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Optimum dwelling web ranking
Execs
- Excessive speeds with aggressive pricing
- No knowledge caps, no contracts
- Two-year value assure
- Fiber service accessible to 1.6 million houses
Cons
- Low buyer satisfaction rating
- Gradual add speeds for cable web clients
Finest Optimum dwelling web plans
| Plan | Beginning month-to-month value | Max obtain speeds (Mbps) | Max add speeds (Mbps) | Connection sort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optimum 300 | $40 | 300 | 20 | Cable |
| Optimum Fiber 300 | $40 | 300 | 300 | Fiber |
| Optimum 500 | $60 | 500 | 20 | Cable |
| Optimum Fiber 500 | $60 | 500 | 500 | Fiber |
| Optimum 1Gig | $80 | 940 | 35 | Cable |
| Optimum Fiber 1 Gig | $80 | 940 | 940 | Fiber |
| Optimum Fiber 2 Gig | $100 | 2,000 | 2,000 | Fiber |
| Optimum Fiber 5 Gig | $180 | 5,000 | 5,000 | Fiber |
| Optimum Fiber 8 Gig | $280 | 8,000 | 8,000 | Fiber |
Present extra (5 objects)
Many Optimum web clients may have three or extra choices to select from, together with a gigabit plan and probably three multi-gigabit plans. Precise speeds and pricing will differ by location, however all plans include limitless knowledge, no gear charges and no contracts.
If you happen to’re having hassle attempting to resolve which Optimum web plan is finest, I might advocate the 500Mbps plan. It provides loads of velocity for a number of customers and gadgets, and has a decrease beginning value than AT&T Fiber, Verizon Fios, Spectrum and different high ISPs for comparable speeds.
Gig service is obtainable to nearly all of households serviceable for Optimum, however not all. Past that, many Optimum service areas — roughly 2.7 million households — may have entry to fiber service with symmetrical add and obtain speeds and multi-gig plan choices.
Multi-gig internet service remains to be pretty new with few main suppliers providing something above 1,000Mbps, however Optimum has not too long ago launched 2,000Mbps, 5,000Mbps and eight,000Mbps plans accessible in choose areas beginning at $120, $180 and $280 per thirty days, respectively.
Such costs for dwelling web can understandably really feel a bit steep in comparison with different web plans, however Optimum’s multi-gig plans are priced in addition to or higher than competing suppliers. AT&T, for instance, has across the identical pricing on its 2-gig and 5-gig plans, and Frontier’s 2-gig plan begins at $110 a month.
Optimum dwelling web evaluation
Optimum checks nearly each field in terms of what we at CNET search for in a high quality web supplier. It provides fast speeds, low introductory pricing and unlimited data with no contracts. There are even potential signup bonuses and free gear rental in most service areas.
There’s one field that persistently stays clean: buyer satisfaction. Regardless of the aggressive pricing, quick speeds and different perks, Optimum lingers on the backside of buyer satisfaction studies from sources just like the American Buyer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Energy. Optimum claimed the underside spot amongst main ISPs in the latest ACSI rankings and surpassed solely fellow (and former) Altice model Suddenlink the yr earlier than.
What is the cope with Optimum? I will cowl all the things you could know beneath, from availability to added charges and the doable pink flag that’s low buyer satisfaction.
No knowledge caps, no contracts and a 2-year value assure
Optimum web is freed from knowledge caps and contracts, whatever the service sort or plan. That is a pleasant distinction to rival cable web suppliers like Cox and Xfinity, which can cost overage charges as much as $50 or increased for going over your knowledge allowance. The no-contract requirement is one other good perk in comparison with Cox and Xfinity, which usually require a time period settlement of not less than one yr to get the bottom pricing.
Hefty and unpredictable value will increase have been not too long ago a priority with Optimum web, however the ISP has since positioned a two-year value assure on all plans for brand spanking new clients. After the second yr, a average value enhance ($10 for many plans) might go into impact.
The positive print says “Pricing, phrases and provides topic to alter and discontinuance with out discover,” however the value assure is a step in the suitable path for a corporation that has struggled with buyer satisfaction these days.
