With millions of customers across most of the United States, CenturyLink Internet is the broadband option from well-known telecommunications provider CenturyLink. However, CenturyLink provides a combination of DSL Internet (at higher rates than we are used to seeing) and fiber internet in limited areas to also become an extremely competitive internet provider as well. Available across most of the country except for most of the Northeast, some Mid-Atlantic states, and California, you may wish to see if you can take advantage of their low prices and simple service and planning.
Yet how do they compare to other providers and how can you expect them to hold up for your household over the long term? Here is our review of CenturyLink’s options, service quality, and more:
Common Service Plans and Pricing
Before anything else, you should look at the plans on offer from CenturyLink. Fortunately, you will not have to worry about too many choices, as it comes down to just a few options at just a few prices.
You should note that not all the above plans will be available in all areas, and there might be regional variations depending on unpredictable additional factors. Yet overall you have a simple decision to make: do you want the fastest DSL plan on offer for $49 a month, or do you want fiber service for $65 a month? If neither of these options are available or appeal to you, then you will need to look at other providers.
Affordability and Value
Seeing the plans listed above, how do they compare to the rest of the market? Generally well, depending on other options in your area. However, their DSL plans generally have a “price for life” tag associated with them, guaranteeing that there will be no price hikes so long as you keep them as a provider. However, there are also no long-term contracts with CenturyLink, making it easy to switch to another provider if you are unhappy with service or cancel if you are planning to move.
How much this price for life deal will matter will depend on if you would be happy with the price on offer in the first place as well as where you think prices for that level of service would be heading over time. Because while you being locked into that price is generally a good thing and can provide some security, it only really matters if you know other providers would hike their rates over time, making CenturyLink comparatively better.
And comparison is the key term to consider here when determining the value of these plans: is there something better in your area, or is CenturyLink the only player in town? You will get great value for the fiber plan for certain, but otherwise you should check to see if CenturyLink has the fastest download speed.
Additional Fees and Charges
If you have cable or internet already, you know to expect additional fees, charges, and more to increase your bill by a not-insignificant amount each month. Here are some of the most common items for CenturyLink, both recurring and one-time:
Equipment Lease Fee: You may not have to pay this depending on your setup, location, and whether you order online or not, but prepare for an extra $15 a month on your bill to lease a modem. Alternatively, you can purchase your modem outright for about $100 in most cases (which we absolutely recommend if you can afford it) or you might only have to pay $10 a month.
You may also simply use your own equipment and avoid paying anything involving an equipment fee, which is great if you already own something compatible or wish to save money over the long term. Just make sure that it will work first so that you do not run into a headache during setup.
Professional Installation Fee: A professional installation of your equipment could cost up to $125 and may vary depending on how easy the installation will be and if you put in an online order.
Self-Installation Fee: If you are confident in your technical skills, you can also do self-installation and only have to pay a fee of $50 instead for shipping and handling. This may also be waived for online orders.
Fortunately, these were it when it came to the most common fees, and outside of perhaps the standard taxes, late fees, etc. you can rest easier knowing you would not have much else to worry about with CenturyLink. Most notably, there is no early termination fee, as there is no contract to terminate or break.
Our Recommendations
Normally recommending a plan from an ISP would require a few steps or potential factors, but from CenturyLink we recommend only one thing: the fastest plan available, if that plan would be acceptable to you. If their fastest plan is not acceptable (and it might not be for the 1.5 or 10 Mbps plans), look at other providers. The price difference to get fiber service if you can get it 100 percent worth it in our eyes, and you will be glad to pay just a bit more for those blazing fast download speeds and more reliable fiber service.
Bundling Options and Additional Deals
Given the fact that CenturyLink offers multiple types of services to its customers, being a telecommunications company, it only makes sense that there would be bundles as practically every ISP has them.
However, CenturyLink is extremely limited when it comes to these bundling options, and if you are expecting an endless series of premium cable channels you will be disappointed. You may be able to get home phone service (if you would even be able to use it anymore), but otherwise you will need to go elsewhere to find something worthwhile.
There is hope, though, in the fact that you may be able to arrange a package with another provider, especially if there is little competition in your area. You should be cautious that you are getting the best deal and be ready to shop around or cut the cord altogether, but do not write off CenturyLink just because there is no cable, especially given the wide array of content on streaming services.
Data Caps and Limitations
Most ISPs will have data caps of some form associated with their service plans, and CenturyLink, as least with most of its DSL plans, has a data cap of 1TB. However, based on other reports, not much happens if you go over this cap (you may get a notice about it). It is possible you could experience extra charges or a throttling of your connection, but ultimately, we have not heard reports of this, and you should not worry too much about this likelihood.
Why shouldn’t you worry? The main reason is that with the speeds DSL service delivers, it would be rather difficult, if not outright impossible, for your household to meet this limit each month, requiring effectively constant streaming to cause problems. However, if you have a household of power users, you may wish to plan for this possibility, so you do not get caught off-guard if CenturyLink decides to act on it.
Their fiber service, where such a data cap would be more likely to come into play, does not have a data cap, and you and your family can download to your hearts’ content. This increases the value of their fiber plan tremendously, especially when you consider that with other ISPs you might have to pay $30-$50 a month for the privilege.
Consistency
Does CenturyLink match up its actual speeds with its advertised speeds? Can customers expect what they were promised? These are important questions, and fortunately the FCC thought so as well, as they performed tests to determine if actual download speeds from ISPs matched what was advertised.
