How Long After A Missed Bill Does Spectrum Shut Down Your Service

In this commodity

Spectrum speeds and plan costs
Coverage across much of the land
Straightforward terms
Customer satisfaction scores
To sum it upward
Spectrum Internet FAQs

Charter Communications made news late in 2021 when it appear a partnership with Peacock Premium to give Spectrum customers gratuitous access for three to 12 months, depending on eligibility. Charter can too boast that its Spectrum Internet service features no contracts, includes no termination fees and provides new customers with a 30-twenty-four hours money-dorsum guarantee. Such a straightforward approach can be mighty appealing, particularly when internet plans tend to be anything simply simple.

You go a choice of iii dissimilar speed plans with Spectrum, and the entry-level tier features a max download speed of 200 megabits per second, which is plenty fast for a provider's opening choice. Insufficiently, cablevision internet providers such equally Cox, Xfinity and WideOpenWest offer plans that start at 25, l and 100Mbps, respectively.

Like

Straightforward pricing
No data caps on any plans
No contracts required for internet service
Complimentary access to Spectrum'due south nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

Don't Like

Competitive rates for cablevision, but pricier than many cobweb providers
Internet service is slightly beneath the industry boilerplate for customer satisfaction

Spectrum Cyberspace services over 28 one thousand thousand customers in 41 states, so in that location'due south a practiced gamble information technology's bachelor in your area or somewhere nearby. If then, you'd be difficult-pressed to find a meliorate cable internet provider, especially since Spectrum doesn't enforce a data cap like its biggest competitors, Xfinity and Cox. Merely suppose a 100% fiber connection is available at your accost. In that instance, you should strongly consider going with that instead of Spectrum for the faster upload speeds and a more reliable connectedness overall.

Spectrum speeds and plan costs

Spectrum offers three dissimilar plans at iii split up prices. None of them include information caps, and none require y'all to commit to a contract. Nevertheless, after 12 months, your monthly nib will go up by $25. Here are the specifics:

Spectrum Internet plans and pricing

Program	First-year promo rate	Regular rate	Max speeds	Equipment fee	Contract
Spectrum Internet	$50	$75	200Mbps download, 10Mbps upload	Modem free; $5 for router (skippable)	None required
Spectrum Internet Ultra	$70	$95	400Mbps download, 20Mbps upload	Modem costless; $5 for router (skippable)	None required
Spectrum Cyberspace Gig	$90	$115	940Mbps download, 35Mbps upload	Modem free; $five for router (skippable)	None required

Your internet speed will depend on the plan you select

For virtually of its serviceable areas, your options are download speeds of 200 megabits per 2nd, 400Mbps or the Spectrum Net Gig plan, which clocks in with max download speeds of 940Mbps. Charter announced in March that every marketplace within Spectrum's service expanse would see the 200Mbps plan as their starting option. That means 3 million homes in over xxx markets recently got a speed increase from 100 to 200Mbps.

A quick discussion on cable

Spectrum Internet relies mainly on hybrid fiber-coaxial cable connections to provide service to subscribers' homes. As you can tell by the iii fast tiers offered past Lease, cable is a trusty method that offers download speeds better than those you'll get with DSL, stock-still wireless and satellite. That said, fiber internet can too provide faster downloads and faster upload speeds. With cable internet plans like those offered past companies like Optimum, Xfinity and Cox, your upload speeds will typically stay in the double digits.

Co-ordinate to a December 2020 report from the Federal Communications Commission, just under 1% of Spectrum's potential client base of operations is eligible for cobweb. Simply according to our source, that's not true. While Charter does not release its fiber/HFC percentage publicly, the spokesperson said the FCC's info is outdated: "A sizable percent of our network is fiber, from our facilities down to the neighborhood, and virtually all of the 53 million homes our network passes can access gigabit speeds."

Yet the consequence isn't about gigabit speeds -- after all, other cable internet competitors, like Cox and Xfinity, tin can boast of their Gig plans -- only it's all almost the symmetrical speeds and meliorate functioning of a 100% cobweb network. And that's something Spectrum doesn't take.

Lease Spectrum's coverage (orangish) extends across 41 states, including Hawaii.

FCC/Mapbox

Coverage across much of the state

Spectrum Cyberspace services 41 states across the country, and so it's actually easier to list united states of america where Charter Communications doesn't operate: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah (every bit well equally Washington, DC). If y'all live anywhere other than that, in that location's an above-boilerplate chance you're in Spectrum's coverage map or close to it.

That said, well-nigh cable cyberspace providers struggle to offer service to rural areas with low population density, and Spectrum is no exception. If that's your state of affairs, check out our rundown of the best rural internet providers.

Spectrum'due south strong suit: Straightforward terms

Lease tends to keep its Spectrum offerings fairly uncomplicated, simply permit'southward burrow down to run into what else yous can await with your service.

Boosted monthly fees

As noted above, Spectrum prides itself on taking a no data caps or extra fees approach. This is mostly accurate. On acme of the lack of contracts or data limits, each Spectrum program comes with a free modem. However, if you lot want to connect to Spectrum'south network wirelessly over Wi-Fi, you'll need to pay an boosted $5 a month for the Spectrum router. (Note: If you opt for Spectrum Internet Gig, the router is included at no extra charge.) Fortunately, like many other ISPs, Spectrum allows y'all to skip that extra fee by using your own, Spectrum-compatible router, with the caveat that your equipment won't be eligible for Spectrum technical back up.

