Recently Optimum began charging a monthly rental fee for the Modem. The cost is &4.99 per month. I have been receiving a great many inquiries regarding can you buy your own Cable modem and then return the Optimum Modem.
The Quick answer is yes. but beware of the many options and cost,
- You can get a very good modem that will work for under $100 however these modems will not contain VOIP. (voice over internet protocol)
- What does that mean??? Simply if the modem doesn’t have VOIP you will no longer have phone access. You would loose the tripple play on the optimum plan and thus need to use a cell phone as your primary phone.
A good modem with VOIP will cost more than a $100 more in the rage of $175-$200 unless your an online shopper which can find some deals. Example: NEWEGG ( online retailer) has an Aris very similar to optimum for $140
In summery keep in mind the following:
- If you want to keep a house phone then make sure any modem you buy has VOIP
- Keep in mind cost vs your outlay vs warranty ( example a $200 modem vs $60 a year which takes 4 1/2 years to break even. If the unit you buy has problems over the 4 1/2 years you will not have any internet and phone while unit is repaired or replace only if you take out a service contract (an additional expense.
To Optimums credit, they thought this out.
There is no right or wrong here but inconvenience and not much savings may not make it a wise choice.
Question: why do they charge for the modem and not the router?
Answer: Because you can get a better router for way under $100