Optimum Wi-Fi gear and costs
There isn’t any longer an gear charge with Optimum web, however because the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The ACSI added a class for ranking Wi-Fi gear and total Wi-Fi high quality in 2023 and Optimum landed on the backside of all main ISPs.
It might not be unhealthy for everybody. The Optimum machine you get relies on the plan you select and the community sort (cable or fiber), and sure Optimum plans and people in fiber markets might include a Wi-Fi 6 router. Optimum now provides WiFi 6E gateways and extenders for web plans which might be 1 Gig and above. Such gadgets can supply higher Wi-Fi efficiency than older routers, so you could have a greater expertise together with your Optimum gear than others relying on the machine you get.
As for set up, a typical set up is included at no additional price once you order on-line. If you happen to’d choose skilled set up, together with Wi-Fi configuration on as much as six gadgets and hardwiring on one machine, it will add a modest $59 to your preliminary prices.
Utilizing your individual gear
Optimum is considered one of a number of suppliers that permits you to use your gear, which can be a good suggestion given the low satisfaction with the gear Optimum offers. If you happen to go that route, you may have to have your suitable modem and router (or modem/router combo machine) on the time of set up. Simply remember that utilizing your individual gear will restrict service upgrades and technical help.
Optimum dwelling web availability
Optimum covers two boroughs within the better New York Metropolis space — Brooklyn and the Bronx — and only a stretch past. North to south, serviceability runs from Dutchess County, New York, to Toms River, New Jersey. East to west, Optimum is obtainable from the tip of Lengthy Island and previous Bridgeport, Connecticut, to a sliver of Pennsylvania alongside the New Jersey border to the west. Like a lot of Queens and Staten Island, there are some pockets in between that aren’t serviceable for Optimum web.
Since father or mother firm Altice united Suddenlink and Optimum protection areas underneath the Optimum model, protection has expanded to incorporate 21 whole states. Exterior of the better New York Metropolis space, Optimum is now accessible in elements of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia, amongst others.
It is primarily cable, with some fiber combined in
As talked about above, Optimum primarily makes use of a cable or cable hybrid community to ship service. Cable is not essentially unhealthy as it could actually supply gigabit download speeds, however the expertise fails to match to the velocity and consistency you get with a fiber connection.
A few tenth of these in Optimum service areas can get fiber service, however the firm is trying to change that. Altice acknowledges that fiber internet — particularly fiber-to-the-home service — is the fast way forward for dwelling web and has thus labored to construct and broaden a fiber community.
An Optimum spokesperson tells CNET that Optimum FTTH service is already accessible to greater than 2.7 million houses, round a tenth of these serviceable for Optimum web, with extra to return as “fiber deployment continues at a fast tempo.” Fiber service comes at no additional price in comparison with Optimum’s conventional cable web and has symmetrical or near-symmetrical add speeds. Altice didn’t decrease the add speeds on its fiber service.
How does Optimum evaluate?
Within the better New York Metropolis space, there’s a little overlap between Optimum and cable suppliers Spectrum and Xfinity. For essentially the most half, Optimum has decrease introductory pricing than each, and the decrease pricing comes with quicker speeds. Optimum and Verizon Fios are extra carefully matched, and share a a lot bigger protection space.
Optimum vs. Verizon Fios
Optimum and Verizon Fios share a lot of the identical service areas in better New York Metropolis, so pricing, speeds and repair phrases keep comparatively aggressive between them.
Optimum has the benefit of decrease plan pricing, not less than for the primary 24 months of service. The Optimum 300 plan is across the identical value as Verizon’s lowest-priced plan, which additionally provides max speeds of 300Mbps. Optimum’s gig service can also be cheaper, beginning at $70 per thirty days in comparison with $90 with Verizon. After 24 months, Verizon Fios turns into the cheaper choice, however Optimum edges it out at first.
Neither Optimum nor Verizon burden clients with gear charges, knowledge caps or contracts.
All issues thought of, Optimum and Verizon Fios are carefully matched. If introductory pricing drives your choice, Optimum is prone to be your higher choice, but when commonplace pricing, add speeds and buyer satisfaction are extra of a priority, you might wish to take into account Verizon Fios.
