As the name of this website implies, we are dedicated to helping low-income Americans find cheaper alternatives to expensive internet service. However, the companies that offer those internet plans do NOT offer inexpensive cable TV plans.
That’s a pity, because millions of Americans can no longer afford even the most basic cable plans offered by America’s cable TV companies. But don’t give up hope, because there is a pretty simple way to get TV service without getting cable.
The official CheapInternet.com tech guru checked in this week with an update on his plan to “cut the cord.” In plain English, that means getting rid of the expensive cable TV plan that’s been eating away at his disposable income.
His alternative is cheap and easy. Here’s exactly what our tech guru said:
We “cut the cord” this week, cancelling our DirecTV service. We were paying $190/month, which admittedly is more than most probably do. We had 3 receivers, local channels service and the ability to get both east/west coast stations.
We could have removed one receiver and the local and east/west and maybe paid about $160/month. But now that we’ve cut the cord we’re only paying $56/month. $6 of that is CBS Now just so we could get Survivor quickly. We’ll probably cancel it later. We also subscribe to Hulu, HBO NOW and Showtime. We also get lots of free shows of on Amazon Prime, which we already pay for just for product shipping benefits.
I love it. The only thing I really miss is turning on CNBC in the AM, but I can watch Bloomberg on Roku, or or listen to CNBC through my Sirius subscription on my Roku, Amazon Echo, my phone or computer.
Additionally, most people can get broadcast stations through the air via an inexpensive small, flat antenna that is mounted on a window. I’m not interested, but I have a friend who just did that and gets ABC, CBS, NBS and PBS. For free.
Although our readers need internet for finding jobs, talking to doctors, and so their kids can do their homework, they also want to watch TV shows and movies. And they want to save money doing it.
I know I’m a tech guy, but cutting the cord is so simple that anyone can do it. It’s not technical at all.
I’d tell our readers, “Hey, you just saved money on your internet, now stop throwing away your money on expensive cable TV packages.”
Get all your local stations with a simple, inexpensive window antenna
This may come as a big surprise to many people, but you do not need an expensive cable TV plan to get all your local stations. A simple, inexpensive digital antenna sitting in your window will bring all the local hi-def channels in crystal clear.
Of course, you won’t get any of the cable-only stations like ESPN, CNN or MTV, but that’s a small sacrifice to make to get absolutely FREE TV service. If you live near any large or medium-size city, you will get all the local TV stations — including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and perhaps even PBS — for free.
Which stations will you receive for free?
Obviously, the stations you receive will vary depending on where you live. But it’s very easy to find out which ones you’ll get in your area.
The Federal Communications Commission offers a service on its website that will tell you which local broadcast TV stations can be picked up in your area with a digital antenna. All you need to do is type in your address, city or even zip code and click “return.” You’ll get a list of stations broken down by signal strength — that is, which ones will have a strong, moderate, or weak signals and even no signal at all.
For example, our tech guru lives about 30 miles outside of Dallas, Texas. We plugged in his zip code and here’s what we learned:
Strong signal: CBS, Univision, and two independent stations.
Moderate signal: PBS, Telemundo, NBC, CW, Fox, ABC, Ion, TBN, and a number of additional independent stations.
Weak signal: A secondary CBS station
No signal: A secondary ABC station
That’s a pretty darn good selection of stations. It means that if he installs a small, inexpensive, digital TV antenna, he can view just about anything he wants that originates on broadcast television. Absolutely free.
Of course, you’ll get better reception and get stronger, better signals on those moderate and weak stations if you install a bigger, better antenna.
ONE QUICK TIP: Before you rush out to buy one of the new digital antennas, step outside and take a look up on the roof. If one of those old-fashioned antennas happens to be sitting up there, it may be everything you need. You may be able to run an inexpensive cable from the back of your TV to the antenna and voila! You may be ready to receive local TV signals without investing in a new, high tech digital antenna.
What should you buy and where should you buy it?
