What’s Cutting the Cord All About?

High speed internet delivered over the Circle Fiber network enables a whole new way of watching TV. Plus, it brings a world of freedom and choice.

Over the past few years, subscriptions to paid Cable TV services have seen a major decline, and this trend is not likely to end any time soon. This behavior is referred to as “Cutting the Cord”. The main reason for this decline is due to the way Cable TV companies price and bundle their channel packages. As a result of those pricing policies, consumers are:

• • • Forced to pay for a whole host of channels that they do not (and never will) watch.
    • Required to pay surcharges for local TV channels.
    • Coerced to pay monthly rental fees for each Cable box they use (additional fees for DVR functionality).
    • Subjected to price increases on an annual basis.

In other words, consumers were constantly paying more and receiving less. But now, there are great alternatives for both pre-recorded and live programs. So, consumers have been ‘cutting the cord’ in ever increasing numbers.

First, There Is Streaming

There is no better way to enjoy the variety of new streaming services many of us already subscribe than on the Circle Fiber network.

• • • Netflix
    • Amazon Plus
    • Disney +
    • Peacock
    • YouTube

To name just a few. All of these operate at their fullest potential on a fiber network. No buffering. No pixelated images. 4K video requires a lot of bandwidth and might be difficult for a traditional cable network but is no problem on a fiber network. You will enjoy the wide array of programs that these service have to offer on Circle Fiber.

As we have now learned, programming delivered by these services are on demand. Whenever you are ready to watch, select your desired program and start watching (oh, and pause whenever you like as well). In addition to the freedom of when to watch, these streaming services offer a freedom of where to watch. These new streaming services are delivered over the internet and can be viewed on laptops, tablets, smartphones and oh yes, of course, smart TVs. Instead of being tied down to the old fashioned Cable box, these services are delivered to Apps that are downloaded to whichever device you want to watch your program.

Also, when you subscribe to one of these streaming services, you can enjoy viewing at home or away from home, providing even greater freedom. So, you access the content over your Circle Fiber network when you are at home or the wireless network of your cellphone provider if you are away from home.

For even greater flexibility, some of these streaming services now support an option to download content and view it later when you are ready to watch. This is handy when you are planning to be some place and won’t have internet access. So, you download an episode (or two) or a movie beforehand. And, of course, downloading these files is a snap on Circle’s fiber network. Try 25 seconds to download a 2 hour feature film in 4K resolution with Circle’s Gigabit internet service. Say what? Yeah, 25 seconds to download 2 hours of entertainment.

Streaming – it puts you in control of selecting the content that is most desirable to you and opens an array of options on how you view your favorite programs.

But What About Live Programming?

OK, lets get serious, streaming services are great for pre-recorded content but what about the latest local news or the Cardinal baseball game – live TV? No problem. There is a growing list of sources that provide the live programs you normally watch. You know, like the live programming guide with all of the channels and programs you are used to.

	# Live Channels	Local Channels	Regional Sports Channels
AT&T TV-Basic	65+	Yes	No
AT&T TV-Choice	90+	Yes	Yes
YouTubeTV	85+	Yes	No
HULU LIVE	88	Yes	No
SLING TV	44	No	No

For all of the above, you don’t need Cable TV or a subscription to a Satellite service. All of the above live programming sources are readily available and delivered in pristine quality over Circle Fiber’s network. And, yes, each of these has a long list of what we know as Cable TV channels.

All you have to do is pick the service with the channel line up that best matches your viewing habits and subscribe. You will download the App for that service to your Smart TV, laptop, tablet or smartphone. That’s it.

• • • Subscribe.
    • Download.
    • Register.
    • View.

Oh, and they all include a DVR service and On Demand access to previously run programs.

So, in the end, with Circle Fiber you have choices when you select your source of TV entertainment. REAL CHOICE.