Recession forces some to downgrade to dial-up

Some broadband users are considering going back to dial-up as the tough economic climate forces them to cut their household budgets, according to a story published Friday in the Chicago Tribune.

While it's unlikely Americans will ditch broadband for dial-up en masse, there are likely to be some people who find the $20 to $50 monthly fees for DSL or cable modem broadband service to be too high, when dial-up providers such as NetZero are offering new $9.95 service plans.

One Florida man, Arnold Zimmerman, 66, said that after his work hours got reduced and his stock portfolio tanked he was looking to make cuts.

"I didn't think I would ever go back," the Tribune article quoted Zimmerman as saying. "It was terrible. But with this economy, you got to look to cut wherever you can."

For several years, Internet users have been ditching dial-up Internet service for broadband service. But executives from United Online, which owns dial-up providers NetZero and Juno, said they saw the percentage of people dropping the company's Internet service hit a new low of 4.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008.

Still, broadband services have been growing strong for cable and phone companies. And even though some higher-speed services are pricey, consumers can still find cheaper alternatives, especially if they are able to get DSL service.

For example, Verizon Communications offers a 1 megabit per second service for $17.99 with a one-year contract. Subscribers must also have a Verizon phone line. But if they don't they can get the service for $19.99.

AT&T is offering a special promotion for its 768 kilobits per second service for $9.99 a month. The special offer applies only to new AT&T DSL customers. And subscribers must also have an AT&T phone line, sign up for the service online, and agree to a one- year contract. Current AT&T customers can get the service with the same restrictions for $19.95 per month.

But I'm not entirely convinced people will cut back at all on their broadband even as the recession worsens. As CNET News has reported previously, some consumers are actually increasing the speed of their broadband connections to access more entertainment at home. Instead of cutting broadband services, these consumers are cutting their cable or satellite services and are using their fast broadband connections to watch free TV from the Net. They're also watching some TV for free from over-the-air broadcast stations.

If you've got tips for saving costs by cutting back on technology, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at [e-mail].

[tehrani625]

I think most people would not be willing to cut their broad band services. If worst comes to worst then I will ditch my satilight tv and put some of what I save every month towards my dsl to get a slightly faster connection.

[paulsecic]

No way will I go to dial-up;. I pay $31 for U-verse. I dropped Comcast last November. Price rosed to $68.09.

[pmfjoe]

While I am not currently cutting back I would fall into those who would ditch my Dish Network subscription first since most of the shows I watch I can stream free over the web from hulu.com, tv.com, or the channels own website. Heck if the hulu.com Media Center plugin gets better I might just ditch one of my receivers anyway.

[SlimGem]

Downgraded to standard cable TV to save $40 per month. I'll dump it all and go to rabbit ears before I give up my RoadRunner.

[john55440]

Thanks to Qwest, Comcast has a monopoly on high-speed internet service in my immediate (highly populated suburban) area. (sigh)

[unknown unknown]

With dial-up there is at least some competition, but that's not true with cable and DSL. You're luck if have a choice between a DSL provider and a cable provider, a duopoly. Most people however do not have a choice. Unfortunately the FCC and courts have allowed massive telecom mergers and allowed cable to deny access to their lines by competitors. Also the controls on the wholesale prices telecoms charge competitors to lease their lines have been removed. In other words the consumer has been getting the shaft.

[BtmnHatesRbn]

When dial-up and broadband in my area are the EXACT same price ($25), I choose broadband.

[Universal_Indie_Records]

I'm of the same mind as most of you.... tv before the broadband... only thing is I don't think my kids would like appreciate that all that much.

[Dan7637]

let the tv go instead, you can rent movies online and watch them on your tv if you hook up a computer to it, there are sites like hulu and youtube, there is a lot online

[jonathan0766]

People aren't going to ditch their broadband in any relevant numbers. It's a massive value proposition. Ditch your Facebook, MySpace, eBay, Google, Twitter, YouTube, email, instant messaging, stock quotes / online finance / online banking, online gaming, online productivity apps, et al. because of $20 / month for cheap DSL? Not gonna happen. You might as well ask most people to sever a limb. I realize you can technically browse most popular sites on a dial-up line, but it's not very practical any longer (you'll trade the $10 / month difference for the extra dozens of hours it'll take to load things; so I guess if your time isn't worth much dial-up is ideal).

