We’ve recently worked with a few clients who were paying too much for their Internet or cellular service. Internet service providers (ISPs) and cellular carriers occasionally adjust their service plans to account for new technologies, economies of scale, changing competitive landscapes, and marketing efforts. Sometimes they’ll increase speeds or capabilities across the board, but more often, when they debut new plans, current customers are grandfathered into their existing plans, often without notification. Upgrading to a new, better plan is usually simple—first, check the plan details on your ISP’s or cellular carrier’s website. Then, if they look better or cheaper—or if you don’t remember what service levels you should be getting—call the company’s support line and ask if switching plans would be beneficial. Beware that they may try to upsell you on a more expensive plan, so agree to switch only if you’ll end up paying less or getting significantly more. Remember, more speed isn’t necessarily worthwhile—most people won’t notice the difference between 250 Mbps and 1 Gbps, for instance.
Another great way to save money on your home internet plan is to drop all the extras, phone plans, "cable TV", etc. With all the streaming services available you could get all the viewing options you like and have the ability to turn them on and off as needed saving you even more cash. It is also likely you have a cell phone, so why pay for another phone line? A note on the phone lines you get from most ISPs, they are not "Land Lines", meaning they are connected to your internet box and if the power goes out or your internet goes down those phones do not work so don't be fooled into keeping a phone service from your ISP for your home because you think it will be a reliable backup to your cell phone. You can often save over $200 on your money ISP plan with a few simple changes.
(Featured image by Adam Engst)
