AT&T disappointed with offers for struggling DirecTV

[Jimbo]

$50/mo for what you're getting isn't good but it's hard to get broadband (anything 25 Mbps or faster) at a regular ongoing price for much less. Lots of places offer faster service with higher data caps (or no cap at all) for that amount but the starter tier is usually pretty close to $50. My parents have 25 Mbps service with Comcast. They use their own modem and router and the regular price is now $53/mo, although it comes down to $43/mo with paperless autopay.

If your local electric utility is a co-op, you should ask them about rolling out fiber in your area. But it might be a tough sell since you already are wired for cable. Other than that, maybe T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T will offer 5G/4G home broadband in your area before long. You almost certainly wouldn't spend any less but you might get faster speeds and/or unlimited data. Starlink satellite internet will be expanding more this year too but it looks like it may cost $100/mo, although with speeds over 100 Mbps.

I did talk to T-Mobile ... they do offer in my area, I found out, however, its suppose to be 50 mg (neighbor got it yesterday) but its only 25 when you do a speed test. and it cost $50.

If its no difference in price from what I have, I'll stick to what I have ... at least for now.

I might inquire to see if ATT or Verizon have such a thing out yet ...
I would/should get a discount from ATT if so .... and I currently have Verizon cell service.

 

[Ronnie-]

I did talk to T-Mobile ... they do offer in my area, I found out, however, its suppose to be 50 mg (neighbor got it yesterday) but its only 25 when you do a speed test. and it cost $50.

If its no difference in price from what I have, I'll stick to what I have ... at least for now.

I might inquire to see if ATT or Verizon have such a thing out yet ...
I would/should get a discount from ATT if so .... and I currently have Verizon cell service.

What is the difference in Data cap between Tmobile and what you have now? If its higher, id swap for that alone.

 

[NashGuy]

I did talk to T-Mobile ... they do offer in my area, I found out, however, its suppose to be 50 mg (neighbor got it yesterday) but its only 25 when you do a speed test. and it cost $50.

If its no difference in price from what I have, I'll stick to what I have ... at least for now.

I might inquire to see if ATT or Verizon have such a thing out yet ...
I would/should get a discount from ATT if so .... and I currently have Verizon cell service.

Yeah, some folks get faster speeds than 50 Mbps with T-Mo. It just depends on your location, the nearest tower, how much traffic it's getting, etc. But I have read reports of others on the service who can never get close to 50. If 25 is all your neighbor can get, then that's probably about what you'd get too. That said, T-Mo is going to continue improving their network a lot in '21 and '22 as they incorporate Sprint spectrum and towers and continue to roll out mid-range and long-range 5G. My guess is that your neighbor is only getting a 4G LTE signal from T-Mo right now but that could change later this year.

I know Verizon announced last year a big expansion of 4G LTE home service in lots of rural areas across the country (while they continue to roll out 5G super-fast home service in very select urban areas). It has no data cap. Costs $40/mo with a Verizon mobile plan or $60/mo without. You can check if it's available for you here: Verizon LTE Home Internet Service - Using Our 4G Network to Bring You Suburban, Urban and Rural Internet

AT&T offers 4G LTE home internet too but I don't think it's as widespread or as good for the money versus what T-Mo and Verizon are doing: AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet - Rural Internet Without a Satellite

Maybe they'll get more serious about it going forward. Or maybe they'll finally deploy AirGig as a way to expand decent broadband out beyond the edges of their fiber-to-the-home network. They did a couple rounds of testing of that tech back in '18-'19 and it sounded promising. Whether it ever gets deployed commercially will likely come down to how cheaply they can roll it out, and with how much of the cost shouldered by the government and/or local electrical utilities.

 

[goaliebob99]

It also depends on if your tower has been upgraded for 5G. In my area I get 300 down and 30 up on 5G. I would imagine for some that would be sufficient especially if the home service has 5G.

 

[Jimbo]

Yeah, some folks get faster speeds than 50 Mbps with T-Mo. It just depends on your location, the nearest tower, how much traffic it's getting, etc. But I have read reports of others on the service who can never get close to 50. If 25 is all your neighbor can get, then that's probably about what you'd get too. That said, T-Mo is going to continue improving their network a lot in '21 and '22 as they incorporate Sprint spectrum and towers and continue to roll out mid-range and long-range 5G. My guess is that your neighbor is only getting a 4G LTE signal from T-Mo right now but that could change later this year.

