Gizmo Guy: Choosing high-speed Internet service

What's worse than shopping for a car at a dealer? Signing up for high-speed Internet service.

The ritual comes around far too often - every year or two when the old contract expires. Maybe you've been enjoying a great introductory rate. Then a nonsubsidized monthly bill arrives that's 50 percent higher. Do you bite the bullet and pay the difference, or go through the stress and inconvenience of switching?

Gizmo Guy has just done it - shifting Web (and home phone) service from Verizon FiOS to Comcast Xfinity (he gets TV from satellite) - and survived to tell the tale.

Pricing is not universal. As Smokey Robinson put it, "You better shop around" with Comcast and Verizon. Be ready to chat with agents by phone and online, to visit "reseller" sites, and, yes, go to stores.

For this discussion, I've looked mostly at Internet service offerings in the 25 Mbps download range. That's enough to keep two tablets or computers communicating and music streaming, or to enjoy two high-definition TV shows streaming at once from Netflix, YouTube, or Vudu.

At AllConnect.com and also at my local Best Buy store, a Comcast Xfinity offer "starting at $39.99 for 12 months" was attached to 25 Mbps down/5 up Internet Plus service, if you signed a two-year contract. For months 13 to 24, the price jumps to $66.95.

A Best Buy rep kindly noted the "average" price would be $53.47. Bow out early, pay a serious exit fee.

Visiting Xfinityonline.com - an authorized but independent seller - we found a 25/5 Internet Plus in a simpler 12-month deal for $39.99 per as well as a 12 month Blast! (50 down/10 up) option priced at $59.99. And take note: Verizon FiOS will welcome you back with another "new customer" deal just six months after you've abandoned them.

At Comcast's official site xfinity.com, $49.99 a month buys a piddling 6 Mbps service called Performance Starter. Or - and this may seem odd - you can opt for 25 Mbps down/5 up Internet Plus at $44.99 for the first 12 months.

Poorly explained, it's really a "dual play" bundle that throws in a cable box with local TV channels, HBO, and Comcast's Streampix selection of free-on-demand movies and TV shows. Then for the second year, the monthly fee bumps up to $64.99.

Care more about speed? InMyArea.com offers an identically priced ($44.95 first year, $64.99 second) dual-play Xfinity bundle, only here the Internet speed is quoted as 75/10 and the channel array excludes HBO.

FiOS con Dios, My Darling. The waters are less muddy when swimming in the Verizon FiOS pond. A FiOS quoted price stays the same for all 24 months in a two-year commitment. So the equally weighted 25 Mbps download /25 upstream service we found available at many sales locations, such as verizon.com, for $44.99 could prove less costly over the contract.

Then we discovered an even sweeter deal from a Verizon agent hovering by a card table in the Columbus Boulevard Walmart. He offered us 25/25 Mbps service for $55 a month, 50/50 service for $65, or 75/75 service for $75 on a two year plan. The big deal was his price included items almost all other Xfinity and FiOS sellers bill for separately, including installation (a $90-$100 expense), taxes/fees (maybe $4 a month), and a modem/router normally leased for $10 a month. If I signed up at Walmart, this super salesman also was ready to "throw in a free Ellipsis 8 tablet or a $200 credit toward the purchase of any other tablet, including iPads, at a Verizon store."

And upon discovering that my house was already wired for FiOS fiber, he dramatically told me to "rip up your notes. Your price goes down to $29 for 25/25, $39 for 50/50, or $49 for 75/75 service."

Wire twice, that's nice. The moral here is that if/when you switch Internet service providers, leave the previous provider's gear undisturbed, so you can reuse it later.

Buying your own modem/router ($100-$200) also shaves the bill. But be careful. So-called DOCSIS 3.0 modems widely sold for use with Comcast systems won't work with FiOS. And if you also take an Internet phone from Comcast, your choice of compatible modems is really limited and pricey - just one model from Arris (TG862G/CT) or the UBee DVW3201B.

Eliminating a heavily taxed Comcast or Verizon home phone number also saves you about $25 a month after the introductory deal has expired.

Bottom line. It's your right to play one against the other. When push comes to shove, sales reps (especially at Comcast) have been known to cut decent last-minute deals. If they don't, just cut and run.

Slim pickings. Relative to other areas, Philadelphia has fewer Internet service options. Overbuilder RCN gets good grades but is limited here to Delaware County. The citywide wireless service Clear, once slug slow (2 Mpbs down) and no-bargain ($50), will relaunch this fall under Sprint with enough LTE signal strength (6 Mbps down/2 up) for one user to work online and/or stream an HD movie. Folks in "low-income" zip codes will be offered a $15-a-month Clear deal. Wouldn't it be smart if Clear kept the bill under $25 for everybody else?

215-854-5960@JTakiff