Frontier Home Internet Review: Fiber Service Is Tough to Beat

Frontier falls into the class of web suppliers with a rising fiber community and a big, established DSL community. The variations between the 2 connection varieties are fairly excessive, so your expertise with any such supplier, Frontier included, will largely come right down to the service sort obtainable at your handle.

When contemplating Frontier web on your house, decide when you’re eligible for fiber or DSL service. If Frontier Fiber is obtainable, it is price contemplating for its quick speeds and truthful pricing, to not point out the web and TV bundle that may get new prospects $10 off YouTube TV monthly for a 12 months. However, when you can solely get DSL, chances are you’ll wish to additionally discover different choices similar to satellite tv for pc or 5G house web. 

Together with quick speeds — Frontier now provides speeds as much as 5Gbps — and aggressive pricing, Frontier Fiber plans include limitless knowledge and a Wi-Fi router at no additional value. There are additionally no time period agreements, as long as you do not settle for any deal “sweeteners” just like the $200 present card at the moment obtainable whenever you join Fiber 2 Gig.

Frontier Web, the DSL service, may be hit and miss, as speeds and efficiency could fluctuate extensively relying on the place you reside. That is typical for a DSL supplier, however Frontier would not promote speeds for its DSL service in any respect, so there is no telling what speeds you may get till you join. Even when you luck out and may get the quickest Frontier Web speeds potential, they’d nonetheless fall effectively wanting the slowest marketed Frontier Fiber velocity (500Mbps).

So once more, fiber optic is nice, DSL dangerous (perhaps). And that is not essentially a knock towards Frontier; that is simply the character of the 2 service varieties. Frontier Fiber is the best way to go, given the selection of the 2. Nonetheless, Frontier Web is also a viable possibility for these in rural areas the place the one different obtainable connections are by way of satellite tv for pc web.

Frontier house web availability and protection

Frontier Communications is likely one of the nation’s largest web suppliers, obtainable in 25 states from Connecticut to California. Fiber service is at the moment obtainable in 15 states, with serviceability largely reserved to metro areas, however ongoing growth might deliver Frontier Fiber to extra states and areas sooner or later. 

Till then, in every single place else serviceable for Frontier could have entry to Frontier Web. Once more, which means DSL and its unpredictable, various speeds. The next costs assume buyer use of autopay.

Frontier web plans and pricing

Plan	Speeds	Introductory charge	Gear charge	Knowledge cap
Frontier Web (Copper)	Varies	$50	None	None
Fiber 500	As much as 500Mbps obtain, 500Mbps add	$60	None	None
Fiber 1 Gig	As much as 1,000Mbps obtain, 1,000Mbps add	$70	None	None
Fiber 2 Gig	As much as 2Gbps obtain, 2Gbps add	$100	None	None
Fiber 5 Gig	As much as 5Gbps obtain, 5Gbps add	$155	None	None

When will the value go up, and by how a lot? Frontier Web, the copper DSL-based service, comes with a worth lock for twenty-four months. After that, there is no such thing as a assured or preset worth enhance. That is to not say your invoice won’t ever go up, however worth hikes aren’t predetermined and assured, like with many different ISPs. Pricing on all Frontier Fiber plans is month to month.

Knowledge caps, contracts and charges

All web plans include limitless knowledge (to the reduction of many rural residents who’ve endured the strict knowledge limits of satellite tv for pc web) and usually require no contract. 

Frontier web isn’t completely contract-free, nonetheless. Accepting a signup bonus, such because the $200 present card at the moment obtainable with choose plans, will include a time period settlement. If you don’t need that, decline any particular provides whenever you join.

As for added charges, your Wi-Fi router rental is included at no additional value. Complete-home Wi-Fi is now obtainable for an added $10 monthly.

Which Frontier Fiber plan is greatest?

Frontier Fiber now has 4 plan choices starting from 500Mbps to 5Gbps. Every plan has symmetrical add speeds, a perk usually solely obtainable with fiber-optic service. Listed here are my suggestions for every plan:

• Fiber 500: Finest for 3 to 5 customers, streaming in HD, gaming on-line and dealing or studying remotely.
• Fiber 1 Gig: Finest for 5 or extra customers and 10 or extra units, streaming in 4K, working or studying on a number of units.
• Fiber 2 Gig: Finest for a big family or these planning for the longer term and an rising variety of linked units.
• Fiber 5 Gig: Finest for a nearly limitless variety of units. An uncompromisingly quick connection to fulfill any house.

You will discover a major velocity leap from one Fiber plan to the following, which might make it a lot simpler to search out the best plan on your wants. Additionally, at 500Mbps, Frontier has a sooner entry-tier velocity than many different fiber suppliers, together with CenturyLink (200Mbps), AT&T (300Mbps) and Verizon Fios (additionally 300Mbps). 

Fiber availability is increasing

Till not too long ago, Frontier Fiber was reserved for elements of California, Florida, Indiana and Texas. Due to current fiber-optic expansions, the service is now obtainable in areas of 15 states and rising. 

Although availability continues to be considerably restricted, Frontier has acknowledged the necessity for extra important fiber growth and plans to increase service to extra areas within the close to future. “Frontier is concentrating on substantial fiber upgrades over the following a number of years to areas in and close to Frontier’s footprint,” a spokesperson stated.

No velocity choices with DSL, sadly

With Frontier Web — the corporate’s DSL service — prospects have one plan possibility beginning at $50 month-to-month for “various” speeds. 

What determines obtainable speeds? You guessed it — your handle. Extra particularly, it is your own home’s distance from a neighborhood transmitting station. DSL speeds diminish over lengthy distances, so the farther away you’re, the decrease your speeds are more likely to be. Sadly, distant rural areas are sometimes caught with the bottom speeds.

