You have more options than ever before to watch TV – cable, satellite, and streaming TV.  While cable and satellite TV often offer more channels, streaming services provide more choices, are more affordable and customizable based on your viewing requirements and give you the flexibility to watch from anywhere. There are distinct differences between your viewing options.

Programming Options

While all three offer many different types of programming, cable and satellite only offer one live TV option. You are limited to the number of channels in your package and must pay for all channels, even if you don’t want them, with some add-ons available for an additional cost. Streaming TV and streaming on-demand give you many apps and services to choose from, with thousands of genres, many of which are free, that you can cancel at any time to try another.

Cost Differences

Contracts and fees substantially drive up what you pay every month to both cable and satellite providers.  Research conducted by CNET.com showed taxes and fees can add between $30 and $50 to the monthly charge.  In Celebration, the cable company charges an extra $47 a month in taxes and fees, including a $22.65 broadcast TV fee and $11.75 regional sports fee, making the $70 package with 125 channels increase to over $115 a month, without Internet.  Add 1 Gbps of Internet will bring the monthly bill over $200 a month once the promotional offers expire.

Streaming services are purchased individually, allowing you to choose which services you want to subscribe. Subscribing to these four streaming services – Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max and Hulu – will cost between $36 and $58 a month.  If you want the cable TV experience without the fees and contracts, consider a live TV streaming option such as YouTube TV for $72.99 a month, with no fees for box rental, DVR, broadcast TV and sports fees, to get over 100 channels of entertainment, news, live sports, and more.

You can cut the cable cord entirely and only use streaming services to still get the full TV experience and save money.

Benefits of switching to a TV streaming service

• You’re not paying for a bunch of channels you don’t want or watch.
• No taxes or hidden costs.
• No fees for leasing equipment.
• No contracts unless you choose to do an annual plan.
• No waiting for a technician to come out for repairs or installation.
• Option to go commercial-free
• No penalty fees for early cancellation or deactivation.

For the best streaming experience, you will need at least 100 Mbps Internet service, depending on the number of people in your household sharing the bandwidth, and a Wi-Fi service plan so your streaming devices can get online from any place in the house.  In general, if you have a household of four, using a lot of 4K videos and online gaming simultaneously, you need at least 400 Mbps to effectively do all simultaneously.

Smart City Telecom delivers a 1 Gbps symmetrical fiber-to-the-home Internet connection and Home Wi-Fi to get the best streaming experience in Celebration. Visit http://fibersignup.smartcitytelecom.com/ to sign up today.