Frontier FiberOptic has a lot of great things to offer, but DSL service is not available at all.
Frontier Communications, one of the largest internet providers in the country, is available in 25 states, from Connecticut to California. However, service is not the same in every location. Frontier’s DSL-based service is only available to most locations. Due to the slow speeds and Frontier’s recent legal troubles, this makes it difficult to recommend. for more related articles visit unlimited wireless internet.
Frontier FiberOptic offers better service in terms of speed and value, but there are still some flaws.
Frontier is a reliable internet provider, provided you have access to the company’s fibre plan. Frontier offers fibre plans that offer promo rates for 12 months but doesn’t disclose how much your monthly bill will increase.
Prices and availability for Frontier internet plans
Frontier FiberOptic service is available in 19 of the 25 states it serves, but only in major metropolitan areas. Frontier Internet will be available in all other areas, including West Virginia and Connecticut, which have Frontier service throughout the state. DSL is the same as Frontier Internet.
FRONTIER FIBEROPTIC LANGUAGES
PlanMaximum seeds promo rate for the first year equipment free data cap
- FiberOptic 500500Mbps download,
- 500Mbps upload $50 None None
- FiberOptic Gig940Mbps download,
- 880Mbps upload $75 None None
- FiberOptic 2 Gig2Gbps download, 2Gbps upload $150 None None
FRONTIER INTERNET PLANS
PlanMaximum speedsMonthly price starting at $0Equipment free data cap
- Frontier Basic Internet9Mbps download,
- 1Mbps upload $33 None None
- Frontier Preferred Internet25Mbps download,
- 1Mbps upload $40 None None
- Frontier Premium Internet115Mbps download,
- 3Mbps upload $50 None None
Frontier FiberOptic plans and Frontier FiberOptic have very little overlap in terms of availability. Although both service types are available, it is hard to imagine why someone would choose Frontier Internet over Frontier FiberOptic.
Frontier Internet’s entry-level fibre plan costs $50 per month. It offers download speeds nearly five times faster than Frontier Internet Premium’s maximum speeds. You’ll also get much faster upload speeds. Frontier Internet is a bit more expensive than Frontier FiberOptic, but fibre service speed and quality are far better than DSL.
Possible price rise after 12 months
What is the expected price increase, and when? According to my research, Frontier internet plans increase by $10 after 12 months. However, a Frontier sales representative indicated that prices might vary depending on your location. The gigabit plan has pricing that lasts for 36 months.
Basic Internet plans come with a price for life guarantee. If you are interested in speeds of up to 9 megabits per second for the foreseeable future, the $33 Basic Internet plan will be your best option. Frontier’s 2 Gig plan doesn’t have promotional pricing. There is no price hike after 12 months from the $150 price.
Frontier spokesperson said, “Generally, our internet pricing does not change during the first twelve months.” The timing of price changes will depend on whether the customer has signed up for a promotion or if there are other market factors. Our offerings are kept competitively priced.
If there was ever a corporate statement, it does not tell us much. Frontier refused to give us any information about the price hikes customers can expect. The information is not available online. Like all ISPs, CNET asked about their standard pricing. This is a shame. Frontier was the only one that didn’t provide any information on what customers would pay after a year.
Transparency in data caps, contracts, and fees
Frontier gets the much-needed bonus points. To relieve rural residents who had to endure the strict data limits of satellite Internet, all internet plans include unlimited data and usually do not require a contract.
Frontier internet is not completely contract-free. Signing up for Frontier internet will result in a signup bonus. This could be gift cards, streaming subscriptions, electronics, or other perks. It will also require you to sign a contract. New customers signing up for the Gig service will receive a $200 gift certificate, but they need to sign a contract. You can decline any offers if you do not want to sign up for a contract.
It seems logical to me. Frontier doesn’t want its customers to sign up for free stuff and then cancel their service immediately they get it. Frontier will give away a 43-inch Amazon Fire TV to anyone who signs up for the 2 Gig plan. A $50 gift card or $200 would probably not be a big loss. This is a tempting offer that Frontier does not want anyone to take advantage of.
The advertised monthly price includes a $10 rental fee for Frontier routers. Unfortunately, this fee is not refundable even if you purchase your router. You can use Frontier Wi-Fi equipment until you upgrade to a more powerful device for serious gaming and other specialized internet purposes.
Frontier DSL is slow and intermittent, even for DSL.
Frontier Internet, the company’s DSL plans, may limit your options based on your home’s speed. If your home is not capable of receiving speeds above 6Mbps, Frontier Basic Internet plans will be available starting at $33 per month. Prices for speeds between 10Mbps and 25Mbps are $40, and speeds between 26Mbps-115Mbps are $50 per month.
What is the best way to determine available speeds? Your address, you guessed it. It’s the distance between your home and a local transmitter station. DSL speeds decrease over long distances. The farther you live, the less likely your speed will be. This is often bad as remote rural areas are often left with the lowest speeds.