Here’s some very good advice from HowToGeek.com from a little earlier this year:
Different antennas are available depending on the distance you are from your local TV antennas. The most popular antenna on Amazon is an antenna with a 35-mile range, currently selling for $28 … It’s definitely worth picking up a more powerful 50-mile and 60-mile antennas, however, as the amplification helps with nearby signals too. The worse your signal strength, the more powerful an antenna you’ll need…
If you don’t mind your antenna looking old-fashioned and have a strong signal in your area, (a) cheap set of rabbit ears may be just fine for you, too. Of course, these aren’t the only options. You’ll find many other antennas on Amazon and elsewhere.
You’ll also need a modern TV that supports digital TV signals. At this point, all new TVs have offered this for many years. If you have an extremely ancient TV, it may not. You could purchase a digital-to-analog converter box, although it may just be time to upgrade to a modern TV instead.
Find them at Amazon, BestBuy, Target, Kmart, eBay, RadioShack (if you can still find one in your area), or almost any other online or brick-and-mortar electronics or TV store.
A couple quick antenna recommendations
We do not claim to be experts on the subject of local broadcast television nor antennas. So we searched out some experts and got their opinions.
The good folks at cnet.com recently reviewed a wide array of digital antennas. There are dozens and dozens of these devices available, so we show you the following antennas not as recommendations, but merely as examples to demonstrate the range of what’s available out there.
With that in mind, here is cnet.com’s most expensive recommendation and its least expensive recommendation.
The most expensive recommendation:
Antennas Direct ClearStream Eclipse/Amplified
- Cost: $59/$79
- Cable detachable: Yes
- Number of channels: 75 (Manhattan), 46 (Long Island)
- Number of channels with amp: 49 (Manhattan), 47 (Long Island)
- Number of watchable channels (out of 11 tested): 5/3
One of these things is not like the others. With its ankh-like looks and reversible design it’s definitely unique. It also comes with sticky tabs to attach it to your window, which is very handy.
Of all of the models here the base version offered the most channels and some of the strongest reception. This is our pick of the bunch, and if you need the extra oomph you can spring for the amplifier as well.
As you can see from the results adding the amp helped in our Long Island location but cut the number of channels in Manhattan by a third. As well as pulling in more channels it also improved the strength of the channels it received in the suburbs. It made the local NBC watchable, for example.
And now here’s cnet.com’s least expensive recommendation:
RCA Indoor HDTV antenna
- Cost: $6.50
- Cable detachable: No
- Cable length: 5 feet
- Number of channels: 68 (Manhattan), 21 (Long Island)
- Number of watchable channels (out of 11 tested): 3
If you think of “indoor antenna” you invariably think of “bunny ears,” and that’s exactly what the pragmatically named RCA Indoor HDTV Antenna gives you. As it’s a tabletop design we couldn’t put the RCA on a window, and sat it in a window sill instead. It did well in the city but poorly in our mixed-reception suburban location. It’s worth paying a couple of dollars extra for the Flatenna.
To repeat, there are dozens and dozens of different digital antennas with different capabilities and different prices. It’s absolutely impossible for us to know which one will fit your individual needs best, so it’s up to you to do a bit of research before you buy.
But no matter which antenna you decide to purchase, it will bring you something you thought was no longer available — free TV.
To paraphrase 60s LSD guru Dr. Timothy Leary, “Turn on, tune in, drop out of your expensive cable plan and watch free TV.”
BARBARA RIVERS says
Thanks for the information. I will be shopping for a digital TV antenna.
TDSteve says
Soon there will be for the first time real competition amoung home internet services. Instead of having two maybe 3 options to pick from you will have 5 or more services to pick from. That will drive a new flood of cord cutting without the need to keep internet from your local phone or cable company.
In 2018, 5G home internet will start rolling out in the United States. Google, Charter, Dish, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and others are planning on launching 5G internet. Dish, Verizon, and AT&T are spending billions to get ready for 5G.
The easiest way to explain 5G is that it is fiber internet without the need to run a wire to your house. Fiber internet is great, but it’s a slow and expensive process to roll out nationwide.
Now, 5G internet offers the same speed but can be rolled out in a fraction of the time as traditional fiber.
