbanks

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Photo by herbstkind

As much of a staple as home internet is for fun, it’s also mandatory for those inescapable bouts of bringing work home. Since internet access can be somewhat pricey, that can be a turn out to be a hefty monthly expense. But as we wait patiently for that glorious day when all the world will be bathed under the invisible comfort of free public Wi-Fi, internet providers are slowly, but surely, lowering their prices. I didn’t realize it until our associate editor, Jeffrey Wilson, mentioned that one of his friends pays approximately $25 a month for his home internet access. Since I pay a whopping $60 a month, I obviously wanted to find out who’s supplying the cheap-o service, and how I could place my current bill on the chopping block. After a little digging, here’s what I uncovered.

Time Warner Cable offers Road Runner Basic Internet and Earthlink Basic Internet both for $29. This is for a speed of 1.5 Mbps, which, on paper, sounds like a pretty slow connection speed. If you were to go by the website’s description, you’d think you were going back to the days of the 56K modem–but you’re not. A 1.5 Mbps connection packs enough zip to smoothly stream Hulu and and allow Web surfers to engage in a pleasurable online experience. Don’t fall for Big Cable’s upsell.

There is one caveat, however: If you’re living with roommates or family members, that 1.5 Mbps connection may not offer satisfactory speeds for everyone in the household to indulge in the rich Web experience. With the Web becoming more and more multimedia-centric, having three, or four people downloading tracks from Amazon MP3, hunting for iPhone apps, and watching lots of video may negatively impact the pep of the connection.

So whether you’re riding solo or riding shotgun, downgrading from 10 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps can save you a pretty penny. Unless you’re downloading movies or streaming high def videos, you probably won’t notice the difference, but you’ll sure notice that extra $21 a month in your bank account.

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