Do not expect the fastest speeds to be available in your area or speeds that could be called broadband. According to the Federal Communications Commission, only 10% of Frontier DSL service area households are eligible for speeds exceeding 100Mbps. Less than a third of those households can receive speeds greater than 25Mbps. It’s a much more sad story with upload speeds. Upload speeds are the worst, regardless of download speed. They range from 1Mbps to 3Mbps across all service areas.
DSL customers are fed up
DSL service is notorious for slow speeds and reliability problems, but Frontier seems more affected. Frontier service is known for outages and limited availability of speeds above 25Mbps.
Downdetector.com has thousands upon thousands of outage reports for Frontier from across the country in the past few months. Users reported that their service was unavailable for days or more, and they were not given any indication as to when it would return.
Frontier is facing legal action for allegedly slowing down its DSL service. Outages can be very serious. Frontier is being sued in response to ongoing protests by six states and the Federal Trade Commission.
Fibre is another option.
Let’s move on from the negative. Frontier FiberOptic offers faster speeds and more affordable pricing than DSL. The speeds and pricing described above are generally applicable to all markets. However, there may be areas that are not eligible for gigabit service. Every plan includes symmetrical or nearly-symmetrical upload speed, which is typically only available with fibre optic service. These are my recommendations:
- FiberOptic500: Ideal for streaming in HD, gaming online, and working/learning remotely.
- FiberOptic gig: Ideal for five or more users with ten or more devices. Streaming in 4K and working/learning on multiple devices.
- FiberOptic 2Gig: This is the best option for large households or those who plan for the future with an increasing number of connected devices.
It will be easier to choose the right FiberOptic plan for you. You’ll notice an increase in speed from one FiberOptic plan to the next. Frontier has faster entry tier speeds than many providers like AT&T and CenturyLink. This makes it easier to find the right plan for you.
FiberOptic is now available in more locations.
Frontier FiberOptic was previously only available in certain areas of California, Florida and Texas. The service is now available in 15 more states thanks to fibre-optic expansions. These include Arizona, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina Ohio. South Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and North Carolina.
Although service is limited, Frontier acknowledges the need to expand fibre and plans to offer more coverage in the future. A spokesperson for Frontier stated that the company is planning to invest in fibre upgrades over several years in areas near Frontier’s footprint.
What is the Frontier difference?
Frontier DSL offers DSL service faster download speeds and lower prices than other providers. AT&T has a maximum speed of 75Mbps, and Frontier has 115Mbps. Frontier starts at $55 per month. CenturyLink, another top DSL provider, has similar speeds to Frontier Internet, but a month’s starting price is $49 more.
Frontier offers faster download speeds than other DSL providers. However, only 10% of customers have access to the fastest speeds. AT&T offers speeds up to 100Mbps to approximately 40% of its customers. CenturyLink also has faster speeds than AT&T’s DSL speeds, which is available in over a quarter of its markets. Frontier’s upload speeds are significantly lower than those of AT&T or CenturyLink.
Frontier is a fibre internet provider with relatively low prices for the speed you get. Frontier FiberOptic starts at $50 per month and is slightly cheaper than AT&T Fiber ($55 per month), but it costs more than Verizon Fios ($40 per month). However, Frontier FiberOptic offers significantly faster speeds of 500Mbps than the 300Mbps that you would get with Verizon Fios or AT&T.
Frontier’s Gigabit service is slightly cheaper than AT&T ($80 per month) or Verizon Fios (90 per month). However, it is still more expensive than CenturyLink ($65 per month). The 2 Gig plan has a lower value than Frontier, like AT&T and Google Fiber, Ziply Fiber, and other providers with lower multi-gig service prices.
You won’t likely have access to other DSL and fibre providers within Frontier service areas. Internet providers offering the same technology as you will not offer internet access in the same area. However, Frontier service areas will have access to internet providers like Spectrum and Xfinity.
DSL is better than cable, but the fibre is better than cable
You’ll find Frontier service area providers such as Mediacom and Spectrum. Suddenlink is another option. Xfinity is another. Frontier Internet will be more expensive than cable internet due to higher Mbps costs. Frontier Internet is limited to 115Mbps download speeds. Most cable internet providers offer gigabit upload speeds. Cable internet plans can cost up to $100 per month, but the speed you get for that price is likely to be much better.
Frontier FiberOptic vs cable internet is a toss-up, and it may be down to which provider is available in your area. Frontier FiberOptic, for example, has similar pricing to Xfinity’s internet plans at comparable speeds tiers. Both providers offer gigabit service starting at $75 per month. However, Frontier FiberOptic will give you faster upload speeds and unlimited data. Spectrum’s internet service is more expensive than Frontier but offers unlimited data and no contracts.
If Frontier FiberOptic is available in my area, I would recommend it to you over cable internet service. This is especially true if you consider the faster 500Mbps or gigabit speeds. FiberOptic is more affordable than cable providers and has a straightforward pricing system and unlimited data.