Mediacom Web Evaluation: Plans, Pricing, Pace and Availability In contrast

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Mediacom Xtream house web score

Professionals

• Offers companies to over 1,500 communities in 22 states
• Nice extra {hardware} accessible to lease at a good value

Cons

• Vital value bounce for the gigabit plan after a 12 months
• Information caps are too tight with the most affordable plans, and there is not any restrict to the variety of overage expenses you possibly can rack up
• Poor worth relative to different cable web suppliers

Greatest Mediacom Xtream Web plans and pricing

Supply: CNET evaluation of supplier knowledge

With Mediacom’s Xtream Web, you possibly can select between 4 contract-free plans. Whereas limitless knowledge is offered, most plans have a month-to-month knowledge cap of 400GB to 2TB. Mediacom includes a one-year value lock for many plans; the exception being the Xtream Join plan, which has a hard and fast price of $15 a month. For all different plans, you possibly can count on your month-to-month invoice to double as soon as the promo interval ends.

CNET’s high decide is the Xtream Web 500 plan as a result of it gives sooner obtain speeds and a extra beneficiant knowledge cap than Xtream Web 250. As well as, there’s just one cent distinction within the cost per Mbps between the 500Mbps plan, at 9 cents per Mbps, and the 250Mbps plan, which is 8 cents.

I actually cannot consider a model title that manages to lift and decrease expectations fairly like “Xtream.” I get it — you are a midsize cable internet service supplier with a restricted market share, and also you’re wanting up on the likes of Comcast Xfinity. You wish to stand out, however you additionally wish to slot in. So that you write a giant “X” on a whiteboard someplace, name a gathering, brainstorm a bit and on the finish of the day, there is a large circle round “Xtream,” and everybody’s patting one another on the again. This stuff occur.

Dumb title or not, the branding of Mediacom’s house web service units the desk for streaming at excessive velocity, and one might argue that Xtream primarily delivers. The corporate supplies companies to over 1,500 communities nationwide, providing as much as 1 gigabit velocity in most areas. On high of that, with Mediacom you may get entry to over 170 channels by bundling your web with Mediacom’s TV packages. Lastly, plans provide add speeds of as much as 50Mbps, and whereas that may seem to be nothing in contrast with what fiber is capable of, it is sooner than the add speeds of the cable big Spectrum, which tops out at solely 35Mbps.

Mediacom Web evaluate

Only in the near past, Mediacom made headlines with the announcement of changes to its plans, introducing sooner speeds and the next knowledge cap. As well as, Mediacom changed its Connect2Complete Plus plan with Xtream Connect, an inexpensive broadband choice for households taking part within the Nationwide Faculty Lunch Program. Your family could also be eligible for this plan in case you take part within the Supplemental Diet Assistant Program, Medicaid, SSI and different federal applications.

That stated, Xtream is not excellent. For starters, the value of the quickest plan goes up practically $65 after the primary 12 months. Moreover, within the newest J.D. Power customer satisfaction index, Mediacom ranked on the backside for the North Central area. The newest knowledge from the American Customer Satisfaction Index additionally tells the identical story, with Mediacom rating under the trade’s ISP common. That may have one thing to do with Mediacom’s monthly data caps, which get significantly tight in case you’re on the bottom velocity tier. You may discover higher worth from Mediacom’s cable web rivals, together with different midsize suppliers like Optimum and WideOpenWest.

Suppose you possibly can look previous all of that. Mediacom’s cable plans are a strong different to inferior DSL, satellite and stuck wi-fi connections. Give Mediacom extra credit score for providing gigabit speeds in rural and suburban markets the place sooner web choices often aren’t accessible. Nonetheless, Xtream web service falls effectively wanting the genuinely excessive efficiency of a good fiber network. The questionable worth relative to different cable suppliers makes it a problematic ISP to get enthusiastic about, if such a factor is even potential.

The place are you able to get Mediacom’s Xtream web?

The nation’s fifth-largest cable supplier, Mediacom’s house web service is offered to 1,500 communities nationwide. Protection contains 22 states, primarily within the midwest, but additionally a smattering of areas within the Gulf Coast, the Jap Seaboard, California and Arizona. 

Main metro areas in that protection map embrace:

You may additionally discover Mediacom’s Xtream web companies throughout a variety of rural pockets close to locations like Apache Junction, Arizona; Clearlake, California; Decatur, Indiana; Elizabeth Metropolis, North Carolina and Murray, Kentucky.