How does Frontier web examine?

As a DSL supplier, Frontier could also be a viable house web possibility in rural areas. As talked about above, DSL speeds fluctuate extensively by location, so the general worth of Frontier Web and the way it compares to different suppliers, will rely on what sort of speeds you will get.

As a fiber web supplier, Frontier has comparatively low costs contemplating the speeds you get. With fiber plans beginning at $60 monthly, Frontier Fiber is on par with entry-level plans from AT&T Fiber ($55 a month), but barely increased than Verizon Fios ($40 a month). That stated, Frontier does provide considerably sooner speeds at 500Mbps versus the 300Mbps you’d get with AT&T or Verizon Fios. 

In all probability, you will not have the choice of different DSL or fiber suppliers in Frontier service areas. Competing web suppliers of the identical expertise usually keep away from providing web in the identical areas. Nevertheless, you will see cable web suppliers similar to Spectrum or Xfinity obtainable in lots of Frontier service areas.

Cable beats DSL, fiber beats cable

Cable web suppliers that you’re going to discover in Frontier service areas embody Mediacom, Optimum, Spectrum and Xfinity, amongst others. In contrast with cable web, Frontier Web is more likely to be slower and costlier, particularly contemplating the associated fee per Mbps. Most cable web suppliers provide gigabit obtain speeds, whereas Frontier Web will come nowhere near that. Whereas cable web plans can attain $100 a month or increased, the speeds you get for the value are more likely to be a significantly better worth.

Cable web versus Frontier Fiber is a coin toss, relying on which cable supplier is in your space. For instance, Frontier Fiber has pricing much like Xfinity’s cable web plans on comparable velocity tiers — each suppliers provide gigabit service beginning for round $70 a month, for example — however you may get sooner add speeds and limitless knowledge with Frontier Fiber. Spectrum’s web service, however, is priced a bit increased than Frontier, but in addition comes with the conveniences of limitless knowledge and no contracts. 

In the end, if Frontier Fiber is obtainable in your space, I might possible suggest it over cable web service, particularly when you’re contemplating the upper 500Mbps or gigabit velocity tiers. The pricing is more likely to be on par with or decrease than related tiers from a cable supplier. The simple pricing and limitless knowledge give Frontier Fiber a bonus over most suppliers generally.

Frontier web buyer satisfaction studies are enhancing, barely

Buyer satisfaction scores are by no means fairly for cable and web suppliers, however Frontier’s have been downright ugly for some time there. The American Buyer Satisfaction Index ranked the supplier final in 2019 and 2020 with scores of 55/100 in each years. In 2021, Frontier broke out of the underside spot with a rating of 57/100, edging out (former Altice model) Suddenlink’s 55. In the newest 2022 ACSI rankings, Frontier improved with a rating of 61/100, passing CenturyLink, Mediacom and Optimum alongside the best way. Frontier’s rating continues to be under the business common, however not less than it’s exhibiting indicators of enchancment.

Frontier Communications did not fare effectively with buyer satisfaction reporter J.D. Energy, both, coming in final in three out of 4 areas. Frontier ranked final within the East, North Central and West areas, and fell effectively under the regional common within the South, regardless of inserting above Kinetic by Windstream, CenturyLink, Suddenlink and HughesNet.

So what is the cope with Frontier’s constantly low buyer satisfaction? Of the over 5,200 Frontier buyer complaints to the Higher Enterprise Bureau closed inside the previous three years, it seems that service disruptions, poor customer support and lack of velocity upgrades in rural areas are all generally and constantly skilled points.

When contacted by the BBB in 2019 concerning a “excessive quantity and sample of great complaints,” Frontier’s response admitted that the corporate had “dissatisfied prospects,” however pointed a lot of the blame at its acquisitions of infrastructure in Connecticut from AT&T and in California, Texas and Florida from Verizon.

“Because the BBB factors out, lots of the 11,000 (as of December 2019) complaints made on this platform resulted from the transition of providers in these two transactions,” reads Frontier’s response. “We’ve labored diligently to deal with the problems raised and restore credibility. Points associated to these transactions have been resolved.”

Whereas service disruptions and unfavorable buyer experiences can actually occur throughout a technical transition, it is price mentioning that these acquisitions came about in 2016, but Frontier’s response to the BBB got here in December 2019 — and related complaints from prospects are nonetheless coming in.

Out of over 540 BBB buyer opinions, Frontier at the moment has a median of 1.04 out of 5 stars. And whereas web service suppliers are infamous for low assessment scores, Frontier’s assessment rating feels exceptionally low.

Regardless of a troublesome run lately, Frontier expresses optimism that buyer satisfaction will proceed to enhance. “We work laborious to satisfy buyer wants and to offer the highest quality and best telecommunications services to the purchasers and communities we serve,” a spokesperson stated. “Customer support excellence is a prime precedence for our new management.”

Recap of Frontier web service

In case you can overlook the low buyer satisfaction rankings and gradual DSL speeds, Frontier might be price contemplating for its limitless knowledge, however provided that Frontier Fiber is obtainable in your space. Frontier’s fiber web provides speeds and pricing similar to many different prime suppliers, and fiber’s quick add speeds and reliability offers it an edge over cable web service.

Relying on the obtainable speeds, Frontier’s DSL-based service might be one of the best web possibility in lots of rural areas the place satellite tv for pc is the one different solution to join. Experiences of gradual service, nonetheless, could make you wish to give satellite tv for pc web one other look. 

Frontier web FAQ