I know Verizon announced last year a big expansion of 4G LTE home service in lots of rural areas across the country (while they continue to roll out 5G super-fast home service in very select urban areas). It has no data cap. Costs $40/mo with a Verizon mobile plan or $60/mo without. You can check if it's available for you here: Verizon LTE Home Internet Service - Using Our 4G Network to Bring You Suburban, Urban and Rural Internet

AT&T offers 4G LTE home internet too but I don't think it's as widespread or as good for the money versus what T-Mo and Verizon are doing: AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet - Rural Internet Without a Satellite

Maybe they'll get more serious about it going forward. Or maybe they'll finally deploy AirGig as a way to expand decent broadband out beyond the edges of their fiber-to-the-home network. They did a couple rounds of testing of that tech back in '18-'19 and it sounded promising. Whether it ever gets deployed commercially will likely come down to how cheaply they can roll it out, and with how much of the cost shouldered by the government and/or local electrical utilities.

I just checked for ATT on the link you provided, no luck.
I am with Verizon Cell at the moment ... I looked into the 5g home internet and it was not listed as being available here as of yet ... I didn't try the 4g option.

None of the Verizon options allow me to click the Check Availability button.

 

[Jimbo]

It also depends on if your tower has been upgraded for 5G. In my area I get 300 down and 30 up on 5G. I would imagine for some that would be sufficient especially if the home service has 5G.

Those speeds would be more than enough for me ... what kind of price do you pay for it ?

 

[Jimbo]

What is the difference in Data cap between Tmobile and what you have now? If its higher, id swap for that alone.

At the moment there appears to be No Data Caps ... but as we all know, everything is subject to change.

 

[lonewolf454]

Everything AT&T gets involved in turns into garbage. I was happy overall for the choice package for many years, always with a teaser rate of $40-50 for two boxes and dvr service. Nope, AT&T wouldn't budge this year when teaser rate ran out. They finally offered me $20/mo as a loyalty discount (11 years) which I felt was a slap in the face. I was still running the original hardware, even moved to a new house and set it all back up myself. They never had to do anything after the initial install, other than take my money every month.

Directv used to have their own loyalty department, but it appears AT&T has ran them off, just like they are doing with long term customers. Then they have the gall to call me a couple of times after the disconnect, trying to get an install with 2 year contract? I said, yeah sure, for $45 a month and no contract???!! (They weren't interested.)

If you're thinking about getting DirecTV, don't. They do NOT value your business.

 

[Jimbo]

Everything AT&T gets involved in turns into garbage. I was happy overall for the choice package for many years, always with a teaser rate of $40-50 for two boxes and dvr service. Nope, AT&T wouldn't budge this year when teaser rate ran out. They finally offered me $20/mo as a loyalty discount (11 years) which I felt was a slap in the face. I was still running the original hardware, even moved to a new house and set it all back up myself. They never had to do anything after the initial install, other than take my money every month.

Directv used to have their own loyalty department, but it appears AT&T has ran them off, just like they are doing with long term customers. Then they have the gall to call me a couple of times after the disconnect, trying to get an install with 2 year contract? I said, yeah sure, for $45 a month and no contract???!! (They weren't interested.)

If you're thinking about getting DirecTV, don't. They do NOT value your business.

I've never been offered $20 off per month ... I would be happy to get such an offer.
I know many have posted about getting up to $60 off per month, which would be awesome, but nothing I would expect or even hope for ... (16 year sub)

 

[lonewolf454]

I've never been offered $20 off per month ... I would be happy to get such an offer.
I know many have posted about getting up to $60 off per month, which would be awesome, but nothing I would expect or even hope for ... (16 year sub)

They aren't going to "offer" you anything, if you're content in paying $100 or more a month for mostly garbage channels or a bunch of commercials, so be it. You have to ask. This worked well for many years. After the initial 2 year sign up teaser rates rolled off, I was paying around $100 a month.

You could call DirecTV, back when they were actually DTV, not AT&T and threaten to go to dish, since you were out of contract, and they would connect you to their loyalty department, which would then offer 12 months of some type of discount and every once in awhile throw in a couple months of a premium, just for being a long time customer.

I understand why these companies offer teaser rates to get you locked in as a customer, but it usually doesn't end well. I'd prefer a long term relationship with a provider that values my business and automatically offers their best rates to customers that have been with them 5+ years. That's obviously not going to happen, especially with Ma Bell (AT&T).

