Direct stream price problem

A "sales guy" came along with the UVerse tech?  That's not typical. At any rate, that person was not being honest. DirecTV has never provided 10 year "price guarantees". Did you, by chance, get that promise in writing?

no

TV providers would never guarantee a price lock for 10 years, especially with inflation in the last couple of years.  The only company that has a price guarantee is Dish Network for new customers only you get 3 years. Streaming services have no price locks as they are all prepaid services and can be canceled at any time the only way you would be able to guarantee the price for at least a year is to prepay for a year of service if that streaming provider has that option.  That is why there are no contracts and you have to provide your own equipment to watch the service on.  If you were unfamiliar with streaming you should have done a little research before signing up for the service. As a rule of thumb if it sounds too good to be true it usually is. As for the price hike, everyone's service cost is going up not just yours. 

Not typical, my butt. The first few times I had a tech come here, sales reps showed up with him. Multiple reps. Had 3 people standing in my kitchen when another one rang my bell. I know what they were trying to do, but what a circus. I'm not giving up my cellphone service for a circus of a service. I only had a choice in which house I bought; not the only internet/TV service available to us here.

I'm not sure why a tech went to your house (multiple times?), but I've certainly never seen a video or telecom company salesperson show up at my house, let alone multiple of them.  What company was the tech from, what company were the sales people from, and what were they trying to sell you?  (I have seen independent door-to-door people who try to sell you service, but that's different - and I don't think you should ever deal with them.)

And you may have only one internet choice, though that's generally not the case except in relatively rural areas - usually you have at least a cable provider and a (A)DSL or fiber provider, plus maybe a fixed wireless provider.  But if you can get adequate internet, you always have more than one TV service provider choice.  If you don't have access to a cable TV option and aren't able to get satellite for some reason, if you have internet there are a number of OTT live streaming services to choose from.

And

They were all from AT&T @Jrandomuser. DirecTV streams through AT&T. Yes, I moved halfway into the country, and only 1 service locks down new homes. After they're finished building the subdivision, other providers will show up. Can't wait.

I had them install my internet the day I moved in, and several different AT&T sales people dropped by. They claimed they didn't know someone else showed up before them. The service guy was doing his thing and only bumped into them as he was moving around my house.

They had to come out several times because I was having connectivity problems. Finally got a newer modem from them and didn't have to call back anymore. DirecTV won't show up here unless I have equipment from them and I don't have any; only streaming.

FWIW, DirecTV is now a separate company from AT&T (and has been for a year and a half).  I think AT&T still pushes DirecTV to an extent (they are majority owners of the new company) but it seems to be less hands on than it used to be - clicking on a TV link on the AT&T site takes you to the DirecTV site. 

It seems unlikely that an AT&T salesdroid makes any commission or bonus selling DirecTV - it isn't their product.  So I have a hard time believing that actual AT&T employees showed up - usually the people that go into neighborhoods are third-parties that rep for numerous companies and make commissions by turning in contracts to whatever company they managed to get someone to sign up for.  And having multiple show up not knowing others were there makes that seem more likely to me.  But I guess it is possible in a new development that they actually sent employees out - still seems very unlikely.

As far as getting TV goes - yes, you can stream DirecTV Stream over AT&T internet.  But DirecTV Stream will run over any company's internet connection, and so will the rest of the live streaming services (YouTube TV, Hulu Live, Sling, etc.).  So while the internet service you can get might be limited (not counting a satellite service, which is expensive), the TV service really isn't.  So if you are unhappy with DirecTV Stream, you can switch to one of the others.

You are intentionally argumentative, @Jrandomuser. I didn't say they were here pushing DirecTV. They were here pushing cellphone service. Oh, never mind. Again, forums and me don't like each other. Everybody is a know-it-all, and I shouldn't have to explain myself so much. It's ovah and I will switch my service when others move into this subdivision. I'm talking about a TV service that takes the place of cable-TV and not a bunch of streaming services strung together. AT&T is the only one setting up internet here, and that's just how it is with NEW HOMES out here. None of the other providers will touch AT&T's installation while building these homes, so the only option is DirecTV ... for now. SMH

Sorry - you were posting in a forum about DirecTV Stream, so I made the (apparently incorrect assumption) that DirecTV Stream was the subject of your unhappiness with the salespeople.

That said, DirecTV Stream (and the other live streaming services) do take the place of cable.  Each one offers roughly the same networks as cable does (each has minor variations), the same features as cable does (same caveat), and so on.  And any of them run over any internet service.  They are not like Netflix, Prime Video, etc. - in fact, most people who have a live streaming service also have one or more of those, because they offer a different sort of service.  So you already have a choice of cable equivalent services - you aren't limited to DirecTV Stream.  I don't know if anyone claimed to you that you were, but you aren't.