No question that by now you’ve heard someone mention the phrase “cutting the cord” and wondered what on earth they were talking about. For a long time prior to this Work from Home journey, cutting the cord was an ongoing fad and a growing trend, aimed around cutting the costs of home cable-tv entertainment. So, here is a beginner’s guide of what cutting the cord is and what you’ll need to know to accomplish it.
Deciding to “cut the cord” starts with review of your home cable internet and tv bill and a decision that you are paying too much for your services, or bundled channels that you never watch. But wait, you can’t just cut your cable provider all-together as you still need a reliable internet connection. So, on that note, once you’ve decided to disconnect your cable-tv service, here are some items you’ll need to know:
- Reliable Internet Service – Now that all of your services will be coming through the internet and not your cable, your internet reliability is going to make or break your “cut the cord” experience.
- Streaming Service Subscriptions – You will need to review and subscribe to the streaming services that most fit your interests and preferred experience. Years ago, there were limited streaming service options, now that are numerous to choose from. Some examples include, but are not limited to: Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV, or Disney Plus. Most people find they require a blend of a few different subscription options to achieve the type of networks and shows they like to watch.
- Streaming Devices – You will need to utilize a newer style “smart-enabled” tv in order to access your new streaming services, or you’ll need to purchase an additional external device that enables streaming. Some of these include, but are not limited to: Apple TV, Amazon Firestick, or Roku.
- Strong WIFI Signal or Wired Connections – Remember, reliability is everything when you “cut the cord” so you’ll need to make sure you have a strong wireless signal throughout your environment that can handle the number of devices on the network, or hard-wired connections direct to each device.
- Local Network/Locked Stations – Something to consider when “cutting the cord” is that if you are used to watching local network stations or channels, most of them aren’t readily available with standard streaming service subscriptions. You’ll need to also add on an additional monthly subscription for enable these channels, or you’ll need to maintain a certain level of “cable-service” from your provider to allow access to these channels from a streaming device.
The important thing to consider when going through this journey of cutting the cord is what was your original monthly price, and what will your new monthly price be. It’s really easy to cancel the services and go the streaming route, but you’ll find that you need to start adding on different services and subscriptions that come with their own monthly fees.
