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Posted by $Bill on June 1, 2006, 9:00 pm
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> $Bill wrote:
>
>>Mine costs $3/mo and I could easily justify replacing it, but saving
>>the
>>hassle of dealing with a failure is worth some bucks too. I figure
>>it's
>>18 months of rental to buy, but you have to add on for the bonus of
>>free
>>replacement/repair with the ISP. Over $3 - I wouldn't argue - buy
>>your
>>own. At $9/mo - buy two of them in case one fails in 6 mos.
>
>
> Chances are that in 6 months the cost of buying a new modem will more
> likely fall than rise. Unless the nearest Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit
> City or other store that sells cable modems is more than an hour away
> (which is unlikely as 94% of the population of the US is within 5
> minutes of a Radio Shack), I wouldn't buy the second one until the first
> fails.
I was being facetious - maybe a smiley would help. ;)
> The bigger variable is whether or not the cable company will continue to
> charge the same rental rate. At one time ATTBI was $9/month, and a lot
> of people based their purchase decisions on that rate. When it dropped
> to $3/month, some folks were upset that their break-even point moved out
> a number of months.
>
> If someone is a new customer, the decision is easier. If you sign-up for
> the service at Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City or some other
> retailer that resells Comcast High Speed Internet, and/or whatever other
> service might be in their market area, there will usually be a rebate of
> the entire cost of the cable modem, plus the introductory package may
> include either a lower rate, or a longer period at the introductory rate
> than if you go through the cable company itself. There may even be a
> self-install kit with cables and a splitter involved, and sometimes even
> a gift card for that store as well.
>
> So for a new customer, head to a store to buy instead of signing-up
> directly with your cable company. Your break-even point for purchasing
> the modem will usually be the day your rebate check arrives -- and
> sooner if an instant gift card to the store is part of the offer.
That's true - you can usually get a free modem (after rebates) when
signing up in an electronics store.
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