cable Internet Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Is an outdated modem throttling your Internet connection?

Posted on July 3, 2024

Comcast, Time Warner and other cable Internet providers periodically raise the guaranteed download and upload speeds for their various Internet service tiers in order to remain competitive in the marketplace.

And when they do, they usually email their customers to let them know they’ve received a bump in their connection speeds.

When necessary, they’ll also let the customers know that they’ll need to order a new updated modem in order to actually take advantage of the faster data transmission speeds provided by their plan.

The problem is, many customers either don’t receive the notification emails about the needed modem upgrades or the emails get lost in their junk folder. [Read more…]

5 tips for getting the most from your Internet connection

Posted on April 12, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Back in the early days of home computing, most users had to connect their computers to the Internet using a dial-up analog modem.

Those dial-up connections were typically about as slow as a sedated slug, and establishing and keeping a stable connection was tricky at best.

Even worse, that slow and unreliable connection was typically dedicated to a single computer, so connecting multiple computers to the Internet required a separate modem and a separate telephone land-line for each computer. [Read more…]

Why you shouldn’t accept a used modem from your ISP

Posted on December 3, 2023

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who subscribe to broadband Internet service through Xfinity, Charter or another Internet Service Provider (ISP), you most likely rent your modem (or Internet gateway) from them.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, even though you can opt to purchase your own modem if you want to.

When a modem needs to be replaced, most customers who rent their modems simply accept whatever device the technician pulls out of the truck and installs for them without even giving it a second thought.

Well, that can be a very big mistake. Why? Read on and I’ll explain… [Read more…]

Do you have cable Internet? Save big by buying your own cable modem!

Posted on October 28, 2014

If you get your Internet service through Comcast, Charter or some other cable TV company, you are probably paying a hefty monthly rental fee for your cable modem. But you can save that rental fee by buying a modem of your own.

For example, if you have Comcast cable Internet, you’re probably paying $7 per month just to rent their modem. That’s $84 per year!

A better alternative in my opinion is to tell your cable company to keep their modem and buy your own!

The modem that I use and recommend is the Motorola SURFboard SBG6580 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem and Wi-Fi N Router. (#ad)

This is an exceptional cable modem/wireless router combo that’s currently selling on Amazon for about $100. [Read more…]

Comcast announces the first 12 regions that will be subject to a data cap

Posted on June 18, 2014

Last month Comcast announced that they plan to place a monthly cap on users’ Internet data usage, then charge their customers an extra fee if they exceed it. They also announced that the data cap will be rolled out across the country over time.

Well, the company has just released a list of the unlucky regions that will be subjected to the cap first, and here it is: [Read more…]