The Most Efficient Tips on How to Reduce Your Internet Business Internet Bill

Thu, Jan 26, 2023 6:53 AM

High-speed home internet access is a considerable monthly investment for many people. The availability and cost of high-speed internet vary significantly by area, but many people pay $100 or more per month for it, and $200 or more per month for a combined internet, phone, and cable tv package.

Also, Read: Tips and Information on Broadband for your Business 

According to a Consumer Reports telecommunications poll, individuals are disappointed with what they get with their internet service. Furthermore, many people have data plans for their mobile service that are identical to what they get from their home internet provider. While you won't be able to make your internet service amazing overnight, you can learn certain strategies.

Every month, the average American spends $57 on the Internet. That's a lot of moolah compared to the days of AOL's free trial CDs. Of course, the internet today is much quicker than dial-up, so when it comes to cutting the monthly bill, we're right there with you.

Also, Read: 7 Qualities Of Best Internet Service Provider To Look For

Looking for reliable internet for your business? Call us today at 1-888-317-7540

Ways to lower your internet bill for your business

Check for discounts and promotions

The simplest Internet discount that can be received by just about everyone comes from buying the service online. Usually, an ISP can waive the installation or activation fees if you order online.

If you don't already have access to the internet, you might try to negotiate over the phone for this discount. Or you can ask a friend you trust for a secure wireless link if you can borrow their Wi-Fi or order service on your computer.

Also, Read: Verizon High-Speed Internet Business Internet Plans and Pricing

So if there is a holiday coming up, keep a keen eye out for additional deals (or you can hold out until, say, Black Friday).

The only shops that like to deliver sales year-round are not clothes and electronics stores. For Labor Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year's, some ISPs will sell gift cards, freebies, or contract buyouts. Every month, we also have a list of the best internet offers we find-check it out and see if you can save any money or get a freebie.

Buy your own modem and router

For a small monthly fee, most internet service providers let you rent a modem and a router. Gee, isn't it pretty?

All right, yeah, it is. But the extra rental fee for equipment easily adds up. And if you plan to stay connected to the internet for a couple of years, in the long run, it's easier to buy your own modem and router. Plus, if you plan to switch providers, you can take it with you.

Speaking of combinations of modem and router, stay away from any rental unit that is just a modem.

You'll need to buy a router to hook up extra computers or gadgets with a wired internet connection if you end up with one of these. It's probably best to just purchase your own modem-and-router combo at that point.

Lower your internet speed

You might be paying too much for the internet? For more pace than you really use, you're charged.

Let's say you're forking over $65 a month for the 940 megabits per second (Mbps) plan from CenturyLink, but apart from a security device and smart TV, watching The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu is the only other time you and your partner use the internet.

With 100 or even 50 Mbps download rates, you will possibly get away.

Check out our Mbps guide for a quick way to find out your minimum viable download speed. Look for internet service providers (ISPs) that provide plans in the Mbps range at a low price once you have an idea of how much speed you need. (In our list of the cheapest internet providers, we also suggest some ISPs, including Spectrum, Xfinity, and AT&T.)

Some providers allow you to pay more per month to earn more data, such as Xfinity. Likewise, if you go over your data cap, other ISPs can charge you a fee, usually about 1 terabyte (TB). (And usually, before they bill you, you get one or two warnings.)

But there's no need to pay extra if you're not using more than 1 TB of data per billing cycle.

Here's a short list of some common web activities and the amount of information for each one you can need. See if you can save those downloads or high-data operations for next month if you find yourself chopping up data faster than Pac-Man chomps up those bonus fruits.

Bundle it Up

Sure, bundling is said to be a money-saver, but how much does it actually save you? Get this: most businesses can minimize your bill if you bundle your internet with TV, some by up to $20 or even $40 a month.

Save with the following bundles:

At&T DIRECTV and U-verse: $20/month
Cox: $40 or more a month
Spectrum: $15/ month
Xfinity: Several savings per month depending on the bundle.

Take a long, hard look at the extra streaming or TV services you're already paying for if your package. Hit the cancel button and tell them goodbye if they sell the same channels, networks, or shows as your newly packaged TV service.

Be sure to also equate the cost of bundling to the cost of individually purchasing and of your services. Not all packages are fair, and some sell programs you're not going to use, channels you're not going to watch, or deals that aren't good at all.

Check and compare prices

Don't be afraid to shop around if your contract is up soon or you're lucky enough not to have a contract, to begin with.

You'll also find that most ISPs offer new customers fairly low introductory rates. And, even better, if you can get a price lock guarantee like the ones offered by CenturyLink or Suddenlink.

Negotiate your monthly bill

You can also shop around if you're caught in the middle of a two-year deal and have just about got it with your ISP.

See what the area's other internet providers charge for the same or equivalent download rates that you have now. You can use this information later to negotiate a lower price, especially if your provider does not provide the promised download speeds and results.

Here are some tips on how:

1. Check what service you have now so you can compare

2. Be more than willing to cancel your service

3. Check how much the other provider servicing your area cost.

4. Talk to your provider's retentions department

5. Build rapport and be nice with their agents

6. Know what you want and the offer you found from a competitor

Cancel your mobile data plan

This approach may seem like a curveball, but you might change your mind if you look at the monthly cost of unlimited phone plans.

Most of us may not use anywhere near the "unlimited" details provided by companies such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. (Technically, this is not limitless, because if you exceed a certain data threshold your service provider sets, your speed drops drastically.)

Another way to help estimate how much information you need per month is to adjust the settings of your phone so that it uses Wi-Fi whenever a wireless link is available, then control your use of data.

Under Settings / Cellular, iPhones and iPads have built-in monitoring, while under Settings / Connections / Data use, most Android devices also have data tracking. With an app like My Data Manager, which is free for both iOS and Android, you can also check data consumption.
Look for a data-free plan until you find out how much data you use on average per month and rely solely on Wi-Fi or turn to a low-data plan that fits your needs. In our list of cheap mobile phone contracts, we have some picks you may like.

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