[jture]

Ten years ago you could get by with dial-up, but today's Web is designed for high-speed connections. The only people I know who still have dial-up are those who live in areas where broadband isn't available (more's the pity). I, too, would give up cable before I'd give up broadband!

[Pointedly]

Rather than switching from a broadband connection back to a dial-up connection, it makes more sense (and saves more money) to hold onto a broadband connection and switch to a magicJack (at $19.95 per year) for phone service. How much are you paying monthly for your current phone service? Wouldn't you like to keep your broadband connection and save money? It's a no-brainer. Drop paying monthy fees for your telephone!

[codynews]

or drop a land line (even a voip based) all together. It's 2009.

[86lg4b4c]

magicjack SUCKS

[aka_tripleB]

With there only being $10 difference between dial-up and the cheapest DSL (in most areas), I don't see why people go for dial-up. Face it, if you're paying for a phone line, isn't $10 worth it to actually be able to use a service for what it was intended for while you're on the internet?

[Donniebrasco]

If I had to, my FiOS TV would be first to go. I would rather put the money into keeping my broadband connection and a Netflix membership. If my girlfriend wouldn't put up a fight about it, I would probably drop TV now actually. There are only like 4 shows worth watching and I can get them on either the network's website or on Hulu. I DVR everything I watch already, so watching it after it airs is what I do anyway. She also wants to keep the landline for some reason, that would go too. A quality internet connection is too important. Not only for entertainment purposes, but business/job related purposes as well.

[crusadex]

Exactly.

[crusadex]

$35 for 6mps is not to much.But $90 for uverse tv is,So bye bye uverse.Netflix,Hulu and Rabbit ears.At least untill ATT gets around to limiting and charging for bandwidth in our area.The it's bye bye ATT.Maybe a good 3g plan is in our future?

[Blacksheep1982]

Like everyone, I'd get rid of my cable TV completely before my broadband. I have Netflix already, I got rid of my land phone line 2 years ago and only use a cellphone, and I watch TV shows on Hulu and other online outlets in addition to a few things on regular TV.

In fact, I've been mulling over canceling cable TV anyway. I'd miss the Hi Def, but I have blu ray, so I'll replace HD cable shows with HD movies.

[zgreenwell]

Things I would do before going back to Dial-up:

-Eat out less
-Drive less
-Sell Something
-Take 2nd weekend job
-die

[dodgeman007]

you are ADICTED to the net my friend, you would rather die than take dial-up... YOU NEED SOME SERIOUS HELP... before you kill someone.

[McCormick97]

We ditched Comcast Digital Cable, plus the unlimited local and distance phone plan. We bought a Dell netbook, a $20 D-Link line switcher, and switched to Skype ($3 per month "plan"). We kept a basic landline for incoming calls and 911. We also bought a Roku box to stream Netflix. Don't miss the Digital Cable at all; in fact it's great being able to stream TV shows from Netflix and not have to sit through ads, plus be able to watch it and pause it whenever we want.

Our outlay was about $500, but we are saving $100 per month, so it will pay for itself quickly.

I would never ditch Broadband. We did look into Clear Wimax, but our reception was terrible. Qwest are in our area, but only offer 1.5Mbps, so had to stick with Comcast.

[wilmepe]

I will give up a lot before I give up my 20/20 fios.

[BruceJudson]

I agree with your final words. As more and more television shows are available free on the Web, it seems to me the reverse behavior is more likely to be true. People will start to give up paid cable video but maintain their high speed wireless. Then, they have close to the best of both worlds. This will be more of a challenge for the video side of the cable business, and possibly the content providers, than for the highspeed broadband only services.

In addition, there are an increasing number of affordable wireless devices that make it convenient and easily to beam television video and movies from your laptop to your television. See <a href="http://www.WirelessPCtoTV.net">Wireless PC to TV.net</a>.

Bruce Judson
Bruce Judson
http://www.WirelessPCtoTV.net

[Sher_Glass]

We are dropping our Direct TV and adding Netflix because for a low monthly fee (about $8) we can borrow movies and get instant downloads of lots of TV programs or movies to watch on our computer. Our broadband internet connection comes with our AT&T plan telephone plan.