What sort of web connection does Mediacom provide?

“Our strategy is easy: Ship sooner web speeds, construct bigger fiber networks and provide superior services at an inexpensive value,” Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco B. Commisso writes on the Xtream website.

That bit about fiber piqued my curiosity. According to the latest data from the FCC, whereas Mediacom’s web infrastructure consists nearly fully of cable connections, its fiber-optic connection supplies 0.001% of unit protection.

“Throughout all areas, community engineers and their tech groups have been including nodes, constructing out extra fiber and increasing capability,” a Mediacom spokesperson defined after I requested in regards to the firm’s plans for fiber. That is extra about bolstering the prevailing cable connections than establishing new, devoted fiber connections. Nonetheless, Mediacom provides that real fiber-to-the-home hookups are within the works “for some initiatives that construct to new communities.”

For instance, late in 2023, the company expanded its fiber network to two new cities in Iowa. Residents in Rutland and Williams have entry to speeds of as much as 2 gigabits per second. Nonetheless, the 2-gigabit plan is simply accessible in very choose areas; for many prospects, the 1-gigabit plan is the highest finish.

At any price, as a cable web supplier, Mediacom can provide prospects gigabit obtain speeds as excessive as 1,000Mbps (1Gbps), which is far sooner than you possibly can count on from DSL suppliers, satellite tv for pc or fastened wi-fi web. The draw back to cable is that, in contrast to fiber, your upload speeds will be much, much slower, which may be noticeable in case you’re making an attempt to add giant recordsdata to the net or be part of a high-res video name. That is true of most cable suppliers, most of which can provide add speeds of round 35Mbps. Mediacom’s add velocity is 50Mbps with its gigabit plan. And whereas we’re on the subject of plans…

Plans and pricing for Mediacom

Mediacom’s Xtream web choices are easy and comparatively easy, with primarily 4 plans from which to decide on. The value of most plans will bounce after 12 months 1, which is widespread amongst web suppliers. The exception is the Xtream Join plan, which has a typical price of $15 per 30 days (in case you use your individual modem) or $29 month-to-month in case you determine to lease a modem with Mediacom. In any other case, if you choose both of the three quickest plans, you possibly can count on your invoice to go up after 12 months.

The additional value enhance means the gigabit plan goes from a cost-per-Mbps of 6 cents throughout your first 12 months to 13 cents after 12 months. You are taking a look at a big value bounce of practically $65 within the second 12 months of service. On high of that, Mediacom’s Xtream web plans include extra charges, which can add on to your month-to-month invoice, however we’ll focus on these extra later.

It is also roughly on par with Mediacom’s greatest rivals within the cable class. It varies by area, however Comcast Xfinity’s gigabit plan goes from 7 cents per Mbps throughout 12 months 1 to 10 cents in 12 months 2. In the meantime, gigabit service from Cox and Spectrum rings in at 6 and eight cents per Mbps after the one-year promo charges expire. Nonetheless, the opposite midsize cable suppliers of observe, Optimum and WideOpenWest, provide gigabit plans at higher costs than Mediacom, with WOW’s gigabit plan coming in at $70 per 30 days after the promo price expires. That is 7 cents per Mbps and an outstanding worth for a daily value for cable web.

Mediacom’s plans within the center provide questionable worth, as effectively. Take the Web 250 plan, which gives obtain speeds of as much as 250Mbps and uploads as much as 20Mbps for $20 per 30 days throughout your first 12 months and $50 per 30 days after that. The pricing’s not dangerous, however I need to observe that the 250Mbps plan comes with Mediacom’s most restrictive data cap — 400GB per 30 days. Extra on that in a second. Relying on the place you reside, a 150Mbps cable plan from Comcast may cost a little you $67 per 30 days after the promo price expires, however with a a lot greater 1.2TB knowledge cap. In the meantime, WOW Web gives a 300Mbps plan for cheaper compared to Mediacom’s lowest plan; the distinction is that WOW Web doesn’t impose knowledge restrictions.

Admittedly, you possibly can’t actually comparability store between cable suppliers — it’s important to go together with the supplier that gives service in your space. Nonetheless, after wanting on the numbers, it is clear that Mediacom’s costs run on the excessive facet. If it have been my supplier, I would be ready to level out the gulfs in pricing with its rivals after I would inevitably name to try to negotiate a better deal.