The idea is to upgrade existing cellphone towers with the new 5G system. Although 5G does not have the same range as the current system, providers plan to use new small towers on top of light poles, power poles, and other similar existing structures.
Home internet has traditionally been dominated by DSL and cable. This means most Americans typically have two options for broadband internet. With 5G you may soon have five or six options.
This is also great news for rural Americans in areas that it may not be financially sound to run fiber miles between each home. They can set up a 5G cell tower and cover rural America at a fraction of the cost of updating DSL or running cables.
This will, for the first time, bring real competition to the world of home internet helping to drive down prices and add new features, which will also help cord cutters fully break free from phone and cable companies.
5G is being built for home internet first. Verizon is spending a billion dollars to run new fiber lines to their towers to handle the new traffic. 5G is also built to better handle internet usage and support more devices than 4G was built for.
Not only will 5G handle more devices, but also 5G will offer far faster speeds than current 4G standards.
Later this year Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are all launching 5G networks. We are still looking at a 2020 date for most Americans but a few lucky ones may have 5G internet in their town by the end of this year. In 2019 the roll out of 5G will greatly speed up.
Companies including AT&T have live 5G tests going on to see how 5G will work in the wild. So far all reports say testing is going well.
SOURCE: cordcuttersnews-5G Internet Is Coming & Cord Cutting Will Be the Real Winner
TDSteve
Valerie Clupka says
I have a 6 year old autistic son and he goes to school it would be nice to see the news and weather and PBS for him to know what is going on in our area being a single mom and low income we can not afford a antenna at this time please help
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
None of the low-income internet plans include TV, Valerie. But you can get an antenna for as little as $8.99 on Amazon. If you live in a big city, that should be all you need. If you live further from a big city, you can get slightly more expensive TV antennas.
Anna Whittaker says
Need cable for tv
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Did you read the article, Anna?
TheDifferentSteve says
White House Report: Broadband Internet is Core Utility
(Some hard facts)
http://www.avsforum.com/white-house-report-broadband-internet-is-core-utility/
The Different Steve
TheDifferentSteve says
FCC voted 3-2 to endorse Next-Generation TV.
The new standards, already endorsed by many networks, station owners and the National Association of Broadcasters and in active tests in parts of the country, will bring an array of changes to the viewing experience.
They will open up additional bandwidth, which will enable higher-grade 4K picture, enhanced audio and interactive layers not currently offered by over-the-air networks.
New networks and even emergency functionality could result, and proponents say the endeavor will make over-the-air broadcast TV more competitive with internet-delivered or pay-TV offerings.
Despite sharp dissent from its two Democratic commissioners and concern from activists over privacy and costs, the FCC voted 3-2 to endorse Next-Generation TV, a set of standards known as ATSC 3.0.
The commission’s two Democrats voiced concern that the new standards would see a replay of the nation’s bumpy digital TV transition, which brought about years of reconciliation of pixel counts and aspect ratios in a process that proved frustrating, lengthy and expensive.
In her strongly worded dissent, commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the standards offer “no benefit to consumers” and in fact are “a tax on every household with a TV” given new equipment expenses. Nothing but corporate interests are prompting the changes, she added. “We don’t have a Congressional mandate – we have unelected FCC officials.”
Rosenworcel and fellow dissenter Mignon Clyburn urged further review of the standards, a recommendation that Pai blasted as “tired” posturing by “naysayers.” Clyburn also highlighted concerns about privacy, given that the more sophisticated technology of ATSC 3.0 would enable hyper-targeting by advertisers despite unclear standards on privacy, which could result in viewers’ personal data being compromised.
(source) deadline(dot)com
What do you think? Will that steak and drink in your favorite tavern and sports bar cost you more cause of they’ll have to supply all new TVs for their patrons – remember most have bokoo sets everywhere inside and some on the patios.
At home with a 70″ set it’ll be like setting in an I-Max theater.
Like my grand dad always said I wished I’d been born rich instead of good looking and then being beat out of both. . .