Every year I'd call and threaten to leave, I honestly warned them every year their rates were too high for the amount of actual tv we watch. I didn't mind paying $40-45 a month, and would pay up to $60 as I told them many times. This year they called my bluff and found out I was serious the entire time.

You should call them (if you plan on staying with them vs cheaper alternatives) and just see what if anything you can get as a loyalty discount. Don't let them talk you into a new contract. The number I have is 800-824-9081. This number cuts down on the wait time, or did, as long as you enter correct sequence at prompts.

 

[Juan]

Everything AT&T gets involved in turns into garbage. I was happy overall for the choice package for many years, always with a teaser rate of $40-50 for two boxes and dvr service. Nope, AT&T wouldn't budge this year when teaser rate ran out. They finally offered me $20/mo as a loyalty discount (11 years) which I felt was a slap in the face. I was still running the original hardware, even moved to a new house and set it all back up myself. They never had to do anything after the initial install, other than take my money every month.

Directv used to have their own loyalty department, but it appears AT&T has ran them off, just like they are doing with long term customers. Then they have the gall to call me a couple of times after the disconnect, trying to get an install with 2 year contract? I said, yeah sure, for $45 a month and no contract???!! (They weren't interested.)

If you're thinking about getting DirecTV, don't. They do NOT value your

They aren't going to "offer" you anything, if you're content in paying $100 or more a month for mostly garbage channels or a bunch of commercials, so be it. You have to ask. This worked well for many years. After the initial 2 year sign up teaser rates rolled off, I was paying around $100 a month.

You could call DirecTV, back when they were actually DTV, not AT&T and threaten to go to dish, since you were out of contract, and they would connect you to their loyalty department, which would then offer 12 months of some type of discount and every once in awhile throw in a couple months of a premium, just for being a long time customer.

I understand why these companies offer teaser rates to get you locked in as a customer, but it usually doesn't end well. I'd prefer a long term relationship with a provider that values my business and automatically offers their best rates to customers that have been with them 5+ years. That's obviously not going to happen, especially with Ma Bell (AT&T).

Every year I'd call and threaten to leave, I honestly warned them every year their rates were too high for the amount of actual tv we watch. I didn't mind paying $40-45 a month, and would pay up to $60 as I told them many times. This year they called my bluff and found out I was serious the entire time.

You should call them (if you plan on staying with them vs cheaper alternatives) and just see what if anything you can get as a loyalty discount. Don't let them talk you into a new contract. The number I have is 800-824-9081. This number cuts down on the wait time, or did, as long as you enter correct sequence at prompts.

 

[NashGuy]

I understand why these companies offer teaser rates to get you locked in as a customer, but it usually doesn't end well. I'd prefer a long term relationship with a provider that values my business and automatically offers their best rates to customers that have been with them 5+ years. That's obviously not going to happen, especially with Ma Bell (AT&T).

It's interesting to note what they're doing now with AT&T TV, which is basically a streaming version of DirecTV with less expensive equipment and virtually zero installation costs for new customers. You can sign up for AT&T TV either with a 2-yr contract or without a contract. Pricing and features differ based on which way you go. But for folks who plan to stick with cable TV for over a year, it probably comes out better to go with the contract.

For the Choice package, if you take the contract, you pay about $73.50/mo the first year (including the $8.50 RSN fee), then $118.50/mo thereafter. And you get 500 hours of cloud DVR service included, plus one TV box and remote that's yours to keep (i.e. it's not a rental). If you don't take the contract, you pay a flat $85/mo for the Choice package but only get 20 hours of cloud DVR. To increase that to 500 costs an extra $10/mo, so $95/mo total. If you want the box, they're $120 each to buy, or $5/mo each spread out over 24 months. (AT&T TV gives you service to any three TVs/devices at the same time. There's no extra cost to use their app on your own Apple TV, Roku, etc. Or you can use their custom box with a remote similar to the DirecTV remote.)

What any sane person who takes the contract would do is, after the first 24 months, just switch over to the non-contract version of the Choice package with the DVR add-on and pay $95/mo instead of $118.50/mo. You just lowered your monthly bill by about 20% and you're getting the exact same level of service.

My guess is that AT&T expects not to do a lot of wheeling-and-dealing and doling out loyalty credits to keep customers on AT&T TV long-term. If you sign up on the non-contract version, you pay the regular flat price every month, no haggling, no discounts, no hidden fees. If you decide the cost is too high for what you're getting, you can leave (and come back) any time. If you sign up on the contract version, you'll pay the prices advertised to you for the first two years while you're under contract. And if you call up after that wanting a better deal to keep you on the service post-contract, they'll just switch you to the non-contract version, lowering your price by about 20% (or even more if you can make do with only 20 hours of DVR storage). But I doubt they lower prices beyond that to retain you as a customer. Maybe they'll throw in free HBO Max for awhile here and there.

