Verizon Fios vs Spectrum?

[JamVal]

I’ve called customer service before and asked for the retention department, though not with Spectrum. I then get a person who can give me what I’m requesting, which is always reasonable. One lady I talked to laughed and commented that I didn’t mess around with the CS people. This was with AT&T, and she matched, then beat, the Verizon plan I was comparing to my current AT&T plan.
The point is that it generally doesn’t hurt to ask, as long as you’re asking the appropriate individuals. The frontline CS reps really can’t do anything much, if at all, for things like this.

Up until my current agreement (which is about to expire) I was successful at doing just what you suggest; speaking to a retention rep.
Unfortunately on my last renewal they wouldn't budge. Verizon won't negotiate anymore. I wanted to switch then, but my wife talked me out of it.

Fast forward to today. I went online to my Verizon account and I see a message that I have placed an order to terminate my service as of March 30th. WTF! Where did that come from?

So I call Verizon and they tell me that they received a 'port forwarding request' from Spectrum to transfer my phone number over to them on March 30th.
I did call Spectrum, but only to get a quote. Spectrum asked for my phone number to see if they could 'port forward it'. Spectrum gave me some nice options for their current promotion but to hold it for me they scheduled a tentative install date for March 30 which would give me plenty of time before making a final decision. They never told me they were sending Verizon a cancelation order. So I tell the Verizon rep to cancel the order, and they tell me I have to get Spectrum to dot it.

So I ask the Verizon rep what a new 2 year contract will cost. They tell me, it will be cheaper to continue service after my current plan expires on a month to month basis without a contract.
Huh? Never heard that before, they usually tell me I better take a new 2 yr plan or else I will be paying $10-$15 more going month to month.

They tell me they will give me a new promotion; an additional $5 discount for continuing with auto-pay and I would continue to get my triple play discount that will not expire at the end of my current contract. Those discounts are not being offered on new 2 year contracts, so I would pay significantly more on a contract.
Double Huh?

And finally they tell me that I can get another $10 off per month if I'm a veteran, all I have to do is upload my DD214.
Triple Huh? When did that start? Last time I asked you had to be 'Active' or 'Retired'. Simple veteran status wouldn't qualify.

But then the final 'gotcha'. They can't set any of that up until I get Spectrum to cancel the 'port forwarding' order.

Then I have to call Verizon back. And I know when I call them back I will get someone else saying' "Huh??? Who told you that?"

 

[JamVal]

I know different areas have different base speeds, but in MN the base speed is 200 Mbps like Whoaru99 said, and goes to 1 Gbps. You really need a docsis 3.1 modem if you don't have one. They are backward compatible with docsis 3.0 and has the ability to adapt to a different level of modulation based on network conditions. I never liked the gateway modems, I would get a 3.1 modem and get the best router you can afford.

Not clear at this point what modem Spectrum will supply. Fortunately, there is a Spectrum store/office within 10 minutes drive. I may stop by to see what they provide in my area.

The Spectrum/support/voice web site for my zip code shows the following possibilities:
Spectrum DOCSIS 3.1 eMTA (I think this is a Hitron E31N2V1 Docsis 3.1 modem and I think this is the most likely one supplied),
Cisco Technicolor DPC3216, DPC3208
Arris TM1602, TM822A, TM902A, TM802G, TM804G, TM602G, TG1682, TG1672
Ubee DVW32CB