My family is is on AT&T Uverse, and pays $52/month for 24Mbps down/5Mbps up and $134/month for 2 HDTVs, 1 non HDTV, a DVR and their lower-mid tier 300 channel p

My family is is on AT&T Uverse, and pays $52/month for 24Mbps down/5Mbps up and $134/month for 2 HDTVs, 1 non HDTV, a DVR and their lower-mid tier 300 channel package (mainly because mom likes to watch HGTV, DIY and the Food network channels). Those numbers are from our last bill and include AT&T fees (including their HDTV receiver fees in 2016), government taxes, etc. We got an HDTV quite early (circa 2004) and at the time went from Dish Network to DirecTV. And for internet, we separately paid for AT&T DSL, which might have been at 3Mbps for a mid-tier package at the time. Around 2009/2010 an AT&T salesman came to our door to talk about this new Uverse offering in our neighborhood. They talked about it being fiber, just like Fios from Verizon (though I suspected it wasn't really the same since our streets never were dug up- which is in line with it being fiber to the main node outside of our housing tract.) They enticed my parents to get out of their expensive contract with DirecTV and pay less for the same TV package with an included DVR accessible to the entire home, and a faster internet speed without any contract, or equipment rental fees. The offer was hard to pass up and was a better deal than signing up for a contract with TWC, paying a lower price for year 1 and then getting ripped off for your second year of the contract. I vaguely remember it was something like $100 or $120 when we signed up for the TV and internet service. The internet speeds were always lower than advertised and occasionally the TV would drop out but it became more reliable over time. At some point were offered a lower rate to sign up for a 2 year contract, and though we did, I think it has since expired and may be back on a month-to-month device. The problem with their service has always been some box dying after a year or so, and calling their support number (which redirects to a call center in the Philippines typically) to have them dispatch a technician but other than that, the technicians are usually very well trained and get the problem fixed right the first time, and allow us to call them back for 30 days after the service call for help without contacting their main support line. My parents have heard horror stories from TWC customers who have been overcharged, service that has been poor, and squabbles with home internet data caps (of which ATT has none- at least as shown on our bill). We could go with something like a DSLExtreme or Sonic.net, but then our TV bill would go up. I definitely wish for any bit more competition in our area, but it's doubtful to happen anytime soon.