Optimum versus ISPs in different service areas
rule of thumb is fiber web is healthier than cable and cable is healthier than DSL. In case you have a fiber service from AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier, Kinetic or others accessible at your deal with, the velocity, reliability and total worth it presents might be increased than what you may get from Optimum’s cable web.
However, if the competing supplier to Optimum in your space solely provides a DSL connection (lots of the aforementioned fiber suppliers even have giant DSL networks), Optimum is prone to be the higher alternative for velocity, reliability and worth.
The wild card right here is 5G dwelling web, which has not too long ago added some much-needed competitors to the broadband house, due to suppliers like T-Mobile, Verizon and now AT&T. Though most speeds are at present a bit decrease with 5G dwelling web in comparison with cable, the pricing and repair phrases are pretty much as good as you may discover.
If you happen to’re on the lookout for options to Optimum and fiber is not accessible in your space, I might advocate checking to see in case your deal with is serviceable for 5G dwelling web.
Optimum dwelling web: Buyer satisfaction takes a foul flip
2023 was the primary yr the ACSI separated scores for fiber and non-fiber web suppliers. The change did Optimum no favors because the ISP nonetheless landed in final place amongst all main suppliers with a 58/100. That is eight factors beneath the trade common. It is also a one-point drop over final yr’s rating (which was second-last to fellow and former Altice model Suddenlink).
Optimum additionally didn’t fare nicely with J.D. Power, which gave the supplier a rating of 661/1,000 in 2023. The rating (once more) falls in need of the trade common and lands final within the area, but it surely was not less than an enchancment over 2022’s rating of 642.
The ACSI and J.D. Energy each rating ISPs on quite a lot of buyer expertise indicators reminiscent of velocity, efficiency throughout peak hours and name middle satisfaction. The studies don’t present how every supplier scored in every class, so it is tough to inform precisely the place Optimum confirmed the most important wants for enchancment.
A quick have a look at the Reddit page for Optimum discussion hints at points starting from excessive costs and unclear billing to poor buyer help and substandard gear. Many feedback on websites like Reddit must be taken with a grain of salt, in fact, however that final subject of grievance comes with some help. One class the ACSI report did separate out by supplier in 2023 was Wi-Fi gear. Optimum ranked final amongst all main ISPs.
Up till 2020, there wasn’t something too alarming about Optimum’s scores that may push me by some means. However the constant, year-over-year drops in ACSI and J.D. Energy scores could also be trigger for concern. Sure, ISPs do not rating nicely generally, but it surely’s not good to be close to the underside of a foul bunch.
Optimum web, in abstract
If Optimum is obtainable in your space, it is prone to be considered one of your higher web choices, not less than on paper. Optimum provides quite a lot of obtain speeds from 100Mbps to eight,000Mbps in choose areas, for introductory pricing decrease than or about the identical as you may discover from most opponents with comparable velocity tiers. Optimum’s 500Mbps plan might be the very best all-around plan in terms of velocity and worth, however perks like limitless knowledge, free gear rental and a two-year value assure make any Optimum plan value contemplating.
Simply take into account: there’s most likely a great purpose (or two, or three) that the ISP has not fared nicely in buyer satisfaction lately.
Optimum dwelling web FAQs
How do I get in contact with Optimum customer support?
Optimum technical help is obtainable 24/7, whereas normal customer support is obtainable Monday by way of Friday, 9 a.m. to five p.m. and on Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Optimum customer support quantity varies by location. Discover the suitable quantity at optimum.net/support/phone-list. You can even discover solutions to frequent questions and stay chat with an Optimum customer support consultant here.
What’s Optimum Benefit Web?
Optimum Benefit Web is a reduced web service accessible to qualifying Optimum clients. The plan comes with obtain speeds as much as 50Mbps and add speeds as much as 3Mbps, beginning at round $15 per thirty days. Gear is included at no further price and as with all Optimum web plans, there is no such thing as a knowledge cap or contract.
What occurred to Cablevision?
Altice acquired networks beforehand operated by Cablevision in 2016. For the reason that acquisition, Altice has transitioned service in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania to the Optimum model.
