CLAMP Campus Adventures

This originally came about when I was trying to figure out which would be a better deal fitting my needs, cable TV or satellite TV. While doing the calculations, I realized there was a permutation to add in the equation. My Internet access currently is attached to my phone line. Would it be cheaper to ditch the DSL and the landline and go with cable? Would it be cheaper to go with satellite and keep the DSL and land line? Or would it be cheaper to go with satellite TV service and pay a premium on cable broadband Internet? I set off to find out using the websites for Comcast, DirectTV, and DISH Network. I also used my last phone bill to determine the true cost of my DSL without including any taxes and fees (since none of the other quotes would include those hidden little FCC charges and franchise fees). This includes the cost of having the landline, which is required in order to maintain DSL service.

The first step is to look at need. Do you need a landline? For me, the answer is no. I don’t. I use my cell phone for most of my calling needs and our landline is really just a money sink. I recently cancelled our long distance (they started to charge a monthly fee whether or not you used it) and stuck a phone card next to the phone in the living room for any long distance calls, but we get long distance calls for free on the cell phone too. My main reason for keeping the landline was for my fax. Since I was in charge of finances and fiscal reimbursements for Anime Boston, I donated my line as a fax so people could get their reimbursements processed faster. It was a service I provided at my own cost. However, since I no longer have anything to do with Anime Boston, this is no longer a consideration and I could theoretically kill the land line. Unfortunately, it’s not simple. I locked myself into a one-year contract for DSL with Verizon without taking into consideration my actual need for a landline (which was a rather new situation for me) and how the locking in DSL would prevent me from canceling it. Without actually doing the figures, I thought the $7 savings per month for signing up with Verizon DSL for a year (at $29.95/mo) would outweigh the additional cost of cable broadband. I didn’t take into consideration my actual need for the landline. Effectively, I’m paying approximately $54/mo for my DSL because of the landline costs plus associated taxes and fees. This is in comparison to Comcast’s rate of $42/mo for their broadband Internet. Oops, indeed. Now I’m stuck with DSL and the landline until April or May 2006.

Since my broadband is linked to my phone or my cable, I did the calculations with Internet in mind. Since I also have an HDTV, and currently pay for HD programming through Comcast, I also included this in my calculations. There are some one time costs associated with switching to satellite TV. I did not include those, but they are a consideration if I’m looking at a short-term solution until my DSL contract is up. If the cost to install satellite TV is far greater than a short-term benefit, then there’s no point to the installation.

1. If I want to maintain HDTV, I have to purchase an HD compatible receiver for the living room. It’s possible these might be included in set-up, but it’s also possible they could cost $300 or more
2. To install satellite dishes we’d have to have the satellite service place the dish on the roof of the building. This is an addition (undisclosed) installation cost. (However, we know Carl’s sister recently paid $80 to have DirectTV put a post out on past their tree line to receive a satellite signal). I have to assume this will not be cheap.

I compared the following combinations:

1. Cable w/DSL Internet (current setup)
2. Cable w/ Cable Internet (kill the land line)
3. Satellite DirectTV w/DSL Internet (kill the cable)
4. Satellite DirectTV w/Cable Internet (kill the land line)
5. Satellite DISH w/DSL Internet (kill the cable)
6. Satellite DISH w/Cable Internet (kill the land line)

Of these options, I currently could actually implement 1, 3, and 5. However, I wanted to do a cross comparison for potential future implementation. When choosing packages to rank on the satellite services, I tried to compare packages as close to each other in number of channels offered as well as base cost.

It became quickly evident I had to use more than one comparison method. In order to work this out, I came up with a “Cost Per Channel” figure as well as the “Cost Per Month” figure. I wanted to make sure I looked at the cost from every angle and then take everything into consideration before making a final decision.

Here is a graphic of my actual figures:

After reviewing my spreadsheet (see graphic above), I came to the conclusion, with Internet in consideration; there really isn’t much of a cost difference for me right now, especially considering I have to keep my DSL for a while. The savings in monthly costs for moving to satellite would be less than $10. The cost savings when comparing per channel was pennies. Plus, the overall cost if I ditched the landline proved to be the best option, but not with satellite TV. Plus, if I ditch the landline in the future, the cost savings with moving my Internet to cable and actually keeping the cable outweighs the savings by moving to satellite TV. The short-term advantages of moving to satellite TV are not enough to pay for the initial costs for installing the new system either.

What was the end result? I should stick with what I have until I can ditch the DSL and the landline. After I do this, switch to cable broadband. My overall cost savings over my current system would be $10.90 using either per channel or monthly cost calculation. This offers me the best overall cost savings.

Since most people don’t have HDTV, I thought I’d include the calculations without the HD channels and additional cost. There really was no change in the final results (see graphic below). I left in the additional set charge since many homes have multiple sets. If you want to figure out the cost without the additional set, then you’d have to subtract the figures in the line 1 Add. Receiver from the total monthly cost. The cost per channel is the total monthly cost minus the Internet cost and divided by the total number of channels being offered. The Internet cost is then added back in. The total channels being offered in the satellite channels include the total local channels in the Boston market. DirectTV offers 16 local channels in my market and DISH offers 14.

There are many variables potentially changing what turns out to be the best solution for you. For me, it was very clear what to do. Lose the landline as soon as possible.