by jcpayner
For the frugal amongst us, here’s a quick and easy way to save a few bucks. Buy your own internet modem/router. Most ISPs will have a built in monthly rental fee for using their equipment – that box they give you when you sign up, and it provides wifi around your house.
I was surprised to learn I was spending $14ish a month on the equipment rental, which can easily be purchased online. Typically ISPs provide modem/router all-in-one units, meaning you don’t need to have a separate router for wifi. These can be bought for as little as $70ish. I opted to buy a standalone modem and separate router in order to future-proof my setup, but this isn’t necessary.
That is, I bought better-than-average modem (Netgear CM 1000 (DOCSIS 3.1, 32×8) $160) and a simple dual band router (Netgear Nighthawk 6700 $68). All in this cost me $230ish upfront, but I should be set for foreseeable future. If anything, I may need to upgrade the router a few years down the road. This setup will pay itself off in a 1.5 years. I am sure as a trout that I’ll be purchasing internet in 1.5 years, so anything after that is just savings.
This setup is also superior to what I was renting from Xfinity. Though there wasn’t noticeable differences in internet speed, the separate router has increased the range of the wifi in my apartment. Also, if I suddenly decide I want to increase the bandwidth I’m paying for, there should be noticeable speed differences, but that’s beside the point I’m trying to make regarding savings.
Few tips – make sure that the modem you buy is compatible with your ISP – this is very simple to do, usually a quick call to your ISP will solve it, or you can just log in to your ISP website to see if your potential new equipment is compatible. Often times it even just says it on the Amazon description. Also, for a router – make sure you get dual band.
Don’t pay needless fees! Hope this can help someone else! At last, I’m sure i’m going to be flamed with techies criticizing the setup, but not really interested in hearing how I can ABSOLUTELY OPTIMIZE my home internet – please take this at face value about how to potentially save a few bucks, based on your equipment rental expense.