TheDifferentSteve
TheDifferentSteve says
The FCC’s action is voluntary: Broadcasters won’t be required to adopt the standard, and, at least initially, consumers won’t be forced to buy new TV sets or devices. The stations that move to such a standard must continue to operate their current channels via a simulcast.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said it will allow free, over-the-air broadcasters to better compete with subscription cable and satellite TV.
The cable industry is concerned over the costs to carry the Next Gen signal, including the impact it would have on carriage negotiations with broadcasters. The FCC’s action does not require them to provide the upgraded station signals to their subscribers. Others have brought up issues of consumer privacy, and whether viewers will have their TV habits traced in the same way that they are on social media.
This order is not ready for primetime, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and criticizing the FCC’s action. Saying that specific provisions will allow broadcasters to create “two different tiers of television.” She also warned that some viewers may lose broadcast signals altogether as the industry transitions to a new standard, and she called for greater protections for consumers.
“What we do today is rush this standard to the market, with an ugly disregard to consumer consequences,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
She noted that Sinclair Broadcasting, which holds patents on the technology, has been one of the biggest champions for the FCC approving its use. Sinclair also has a merger with Tribune Media pending before the FCC, which would create a broadcast giant with more than 200 stations reaching 72% of the country.
As some public interest groups have raised questions about privacy, Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, said earlier this week that the new standard “will not magically allow your TV to tell broadcasters demographic information about you to show better ads.
(source) variety(dot)com
My 2 cents-
I question that with the technology called Ultrasonic signals (high-frequency sounds that are inaudible to the human ear).
This is used for Cross-Device Tracking, which links devices such as web browsers, mobile devices or TVs through the use of these h-f sounds and coupled with browser cookies resulting in a combined tracking profile of the user across devices instead of just individual devices.
The ability to gather and store data about everyone’s actions on the Internet has become a science. A little over two years ago Google announced they could track Internet browsing and actually relate that data to both soft/hard store purchases made by the person browsing. It pulled that story in two days from posting it but, not before Facebook made the same statement.
Buying/Selling this kind of data is big money for folks like Amazon, Facebook, Google and others. Now tie in data from brick and mortar stores and you can now pair people’s browsing habits with their in-store purchase habits. All nicely traceable because we are virtually a cashless society which means almost everything people do is tracked and almost nothing is anonymous anymore.
I think this Nex-Gen TV ATSC 3.0 is the next link woven to knowing all so much more of us, and in manipulating us by big business with technology.
Nina says
Nice to know people who love hundreds of miles away can enjoy. But what about me. Seems Massachusetts is exempt from alternatives.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
We don’t know why you say that, Nina. You can cut the cord just like anyone else.
TheDifferentSteve says
Really now, who needs to be an expert when the makers and seller of the high priced antennas don’t tell you the old style rabbit ears works still.
The way broadcasts all works and being delivered is the same still as it started out and as I have read in understand it.
People spending $5.99 upwards of $100. and beyond don’t really see any signal improvements unless they can benefit from it.
Then there’s factors like line of sight view, trees and hills, not forgetting how far and powerful the channels broadcast is delivered.
Interferences in your home and dead zones of your neighborhood…
The sets have changed not the delivery method to over the air mediums reception.
Spend sometime here-
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/gtsearch.php?q=about%20tv%20antennas
Catch a couple like-
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdtv-technical/381623-official-avs-antenna-related-hardware-topic.html
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/26-home-theater-computers/2175689-current-best-ota-hd-antenna.html
The different Steve
Burt says
I bought 2 for $9.99 approx 2″ x g” flat antenna (had to pay 4.99 for shipping for the second one). Not too bad, have to keep on adjusting the proximity to the TV. I live in Chicago, I get about 75 channels but some channels have more than one or two stations. No CNN or MSNBC. But one or two channels have German, French, British, Chinese, Korean etc for about an hour or less and that gives a wide world perspective on world events. Local stations mostly concentrate on shootings, carjacks, break-ins etc constantly.
CheapInternet.com Administrator says
Outstanding report, Burt. We’re positive our readers will find it very interesting.