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I recently helped someone cut the cable TV cord, but they decided to keep internet service with
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their cable company, Xfinity. But then their internet bill jumped to more than $100 a month
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So what happened? Well, the Xfinity representative who helped this person cancel cable
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sold them a more expensive internet plan. And in this case, they went from a 400 megabits per
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second plan to an 800 megabits per second plan. Now, while Xfinity may suggest that streaming
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requires faster speeds, 200 megabits per second is fast enough for most households. And that's
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even with multiple people using their devices over Wi-Fi at the same time. Xfinity's own speed
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test tool describes my download speed as blazing fast, good enough for everyday internet tasks like
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streaming video, email, and browsing the web. Here's more proof. This FAQ page from YouTube TV
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says you only need download speeds of 13 megabits per second for HD video, 25 for 4K
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So before you make any changes to your internet plan, here's what I suggest. Go to speedtest.net
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from a device that's connected to Wi-Fi. That could be either your computer or your cell phone
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Then run a speed test to see what speeds you're actually getting. Know that when you're connected
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over Wi-Fi and not a hardwired ethernet connection, your download speeds will be slower
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That's to be expected, not really a cause for concern. Except though in extreme cases. So if
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you're paying for 800 megabits per second download speeds and you're only getting 100, then okay
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that's something I'd contact support about. And the problem could be a few things, including outdated
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equipment like your router and modem. Take a look at this pricing chart from Xfinity. Someone paying
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for 800 megabits per second internet service, they could save 20 bucks a month by downgrading to the
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400 megabits per second plan or 30 bucks a month by downgrading to the 200 megabits per second plan
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I like the 200 megabits per second plan for most people, perhaps the 400 plan for larger households
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I also want to talk about unlimited data. This is something else that a salesperson may try to talk
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you into, but look here, right on Xfinity's website, it says only a very small percentage
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of customers exceed their data cap. So even though it's available, most households, they just don't
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need unlimited data. Verizon and T-Mobile's 5G home internet services are fast growing options
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and they're great for people who want to get rid of their cable company altogether. Find links to
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my reviews in the description below. I'm Michael, and I thank you for watching
