We have been wanting to get away from Comcast for a long time. The problem is they give you a great combo with their bundles that include voice, hi speed internet, and TV service. When you try to remove one, you lose the discounts of the bundle.

But the cable television setup just needs to go, as the channel selection and quality is below average. With so much talk today about hi def, there just wasn’t much of that with Charter cable TV. So I started researching who else was available in my area.

I happen to be one of the people who have a few options. Unlike many folks who can only pick from just the cable company or satellite television, I have another provider in my region. The phone company in my neighborhood has been upgrading their network. So I have another player with Verizon and their fiber optic service.

That doesn’t of course mean I won’t have the same problems. It could put someone in the same situation as with the cable company, because phone guys want customers to bundle their television setup with internet and voice service. If the service works out well, I’ll be satisfied. Then again if the service is poor you’re in the same circumstance that we all hate, being stuck with cable TV that isn’t all that great.

Most evaluations I found are fairly good on telecom TV service. Because it is brand new, there is always a risk with a service like this, and some customers share their poor reviews. Some of those reviews are the quite amusing, because people decide to write a bad review on their poor experience and post it on the web. Unhappy customers badmouth the company like it is some huge conspiracy to make the customer unhappy, like the company doesn’t want our money!

Another way to go that I am seriously considering is of course satellite television. Because we have five TV watchers in the house, we usually buy a premium TV bundle. The satellite companies are fairly even, as the Directv Premier Package and the America’s Everything Pak by Dish Network are both right around $115 per month. Yes that’s fairly pricey for cable television, but if you make the comparison with taking your family to supper and a show, the entertainment value is comparable.

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