1-time installation fees

Spectrum temporarily suspended all in-home professional installations during the pandemic, simply professional, in-home installation is once again an option. The standard in-dwelling installation fee is $50 -- or a hefty $200 for the Cyberspace Gig plan. However, near installations of Spectrum Internet can be washed on a self-install basis. You'll need to use a self-installation kit in those cases, which can exist shipped to your address or sent to a Spectrum store for pickup.

You'll nevertheless need to pay a 1-time charge of $10 for the cocky-installation activation and an additional $ten accuse for the Wi-Fi activation fee.

No data caps

In dissimilarity to some Internet service provider rivals (we're looking at you, Cox and Xfinity), Spectrum does not impose data caps on its customers. That ways you won't accept to track your information usage for fright of throttling issues once you hit some arbitrary threshold.

Free access to nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

In addition to connecting at home, Spectrum Out-of-Home WiFi is bachelor to customers for free whenever y'all're out and about. The company boasts more than 500,000 hotspots beyond its entire coverage map. To connect when you're in range of a network, sign in with your account username and password for unlimited access. Customers tin too use the My Spectrum app for quick admission.

isp-customer-satisfaction-2020 — American Customer Satisfaction Index

Customer satisfaction scores could stand up to improve

The practiced news? Lease's Spectrum service is doing better at present with customers than it has since it caused Time Warner Cable in mid-2016. Merely in that location'due south however work to do.

For case, when you look at the J.D. Power US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study for 2021, Spectrum was consistently below U.s. regional averages except in the West. Spectrum earned its highest score in the South region, nabbing 725 on a 1,000-signal scale, but that still placed it backside AT&T and Xfinity in that same area.

Over at the American Client Satisfaction Index, Spectrum's 2021 numbers held steady with 2020, which was up past 7% over 2019. However, with 63 out of 100, Charter Spectrum withal ranked two points beneath the average for all ISPs and placed backside Verizon Fios, AT&T, Xfinity and Cox. Spectrum fared a little better with the ACSI for its internet equipment, notching a 69 out of 100, but that however trailed the same four providers: AT&T, Verizon Fios, Xfinity and Cox.

To sum it up

Spectrum home net offers iii high-speed tiers with unlimited data and no contracts. Customers are as well spared some of the extra fees you might find with other ISPs -- at that place'due south no additional monthly fee for the modem, for example.

Merely 1 thing Charter Spectrum has in common with most providers is it does bump upward your monthly price after your initial promo catamenia, so exist aware of that pending change. Also, as a cablevision provider, Spectrum tin can provide fast download speeds, but the technology doesn't offer symmetrical upload speeds, which may negatively bear upon those working remotely from home.

Spectrum Net FAQs

Is Spectrum the same as Time Warner Cable?

Essentially, yes. Lease Communications purchased Time Warner Cablevision back in 2016, right effectually the aforementioned fourth dimension that Charter also acquired Bright House Networks. At the fourth dimension, those two moves made Spectrum the second-largest Usa internet service provider and third-largest TV provider.

Are in that location Spectrum packages available?

An assortment of Spectrum packages is available, including Triple Play (internet, TV and habitation phone) and Double Play (two of the services mentioned above) bundles. Most bundle options offer the 200Mbps programme, and those that feature Internet Ultra (the 400Mbps plan) are available but in certain areas. Depending on the Spectrum packet y'all select, yous can look to save anywhere from $five to $10 a month.

Is Spectrum Net fast?

The quick answer is that it depends on what plans are available in your expanse. The Spectrum Internet Gig plan is plenty fast, at 940Mbps, but is not the fastest residential program in the U.s.a.. (AT&T, for example, offers a 5Gbps programme in select areas.)

Overall, when looking at ISPs across the land, Ookla determined that Spectrum was the fourth-fastest provider in the United states of america, with a median download speed of but over 166Mbps during the first quarter of 2022. That puts Spectrum behind Verizon (184Mbps), Xfinity (179Mbps) and Cox (174Mbps).

That said, when looking at Ookla's most recent Consistency Score -- a different metric that measures how regularly providers deliver broadband speeds to their customers -- Spectrum notched a stiff second-place cease at xc.3%, falling just slightly below Xfinity'due south 90.6% and in a higher place Verizon'due south 89.4%.

Does Spectrum offering discounts for low-income customers?

Spectrum does have a program for eligible, low-income households. Spectrum Internet Help features an affordable broadband program (30Mbps download, 4Mbps upload) with like terms as the other internet plans -- no data caps, no contracts and a free modem -- for a discounted rate of $eighteen a month. You'll need to utilize to determine eligibility. For example, at least one member of the household needs to be a recipient of an assistance program, such every bit the National School Lunch Program.

Divide from that offer, Spectrum is also participating in the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides eligible households across the company'due south operating area a credit of upwardly to $thirty a month.

Will Lease Spectrum pay me to change from my current provider?

Spectrum does offering a Contract Buyout option for eligible new customers. You can get up to $500 toward the Early on Termination Fee from your previous provider. Equally yous might expect, at that place'south some modest print involved also, but to our optics the biggest restriction to this offer is it'southward not available to those looking just for internet service. Instead, you must order one of Spectrum's qualifying Triple Play or Double Play bundles.