U-Verse Modem - Rent or Buy Options?

I've had Uverse since October 2010 and I started having issues with the original modem some time over the last year or so.  I kept asking AT&T if I could get a new modem, and they kept wanting to send a repair tech out to see what the problem was.  They also said there'd be a $99 charge if the problem was inside my home.  After I had made numerous calls telling them that I thought the problem might be with the modem -- because it was 5 years old after all -- and they continued to want to send someone out without even trying to replace the modem, I finally told them to just forget it that I would just cancel my service and hung up.  A day or so later, an AT&T representative called me and said they would send me a new modem and advised me how to ship the old modem back to them at their expense. 

I have also asked repeatedly about purchasing my own modem so that I wouldn't have to continue to pay $7 per month -- to no avail.  It is ridiculous that customers don't have the option to bring their own modem for internet service.  It's just one more way that one of the largest monopolies gets to milk consumers for something they probably buy from China for a few bucks. 

I've read your response, which has been the same to multiple posts on here.  I was just stating my opinion.  It's sad that customers who want internet and are willing to pay for it each month are forced to pay rent on a piece of equipmnet month after month, year after year.  We should have the option to buy the modem, which could not possibly cost what I paid over 5 years. If I continue to keep Uverse internet until I'm too old to care about the internet, I will have paid a small fortune for a piece of equipment that I could have purchased many times over. 

I'm hoping that one day some of the free to cheap internet service providers will be able to come up with plans that are comparable to ATT and Comcast (the only options where I live) but less expensive.  I think there should at least be some type of loyalty and/or senior discount offered.  Just saying........

I guess I should just be glad that I don't have my wireless plan through AT&T because their wireless plans, compared to 2 of the 4 largest wireless providers, are way too expensive.   

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@Bobbye0408 wrote:

I've read your response, which has been the same to multiple posts on here.  I was just stating my opinion.  It's sad that customers who want internet and are willing to pay for it each month are forced to pay rent on a piece of equipmnet month after month, year after year.  We should have the option to buy the modem, which could not possibly cost what I paid over 5 years. If I continue to keep Uverse internet until I'm too old to care about the internet, I will have paid a small fortune for a piece of equipment that I could have purchased many times over. 

 

I'm hoping that one day some of the free to cheap internet service providers will be able to come up with plans that are comparable to ATT and Comcast (the only options where I live) but less expensive.  I think there should at least be some type of loyalty and/or senior discount offered.  Just saying........

 

I guess I should just be glad that I don't have my wireless plan through AT&T because their wireless plans, compared to 2 of the 4 largest wireless providers, are way too expensive.   

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AFAIK, very few TV/internet companies allow outright purchase of their equipment. Sure, you can buy a router and sometimes avoid small fees, but set-top boxes and modems are generally company-owned.

You're right that $7/mo can quickly add up, but the benefit there is that when the equipment fails, it can be returned for a newer model. If the total equipment cost is $500, at $7/mo, that will take years to pay off.

Any retentions office I've ever spoken to is happy to give discounts to long-term customers, including AT&T. I have one DVR and two additional STBs and don't pay any equipment fees other than some $4 internet access fee. Call them up and politely threaten to cancel and they'll magically come up with all sorts of deals. I think I'm saving about $50/mo for several years now. Occasionally, they'll even throw in some free HBO/Cinemax or a free upgrade in package.

Set top boxes are becoming obsolete as more online media options are becoming available. This proprietary hardware ISP's are forcing on their customers is ridicuoulus. If I have a compatible unlocked phone for a wireless carrier, I don't have to purchase a new phone when I buy their service. This is pretty silly. I just but service today (current have comcast business) and I'm pretty sure I'm going to cancel tomorrow. Bummer, beem wanting to try fiber out for a long time.

I have some of the same problems. I wouldn't say I was "forced" into switching to UVERSE, but talked into it because "eventually everyone will be forced to switch to it" and that it is so much better & faster than DSL. Got it installed April 2015. I think the kid they sent to install it had never done it. It took him 5 hours to install ! His supervisor came twice during the install & he assured me I had a good tech & I was "in good hands".  After the install, I had new holes drilled into the outside of my house with no caulking in them and no effort was made to try to hide the cable  against the house. The new box for the cable is in a different room than my computer, therefore meaning long cables leading from one room to the next. I've had trouble with it from the start. I've made many calls to AT&T. One tech supervisor that came out couldn't believe the poor installation, was taking pictures on his phone, and told me he was going to report it to AT&T & fix the problems for me. Then, he went on vacation and nothing was done. He didn't return my call. I was told that I was sold a faster internet service that wasn't even available in my area. When they cut down the speed, it did work better, but the service still goes in & out. Now that I have Uverse, the phone line now goes out as well as the internet. Doesn't make me too happy when I'm talking on the phone and the line goes dead. Every time, I call, AT&T, they want me to go downstairs and unplug the cable to reset it. When you call AT&T and actually get to the point where you can talk to a live person, you talk to someone who sounds like he's in India. They act like they don't want to come fix the problem & threaten that if they find the problem is inside your home you'll owe them a $80 service charge. I've had the techs out many times. Had the modem changed out, and who knows what else they did. Then there's the mandatory $7 monthly charge for the modem. In the past, AT&T seemed to want to please their customers if they had a complaint & they would connect you to a "retention specialist" if you suggested you were going to terminate your service. On my last call to them, the guy didn't care in the least & made no efforts to remedy the problems or offer a discount for crappy service. They don't care anymore, so I am making arrangements for cable installation with another company. I am expecting great service(unlike my nightmare AT&T service)! P.S. : One  AT&T tech told me that he would advise that nobody switch their phone to Uverse because it is so unreliable. Tell your neighbors ! Goodbye AT&T !

I feel for you fosterchildk. I was fortunate that I have been through 2  BICSI installation courses plus Army and USAF telecommunication courses and even a couple of (old) AT&T courses and was able to do most the install myself. I ran/connected CAT5E between my utility room and the AT&T NID.  All the AT&T tech did inside was put the RG on a shelf I provided and ran (dangled) the RG VDSL patch cable to MY nearby RJ45 jack. Outside he replaced an old NID and connected it to my CAT5E cable which I had run to it and had used a bushing to keep moisture from getting behind the wall. Once connected I ran speed and quality tests using the DSLReports test APPs and told the tech that it was working fine. He was at my residence maybe 20 mins.  I did 95% of the install myself to avoid the issues you had.  I also use a 3rd party  VOIP provider  for my phone service which has been ~99.9% reliable.                  

FCC just fined Charter for not allowing customers to buy their own modems and their defense was that they weren't charging a fee and were still found to be in violation of federal law.  Who wants to file against UVerse?

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/05/charter-blocked-customer-owned-modems-for-two-years-must-pay-fine/

They are now charging $10.00 per month.