Obtained Comcast or Spectrum web? Now’s a good time to threaten you will cancel

Final week, I secured my lowest value for Spectrum web in years.

All it took was a name to Spectrum’s retention division, which is the place you find yourself after telling the automated system you wish to cancel your service. After a mildly tedious dialog with an exceedingly pleasant rep, my month-to-month invoice dropped from $68 to $45 monthly for the following full 12 months. Not solely did I get monetary savings, however my speeds elevated from 400 Mbps to 500 Mbps.

Whereas I can’t assure the identical outcomes in every single place, normally it’s a good time to threaten to cancel cable web service.

For years, Comcast and Constitution (which operates the Spectrum model) have boasted to shareholders that progress in house web greater than offsets the collapse of cable TV, however now they’re shedding web prospects to distributors providing sooner fiber and cheaper 5G wi-fi options. They’re extremely motivated to maintain potential defectors on board, so you need to take full benefit of their collective insecurity.

What competitors seems to be like

Final 12 months, Spectrum and Comcast misplaced 508,000 and 411,000 house web prospects respectively . The 12 months earlier than, Comcast misplaced 66,000, whereas Spectrum misplaced 61,000. Inventory costs for each firms are already under what they have been two years in the past.

In contrast, fiber and wi-fi house web are rising. T-Cell and Verizon added 1.7 million and 1.5 million wi-fi house web prospects in 2024 respectively, whereas AT&T added 1 million prospects to its fiber service. Each of their shares are up from two years in the past.

This isn’t rocket science: Wi-fi house web is cheaper than cable, with plans beginning at $35 monthly for T-Cell and Verizon when bundled with cell phone service. Fiber, in the meantime, gives symmetric add and obtain speeds, which aren’t all the time accessible with cable, and it may be cheaper as properly. (AT&T’s 500 Mbps plan, as an illustration, prices $75 monthly on a non-promotional foundation, $10 monthly lower than Comcast.)

Cable suppliers ought to have reckoned with this new actuality years in the past. As an alternative, they resorted to scare techniques and misinformation. Comcast and Constitution each rolled out advert campaigns to persuade those who they didn’t truly need cheaper web service, which they later needed to modify for being deceptive. Comcast then tried to promote its web plans as “10G” in a determined try to look higher than 5G (regardless of being unrelated technologically). Promoting watchdogs pressured Comcast to drop that line of assault as properly.

Cable’s response

Solely now are the cable giants doing what they need to have finished all alongside, which is to really compete.

Comcast, as an illustration, introduced a somewhat-simplified set of house web plans final week, beginning at $40 monthly for 300 Mbps service with a one-year value assure. (Clients may also pay a better value of $55 monthly to lock in that fee for 5 years.) These new plans additionally reverse a longstanding coverage of imposing knowledge caps in most markets.

Final 12 months, Comcast additionally launched a separate pair of web plans below its “Now” model, priced at $30 monthly for 100 Mbps and $45 monthly for 200 Mbps. These plans don’t embrace knowledge caps both.

Spectrum’s response hasn’t been as splashy. It’s been extra centered on rising web speeds and bundling extra companies collectively, together with free streaming companies on its cable TV facet, and a proposal of $30-per-month house web (at 500 Mbps) when bundled with two cell strains. It’s additionally been scrapping hidden charges and making an attempt to enhance its customer support.

However right here’s the issue: Cable firms don’t wish to hand out massive reductions to present prospects if they’ll keep away from it. Whereas Comcast says its new packages can be found to anybody, present prospects should name in to make the change, and I’ve heard from a couple of readers who’ve run into issues getting the plans they need.

As my expertise with Spectrum has proven, it’s all a matter of reaching the suitable consultant.

What you need to do about it

Negotiating a decrease house web value is simple. You simply have to bypass the usual customer support division and skip straight to the one with the objective of conserving you from cancelling your service. You possibly can usually accomplish this by means of the automated answering system by deciding on the choices that result in cancelling your service.

I perceive this may be nerve-wracking. When you have no intention of switching suppliers, you actually wouldn’t need the cable firm to name your bluff and minimize you off with out warning.

Belief me, that’s not going to occur. Cable firms function retention departments for the specific function of pumping the breaks on cancellations and speaking issues out first. In addition they have entry to promotions that normal customer support reps don’t. (Each Spectrum retention specialist I’ve ever talked to has relished pointing this out.)

If it makes you extra comfy, simply method the topic in a circumspect means. As soon as the retention rep is on the road, inform them you’re considering about cancelling, otherwise you wish to focus on the logistics of cancelling at a handy future date. In my expertise that’s sufficient to set the promotional gears in movement.

And if that doesn’t work, possibly it’s time to look into different choices. There are extra of them accessible now in additional locations, a lot to the cable firms’ dismay.

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