 

[lparsons21]

Your guesses may turn out to be right, and it would seem that would be in AT&T’s best interest to do it that way. But at this point in time we don’t have any real clues to how well their streaming service is doing as they couch all of it in the ‘premium tv services’ category along with their satellite and cable service.

 

[NashGuy]

Your guesses may turn out to be right, and it would seem that would be in AT&T’s best interest to do it that way. But at this point in time we don’t have any real clues to how well their streaming service is doing as they couch all of it in the ‘premium tv services’ category along with their satellite and cable service.

I tend to think that AT&T understands and is resigned to the fact that cable TV subscriber numbers are in a long-term, irreversible decline. Like Comcast and Charter, I think they've moved past the point where they're willing to chase after minimally profitable customers by giving them huge teaser deals to start, or repeated big discounts to retain them. Better instead to figure out what kind of margin they need to make on those customers and then set long-term regular pricing accordingly. And I think that's what the regular no-contract pricing on AT&T TV represents.

I suspect that they haven't moved to such a pricing system on DirecTV in order to keep the subscriber count from dropping any lower than it already has ahead of a partial sale of the unit to an outside firm. The sale price for DTV will be set, in part, based on the subscriber count. They've ceased some of the big up-front promos for new subs to DirecTV -- only a $50 Visa gift card now instead of $200 -- but they appear to still be doling out some hefty loyalty discounts to keep long-time subs from walking away. But if and when the DirecTV sale goes through, that approach may change to something more like what I outlined above with AT&T TV.

 

[Don in CT]

I tend to think that AT&T understands and is resigned to the fact that cable TV subscriber numbers are in a long-term, irreversible decline. Like Comcast and Charter, I think they've moved past the point where they're willing to chase after minimally profitable customers by giving them huge teaser deals to start, or repeated big discounts to retain them. Better instead to figure out what kind of margin they need to make on those customers and then set long-term regular pricing accordingly. And I think that's what the regular no-contract pricing on AT&T TV represents.

I suspect that they haven't moved to such a pricing system on DirecTV in order to keep the subscriber count from dropping any lower than it already has ahead of a partial sale of the unit to an outside firm. The sale price for DTV will be set, in part, based on the subscriber count. They've ceased some of the big up-front promos for new subs to DirecTV -- only a $50 Visa gift card now instead of $200 -- but they appear to still be doling out some hefty loyalty discounts to keep long-time subs from walking away. But if and when the DirecTV sale goes through, that approach may change to something more like what I outlined above with AT&T TV.

Comcast knows the future is in the experience. This is why they have X1. They are trying to keep people from streaming. And if they do stream they have the broadband infrastructure. This is why AT&T is pushing HBOMax hard.

 

[Juan]

Comcast knows the future is in the experience. This is why they have X1. They are trying to keep people from streaming. And if they do stream they have the broadband infrastructure. This is why AT&T is pushing HBOMax hard.

Comcast invented Peacock..and is about to shutdown a bunch of low viewership channels

 

[Don in CT]

Comcast invented Peacock..and is about to shutdown a bunch of low viewership channels

And if you are a Comcast customer, Peacock is free. Comcast doesn't want to lose the cable subscribers so they throw in a few bones to sweeten the deal. How many bones does DTV have to offer?

 

[Juan]

And if you are a Comcast customer, Peacock is free. Comcast doesn't want to lose the cable subscribers so they throw in a few bones to sweeten the deal. How many bones does DTV have to offer?

Comcast is looking to cut costs..eliminate employees..streaming fits that strategy

 

[Jimbo]

Comcast is looking to cut costs..eliminate employees..streaming fits that strategy

Every company is trying to do that ...

 

[Bruce]

I tend to think that AT&T understands and is resigned to the fact that cable TV subscriber numbers are in a long-term, irreversible decline. Like Comcast and Charter, I think they've moved past the point where they're willing to chase after minimally profitable customers by giving them huge teaser deals to start, or repeated big discounts to retain them. Better instead to figure out what kind of margin they need to make on those customers and then set long-term regular pricing accordingly.

I don’t know about Comcast right now, ever since I moved to Charter only area I get offers all the time for their TV service, all at great prices, if we did not get YTTV basically for free I would consider it.