I don't pay for cable, but there are similar economics in Internet routers/modems. Comcast used to charge me $10/month to lease their unit. After a few months of spotty WiFi (used cell data instead), I finally called. Service rep said that ~1/2 of the my specific router model were defective.
Finally purchased my own [1], which will pay for itself after a year. This is one of the easiest ways to save money.