By contrast, fiber and wireless home internet are growing<\/a>. T-Mobile and Verizon added 1.7 million<\/a> and 1.5 million wireless home internet customers in 2024 respectively, while AT&T added 1 million customers to its fiber service. Both of their stocks are up from two years ago.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t rocket science: Wireless home internet is cheaper than cable, with plans starting at $35 per month for T-Mobile and Verizon when bundled with mobile phone service. Fiber, meanwhile, offers symmetric upload and download speeds, which aren\u2019t always available with cable, and it can be cheaper as well. (AT&T\u2019s 500 Mbps plan, for instance, costs $75 per month on a non-promotional basis, $10 per month less than Comcast.)<\/p>\n Cable providers should have reckoned with this new reality years ago<\/a>. Instead, they resorted to scare tactics and misinformation. Comcast<\/a> and Charter<\/a> both rolled out ad campaigns to convince people that they didn\u2019t actually want cheaper internet service, which they later had to modify for being misleading<\/a>. Comcast then tried to advertise its internet plans as \u201c10G\u201d in a desperate attempt to look better than 5G (despite being unrelated technologically). Advertising watchdogs pressured Comcast to drop that line of attack as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cable\u2019s response<\/p>\n Only now are the cable giants doing what they should have done all along, which is to actually compete.<\/p>\n Comcast, for instance, announced a somewhat-simplified set of home internet plans<\/a> last week, starting at $40 per month for 300 Mbps service with a one-year price guarantee. (Customers can also pay a higher price of $55 per month to lock in that rate for five years.) These new plans also reverse a longstanding policy of enforcing data caps in most markets.<\/p>\n \t\t\tComcast\u2019s internet service plans as of July 2025.<\/p>\n Comcast<\/p>\n Last year, Comcast also launched a separate pair of internet plans under its \u201cNow\u201d brand, priced at $30 per month for 100 Mbps and $45 per month for 200 Mbps. Those plans don\u2019t include data caps either.<\/p>\n Spectrum\u2019s response hasn\u2019t been as splashy. It\u2019s been more focused on increasing internet speeds and bundling more services together, including free streaming services on its cable TV side<\/a>, and an offer of $30-per-month home internet (at 500 Mbps) when bundled with two mobile lines. It\u2019s also been scrapping hidden fees<\/a> and trying to improve its customer service.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the problem: Cable companies don\u2019t want to hand out big discounts to existing customers if they can avoid it. While Comcast says its new packages are available to anyone, existing customers must call in to make the switch, and I\u2019ve heard from a few readers who\u2019ve run into problems getting the plans they want.<\/p>\n As my experience with Spectrum has shown, it\u2019s all a matter of reaching the right representative.<\/p>\n What you should do about it<\/p>\n Negotiating a lower home internet price is easy. You just need to bypass the standard customer service department and skip straight to the one with the goal of keeping you from cancelling your service. You can often accomplish this through the automated answering system by selecting the options that lead to cancelling your service.<\/p>\n I understand this can be nerve-wracking. If you have no intention of switching providers, you certainly wouldn\u2019t want the cable company to call your bluff and cut you off without warning.<\/p>\n Trust me, that\u2019s not going to happen. Cable companies operate retention departments for the express purpose of pumping the breaks on cancellations and talking things out first. They also have access to promotions that standard customer service reps don\u2019t. (Every Spectrum retention specialist I\u2019ve ever talked to has relished pointing this out.)<\/p>\n If it makes you more comfortable, just approach the subject in a circumspect way. Once the retention rep is on the line, tell them you\u2019re thinking about cancelling, or you want to discuss the logistics of cancelling at a convenient future date. In my experience that\u2019s enough to set the promotional gears in motion.<\/p>\n And if that doesn\u2019t work, maybe it\u2019s time to look into other options. There are more of them available now in more places, much to the cable companies\u2019 dismay.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/comcastplans.jpg\")
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