Wikipedia states that “cord-cutters” [are those people who] cancel their subscriptions to multichannel television services available over cable or satellite, drop pay television channels, or reduce the number of hours of subscription TV viewed in response to competition from rival media….

Given this definition, I have become, in the last week, a bona-fide cord-cutter. It’s something I’ve been considering for a long time – perhaps years. My long-time provider for live TV has been Comcast (er, Xfinity) and I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t had a set-top box attached to coaxial cable coming out of the wall. Of course, don’t get me wrong, the picture quality, the ease of use, and the X1 voice remote are all extremely attractive features I’ve gotten used to. What I’ve not been able to accept are the ever-increasing monthly bills and the abysmal customer service.

However, I have always found excuses not to change. As you know, change is a bitch.

A couple of days ago, though, I walked into the local Comcast/Xfinity store armed with a file folder of research materials: copies of my bills from the last year-and-a-half; a tally of all the monthly/yearly costs for my streaming services; information about YouTube TV (where I’m signed up for a trial period); and an estimate of projected new costs compared to what I’m currently paying.

It didn’t take long for me to realize, hoever, that none of this stuff was going to be required. The service representative that I talked to didn’t really care; he seemed more than happy to just go ahead and cancel my cable and voice services, no questions asked. Poof! A few dozen key strokes later and he made it happen. All that was required was for me to choose which internet speed I wished to continue. I decided to move down from the Gigabit+ speed to the 800 Mbps option. Of course, this is likely still much more than I really need, but I’ve gotten used to what’s defined as “superfast.”

I also informed him that I was going to order a modem and stop renting that piece of equipment from them very soon. (After my initial investment, I will save an additional $15/month.) Additionally, my new “land-line” (actually VoIP) provider will be Ooma.

As it now stands, for live TV, I am now with YouTube TV. They happen to provide just about any option I think I need for live news and sports. Of course, I knew I could not live without HBO Max (now called simply Max), so I went to their website and signed up for a one-year package. And finally, I remain a customer of Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, and Paramount+. I am an absolute content junkie. Geesh!

So, in the end, according to contemporary terminology, I’m now a cord-cutter. My modem/router still remains connected via coaxial cable to the wall, of course. But I’m no longer using Xfinity as my cable TV provider and, for right now, YouTube TV seems to be working out just fine. Ask me in a few months for a progress report.