# Any suggestions for broadband without a bundle I may be overlooking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731 "2010-05-08T07:22:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/1 "2010-05-08T07:22:05Z")
I’m about to move back to Greenville, SC at the end of the summer. I don’t need TV or phone. So, Charter offers 8mbs cable for 39.95(if you bundle). ATT dsl is comparable if you get their cable tv, phone etc. If I get _only_ internet service, it’s gonna be $59.95. Are there any options I may be overlooking or unaware of. Per google, Comcast is available in Greenville, but I havn’t checked those rates yet. $59.95 seems kinda high for 8mbs. Especially considering Hong Kong gets over 100 mbs for $25.00. Any suggestions, or is this pretty standard? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/2 "2010-05-08T07:38:50Z")
There’s no point comparing across countries, especially to extremely population-dense cities like Hong Kong. Even within a country, rates will differ significantly depending on saturation and competition in an area. Try Broadband Report’s [plan finder](http://www.dslreports.com/find-broadband) or just look up Comcast’s plan specifically. There are occasionally promotional rates available from certain providers, and if you can lock in to one of those, that’s probably your best bet. Or sign up and then threaten to cancel/switch and see if they’re willing to lower your rate. FWIW, 8 Mbps costs typically $49.95/mo with the cable company where I live, but I was able to negotiate it down to $35/mo with a phone call . DSL rates are similar. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/3 "2010-05-09T01:08:20Z")
Don’t forget to ask for matching offers. I have always got AT&T’s elite DSL for half off. I do this buy threatening to go to Comcast. They always start with $10.00 off and then I negotiate down to half off. Of course you have to do this every six months or so. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/4 "2010-05-09T01:27:05Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > ATT dsl is comparable if you get their cable tv, phone etc. If I get _only_ internet service, it’s gonna be $59.95. AT&T offers cable tv? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/5 "2010-05-09T01:54:40Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > AT&T offers cable tv? in some larger metro markets where they have fiber optic into neighborhoods they do. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/6 "2010-05-09T02:06:15Z")
The AT&T cable TV service is called uVerse. It’s been in parts of NC for about a year now. When Time Warner cable was allowed to offer phone service AT&T got the right to offer TV service. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/7 "2010-05-09T02:11:56Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > in some larger metro markets where they have fiber optic into neighborhoods they do. OK, but that’s not cable. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-suggestions-for-broadband-without-a-bundle-i-may-be-overlooking/538731/8 "2010-05-09T07:10:45Z")
Honestly, to me, 8gbs for $59.99 seems pretty good. Seeing as I can stream three TV shows simultaneously with only 3GB, I tend to pick the lower bandwidth options. I can’t imagine finding something to do with 100 MB. While it’s true that the U.S. connection is pretty slow, the Hong Kong level seems like overkill.