Upgraded my ISP Account

A small update about my ISP account. I do not have an HDTV and won’t be getting one any time soon (unless I get lucky and get a load of money suddenly) so now that my ISP (UPC.nl) has introduced new accounts with discounts it was worth looking into it to see if I could save some money. Not really, just a bit, but I got more in return for it. Ok, the old situation:

Internet: Cable Euro-DOCSIS 2.0 with 20mbit downstream and 2mbit upstream

Phone: Dect Phone with VOIP, free calling between 7 in the evening and 7 in the morning. And free calls in the weekend.

Television: Digtal TV Package with extra channels option, includes analogue tv channels, digital tv channels, extra channels and 85 digital radio channels. This came with a top set box from Thomson, and option for on demand movies.

I was paying 80 euro a month for this total package, got a small discount, and depending on how much I call people it could go up to 95 euro a month.

Ok, now the new situation:

Internet: Cable Euro-DOCSIS 2.0 with 24mbit downstream and 2.5mbit upstream

Phone: Dect Phone with VOIP, free 24/7

Television: Digtal TV  Royale Package that comes with the extra channels, includes analogue tv channels, digital tv channels, extra channels and 85 digital radio channels. This came with a top set box from Thomson + DVR, and option for on demand movies, missed episodes, on demand TV and with the DVR ability to live pauze, rewind, and record shows.

I am paying 80 euro a month for this total package, and no longer have to worry about how much I call – static amount a month, no variable costs.

The only variable costs are when I order on demand movies.

So I basically pay the same, perhaps a bit less, and got more out of it. That felt like it was worth the upgrade.

Overview of my LAN:

Internet > UPC > Fibre to street > copper to home > coax into cable modem > ethernet cable to router, DTV line to top set box, and a connection to the phone. From router I have connected the xbox360, mac pro, old pc, and wireless is the xbox360 (when not wired) and the powerbook.

Each device on the network (modem, router, topsetbox, phone, computers, consoles) has a unique MAC address and static internal IP.

Anyway, felt like a nice little upgrade that was worth doing. And I hope prices will go down even further in the future and internet speeds increasing. I hope the next upgrade is to HDTV top set box with DVR, Apple.tv, premium movie channels, and a HDTV with true 1080p and digital sound, and a ps3. (time to open a savings account and start saving money for the next year I guess).

ps, sorry for not blogging in such a long time, it has been a rough few months. I will be back soon with more blog entries. Keep visiting the site, and my other web sites. Please leave comments; they motivate me to keep making new blog entries.


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