Going from U-verse to Cable. First-timer's questions

[Wailer]

AT&T U-verse monthly service charge recently jumped from $14.95 to $42. Hence, I'm looking to switch providers.

TimeWarner Cable has a non-promotional $14.95/mo plan for the same 3Mbps. That bandwidth is fine for my needs; however, with 2 adolescents in the house and a potential to "cut the cord" as well as use VOIP, I can envision needing more bandwidth in the near future. U-verse is limited to 6Mbps in my area whereas TWC theoretically offers up to 300Mbps. The 10Mbps and 50Mbps plans are $30/mo and $35/mo, which seems reasonable if the service is reliable.

I've never had any cable service at my house, so they need to come connect me to the pole for a $15 fee. The technician will bring the modem and install it as well. Anyway, I know their $8/mo lease fee is pretty steep and I'm aware that I can buy my own modem. However, since this is a first-time hookup, I'm want to make sure everything is working and then explore my replacement options. I see pretty reputable, TWC-approved DOCSIS3.0 modems that can handle 100Mbps selling locally for $25 (used) and $70 (new) from amazon.

My questions:

1) I know I should as TWC, but I'm assuming the $8/mo modem lease isn't a contract. Can anyone confirm that I can return it at anytime? I've heard the stories about how doesn't willingly remove the lease fee.

2) Is there any special configuration needed if you switch out the modem? Can I literally, on day 1, just hook up any compatible modem with minimal configuration? I consider myself competent enough to put a modem in bridge mode and let my router handle DHCP/NAT. I'm trying to avoid flashing or wait-on-hold phone calls to authorize the modem.

FWIW, reliability and low-latency trump bandwidth for me. I'm going for the make-sure-everything-works-before-tweaking scenario. In fact, I won't even cancel my U-verse until I'm know I've got something stable.

Thanks for any input you can provide or experiences you can share.

[cbelt3]

1) You just return the modem. GET A RECEIPT. Then be prepared to call and complain when they continue billing you for the modem.

2) When I switched out our modem with one I purchased I just activated it using their instructions.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/suppor...ation.html

FWIW, that's a pretty goshdarned good price.

[mikebw]

I would go for the 50Mbps plan for sure at that price.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

You don't put a modem in bridge mode.

I never had a problem with Scumcrap deleting the modem fee. Make sure you keep a copy of the receipt returning their modem with the serial number. I was still getting automated calls four days later from HAL-4999.01, reminding me to return the equipment that had already been recorded as turned in. For some reason, the customer service rep. scanning the barcode and issuing me a receipt wasn't good enough for the automated billing system...

Congratulations Comcast; You're The Worst Company In America!
oapbox: oapbox:

As long as the modem is compatible and reasonable firmware is installed, you should only need to do minimum configuration and enter your User Name and Password.

[mikebw]

Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
For some reason, the customer service rep. scanning the barcode and issuing me a receipt wasn't good enough for the automated billing system...

Yes, Comcast is the worst IMO. I've mentioned here about how they tried charging me for the modem after I cancelled service, but I owned the modem the whole time! Had to dispute the charge with my CC.

[deckeda]

50Mbps for $35 would have us running in the street in Georgia. That's cheeeeeep for a non-intro rate.

[Wailer]

Thanks for the tips.

Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
You don't put a modem in bridge mode.

Why do you say that?

For modems that support it, I've always put them in bridge mode. I use open source routers with good, fast DHCP. I also don't want the extra hop to the modem's router, any potential double NAT, or to use the crap gateways that most off-the-shelf modems use. It also seems a lot easier to swap out a modem in bridge mode than it would be to reconfigure a gateway.

I'd love to hear the disadvantages of putting your modem in bridge mode when you have a good, reliable router.

[mattkime]

no kidding, great rates.

[Bill in NC]

You'll be happy - I went from 6 (really 5.1) MBps DSL to 30 MBps TWC broadband (sadly, no MAXX upgrades here yet).

I bought a Moto combination modem/wireless router for $100, no problems getting it working.

[cbelt3]

Oh.. and just an aside... I would recommend a Coax surge suppressor. Based on personal experience... neighbor's house caught a lightning strike, and the surge traveled up the RG-6 Time Warner cable to my house. Toasted their modem, my Airport router, and a switch that was between the router and my Macs. Fortunately..

I have one in the loop right now, in fact.