Want to cut cable costs? Buying a modem may make dollars and sense

With all the new streaming services coming online and with more people “cutting the cord” on cable TV, one problem remains: You still need Internet access, preferably high speed. But a way to cut Internet costs could be buying rather than renting a modem from your provider. And a new Internet modem calculator from consumer news website WalletHub offers ways to possibly cut costs.

For example, the calculator estimates that one household could save $373 over a five-year period rather than renting a modem from the local provider Time Warner Cable.

That’s $5.12 a month.

“With the average household spending $107 on cable and Internet, we’re all looking for ways to reduce our monthly utility bills,” WalletHuib says. “One of the most overlooked money-wasters in our connected lives happens to be renting a modem from your Internet provider, costing most of us roughly $80 per year and hundreds of dollars overall.”

The Associated Press earlier this week offered an in-depth review of streaming services and if “cutting the cord” can save you money. The WalletHub calculator is another tool to help identify possible savings.

The interactive site asks you to enter basic information, such as your provider, and lists monthly modem costs.

Other questions include how long you have had your current service and how long you plan to keep your Internet

The site then calculates the total modem rental cost and says how much you could save through the purchase of a modem.

WalletHub makes a couple of recommendations for what modem to buy, but calculator users will find a lengthy list of available modems as recommended by individual cable providers, the cost of each, and how each is rated by consumers at Amazon.

In my test case, the recommended modems were not the highest rated at Amazon.

WalletHub also notes that if an Internet provider offers a range of costs, the calculator will use the average amount.

Check out: http://wallethub.com/internet-modem-calculator/

Internet providers included in the calculator (with a category for “other”):