Anyone else have their Cox Communications Bill Increase $20 This Month?

[Nelson Atwell]

I just opened my bill and found my bill increased 25% from last month. :angry: I called Cox and they said the rates had changed slightly, but the big increase is the elimination of the discounts for multiple services (I have internet and digital cable with them).



They gave me a 25% discount for the next three months just for calling and telling them the price is now cheaper for me to switch to satellite. That gives me three months to decide which satellite service I am switching to in June.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

One question about satellite TV -- do I need to have a landline phone for the service or is it stand-alone? I don't buy pay-per-view, and believe that is the only reason a phone is required. I use a cell phone exclusively, so I don't have a old-fashioned phone.

 

[Casey B]

Directv wants you to have a phone line connected but I never have. One time when I had to get tech support I had to hook it up momentarily but then I disconnected. It will be necessary to do the initial install.









C

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Nelson, I would suggest you contact them and explain that you do not use a traditional phone. I would ask if there is a way o do it via the net or if they have another solution.



I would think your not the only one out there in your situation. I'd be shocked if they did not have an answer as to NOT have an answer means NO SALE...

 

[Nelson Atwell]

ADT set up a wireless gadget for me, so I wouldn't need to get a line for alarm monitoring. Perhaps they have something similar.

 

[Keith McElroy]

Directtv requires you to have the box connected to a phone line if you have more than one box so they can make sure you and your neighbor are not sharing an account. If you only have one receiver box, then you do not need to hook up a phone line.

 

[TracN Jack]

I can get you a free dish system installed... I just have to provide you with a referral code.. letme know if you are interested

 

[Deleted deleted]

Nelson: I use Directv for my TV and SBC for my DSL. Directv does require a landline to activate their old Tivo unit. It just needs a landline for the activation portion... you can take it to a neighbors house to complete that step. Once that is done, you don't need a landline connection for it to work, as the programming info downloads off the satellite. I still have 2 of those units and absolutely love them.



However, they recently switched to their own DVR called the R15 and I don't know if it needs a landline.



I would think alot of people are know landline-less, so surely they have something to offer you.



I dumped Cox Cable years ago due to reliability problems. My DSL runs $26.99/month for 512k upload /3000k download speeds. I do keep a landline active at $20 month since SBC doesn't offer DSL without a landline.

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

I have a dual directtv setup. Neither receiver has EVER been connected to a phone line. The phone lines are used to 1) order PPV (which you can do for free over the net, it works quite well), and 2) track viewing habits (similar to the Neilson/Arbitron rating system).



Anyone who telss you that you MUST have a phone line hooked up is pulling your leg. If they require a phone line for initial hookup, the technition will have a gadget or two to get past this. So many people now-a-days are by-passing the traditional phone lines that DirectTv and Dish have to adapt.



My DSL runs me $14.95/mo though SBC. If I had cable at my house (it is not available at this time on my side of the street), I would consider dropping directtv (I have had it for going on 7 years), SBC and SBC DSL for one cable bill and a cell phone. I've done it before on a short-term basis.

 

[TrainTrac]

Nelson,



Some of the satellite receivers have a USB port where you can install a USB wireless LAN adapter, tieing it in to your network and broadband internet. It then downloads all programming and menu info via your broadband connection.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I had a Dish Network gu come to my door yesterday. I am keeping my options open, but I am leaning towards Cox for internet and DirecTV for satellite. The only thing I don't like is the one-year contract I have to sign. Being military, I may not be in the US this time next year.

 

[M B]

I like my Direct TV. I had major beefs with Dish Network. But Direct is going up I believe $4.00 in my area. But, I think it's worth it over cable and Dish. Good luck!

 

[Deleted deleted]

R Shek: A standard Directv box doesn't need a analog phone line during setup, but I guarantee you the Directv Tivo box does. As part of the setup process, it makes a test call; if that call fails you can't get it to record anything.



Once you make that test call, it will work fine without a phone line connection, although it will bug you daily with "you need to connect" nag screens.



I used the Directv site to order PPV, that way it sends the program to both of my Tivo receivers. The other nice thing is dual tuners. I can record 2 programs simultaneously which watching a 3rd.



I pulled out the teeny 40gb drives in both and replaced them with 160gb drives. That gives me 144 hours of record time on each receiver. Some folks have put 300gb drives or even larger in their Tivos. It's pretty easy to do if you're familiar with Linux.



Other than sporting events, I can't remember the last time I watched 'live' TV. Haven't seen a commercial in ages, either