Service phrases for Mediacom

Mediacom’s service contains knowledge caps however no contracts are required. Nonetheless, in case you look nearer, there are just a few different particulars that try to be conscious of earlier than signing up. Let’s study additional.

Information caps

Mediacom enforces knowledge caps for many of its Xtream web plans. The particular, month-to-month knowledge allotment varies from plan to plan, and in case you exceed it in a given month, you may begin incurring penalties.

With the gigabit plan, you get limitless knowledge. So prospects haven’t got to fret about paying knowledge overage charges for this specific plan. In the meantime, the Web 500 plan brings the cap all the way down to 2,000GB (2TB), however that is nonetheless fairly beneficiant and greater than sufficient for many households. Lastly, whereas Mediacom touts that there aren’t any knowledge caps for the Xtream Join plan, prospects whose upstream utilization exceeds 1TB inside a month can count on decreased add speeds.

Much less affordable is the entry-level 250Mbps plan, which comes with a knowledge cap of simply 400GB. Whereas this might sound extra promising than the 350GB that Mediacom used to have, 400GB nonetheless falls wanting what the common house makes use of in a month as of late. It’s also extra restrictive than what you may get with another cable plan that we have written about thus far. In response to OpenVault’s 2023 fourth-quarter report, the common US family consumption has grown within the final 5 years from 300GB to 641GB of information per 30 days. Even the information caps with Sparklight’s cheapest plan are extra beneficiant. Actually, the one knowledge caps we have seen which might be tighter than what you get with Mediacom’s 250Mbps plan are these on satellite tv for pc web plans from Hughesnet.

As for penalties, Mediacom will cost you $10 for each 50GB block of information used over the cap — and in contrast to most suppliers that implement knowledge caps, I see nothing in the fine print that limits the overall quantity in penalties you possibly can rack up in a given month.

Further charges

Mediacom does not tie you all the way down to a contract with any of its Xtream house web plans, however it’s essential to pay a $10 activation cost once you first begin service. Xtream house web additionally requires a DOCSIS 3.0 modem. Whereas all plans embrace tools already, Mediacom will fortunately lease you a modem for $14 per 30 days, however you possibly can skip that charge if you have already got considered one of your individual.

Mediacom will lease you a router too — particularly, the Eero Pro 6 Mesh router, a mannequin that helps Wi-Fi 6 (which carried out fairly effectively after I examined it at house). Ten {dollars} per 30 days will get you a two-piece setup — one machine to function the router and a second that capabilities as a mesh extender. In the event you dwell in a big house and wish extra Eero extenders, you possibly can add them for an extra $5 per 30 days.

That is not a nasty deal in case you do not already personal a router you want. The Eero Professional 6 two-pack would price $400 if you bought it outright, so you might lease it from Mediacom for a pair years and nonetheless come out forward.

Mediacom vs. the competitors: Buyer satisfaction might be stronger

Organizations that observe buyer satisfaction metrics are likely to agree that Mediacom is under common within the web supplier class. That is definitely the case with J.D. Power, which tracks buyer satisfaction throughout 4 areas within the US. Mediacom was rated within the North Central area final 12 months with solely a 662 out of 1,000 rating. An enormous drop compared with its rating two years prior, the place it obtained 723 out of 1,000.

In the meantime, the newest knowledge from the American Customer Satisfaction Index tells the identical story. Mediacom scored 61 factors out of 100. Sadly, Mediacom’s rating went down by 4 factors in comparison with final 12 months, displaying a 6% decline. With its present rating, Mediacom falls behind the common of an industry that struggles with low numbers as a whole.

What is the backside line on Mediacom?

Mediacom’s Xtream house web is a sound choice for a quick connection at house, however the plans do not provide worth that is nearly as good as what you may get from fiber or different cable suppliers throughout the nation, and you will have to place up with a knowledge cap for many plans. Issues get barely extra interesting if you want to lease a router, as Mediacom gives glorious {hardware} for the value, however outdoors of that, there’s not a lot to get enthusiastic about right here.

Nonetheless, Mediacom gives gigabit speeds in lots of markets that do not have an abundance of different choices — and its cable plans are value it over the likes of DSL, satellite tv for pc or fastened wi-fi. You must take the great with the dangerous with any ISP, and Mediacom is not any totally different. It is only a disgrace that the plans do not come at a greater worth.

Mediacom Xtream web FAQs