Unfortunately, CenturyLink was one of the worst ISPs tested along these lines, as among its DSL customers only about 48 percent got a median download speed greater than 95 percent of what was advertised. Additionally, about 22 percent of customers got less than 80 percent of what was promised. Essentially, you should not expect to get everything you hope for with their DSL service (their fiber service was not tested to our knowledge)
Now it should be noted that while CenturyLink might try its best in this regard, DSL technology often puts the matter beyond CenturyLink’s hands beyond perhaps promising less to customers in the future. Advertised rates are generally “Up to X Mbps” as opposed to a flat number. Still, this is a disappointment regardless, and you should factor these numbers into your decision.
Equipment and Setup
You cannot get an internet connection in your home without some equipment, and the equipment on offer from CenturyLink will be more than sufficient, though which model you get may vary based on when you order and your location. There were no common problems or threads that gave us concern about their equipment.
You will also need to schedule a setup for setup and installation with CenturyLink Internet (and likely cable if you are getting a bundle) if you want help. Overall, though, there is little to worry about with the setup process and the biggest problem you might have will be related to scheduling the right time.
Alternative to all of the above, you can handle most everything yourself with your own equipment (although it needs to be able to work with DSL or fiber technology, as opposed to cable) and make things much easier if you know what to do. However, if you are hesitant or confused by the potential process, we recommend getting help with the installation. The money spent on it will be worth the security of not having things go wrong during setup, if you even have to pay in the first place.
Customer Service
Most internet companies are not well known for their customer service, and unfortunately based on our own research and additional reports and reviews, this is a problem for CenturyLink as well. Average reviews on aggregate sites are lower than we’ve practically ever seen them, and while there are some good reports about customer service and more often about the service itself, the number of times customers complained about rude treatment and long wait times was deeply concerning.
Customers also report that CenturyLink does not necessarily follow up on problems, a poor website customer service experience that is at once unintuitive and confusing (sometimes asking the impossible of customers), and technicians not being available for unacceptable periods of time (for example, would you want to wait a week to get internet service back if you waited from home?).
You might live in an area where it is the exception and the lower costs might be worth some of this inconvenience from time to time, and many customers may never even need to call customer service but just know what you’re getting into in this department before signing up.
Customer Notes and Reviews on CenturyLink
While we can provide our own notes and overview on CenturyLink’s internet services, what to the customers think of it, especially those who have had it for some time (with the honeymoon period of introductory rates being over)?
· As we mentioned in the previous section, many of the negative reports were about CenturyLink’s customer service, whether it came to internet service or something else entirely. The term “rude” popped up repeatedly in many contexts.
· Rural customers or customers with few other internet options were happier than most with the access they received, and happy with the flat rate and relative reliability of their internet access.
· Customers were particularly angry at how they were treated when their service wasn’t available, being given little support and still being expected to pay for services they were not getting, even for extended periods such as a few weeks.
· Many other complaints could be categorized as “organizational and logistical issues” with people noting things missing, technicians not responding, and other things that seem to show mismanagement.
Naturally, policies and practices change over time and happy customers are less likely to leave any sort of note or review, so you should take the above reports with a slight grain of salt. If every customer had an absolutely horrible experience, then CenturyLink would be knocked out by the competition at this point. However, it can clearly be seen that there is room for improvement.
General Summary
For many people, CenturyLink is the pinnacle of internet accessibility and affordability, especially if there are few other options in your area. However, you may find the value proposition to decrease over time or with lower speed service plans, so they are not perfect for every household.
Pros:
· CenturyLink mostly utilize plans that will lock in their price for as long as you remain a customer. This applies to DSL plans, and you should note that fiber internet has its own structure (cheap as it is).
· The faster DSL plans are cheaper than much of the competition and are great when compared to other DSL plans in terms of price and service.
· One of the cheapest fiber internet plans in the country, if not the outright cheapest after competitor’s deals and bundles lose their luster.
Cons:
· There is practically no point to settling for a lower service plan if one is even available. You will be paying at least $50 a month for even the most basic access, while other low speed plans can easily cost less.
· Customer service is generally poor based on any and all reports, and as a result of this you may run into issues getting a fix if you have problems with your service. While cable and internet companies are not known for good service, CenturyLink seems to bring matters to a new low.
· Customers may not receive the speeds their plan advertises.
· There is no TV service bundle from CenturyLink, so people looking for a cable package may need to search elsewhere or find a way to supplement their setup.
Learning More About CenturyLink
Availability: You can use this very site to learn if CenturyLink (and if so, what plans, which is a vital piece of information) are available in your area. From there you can determine if the service would fulfill your household’s needs and not cause any problems for you. Note that it will be different for every area, so don’t be too surprised if a friend just a few towns over is able to get a better plan than you, or vice versa.
Deals and Special Offers: Given the nature of deals and special offers, we have elected not to feature them on this review page due to their tendency to come and go, unless one can consider those deals as always being available. However, we do encourage you to check to see what is available and know that by calling CenturyLink you might be able to work out a special link for yourself.
About DSL and Fiber Internet: DSL internet is based on the use of phone lines to transmit information. And while this is a useful technology in the fact that the infrastructure for it is effectively built-in across the country, DSL speeds are limited, somewhat less reliable than other service types, and provide extremely poor upload speeds, which may cause problems for some users.
Fiber internet, on the other hand, is more limited in its availability but can provide speeds that are much, much faster, usually reaching gigabit speeds. It utilizes fiber optic cables comprised of thin glass strands that transmit information better than existing technologies, both for uploads and downloads. However, only larger cities and developed areas usually have these fiber optic cables running through them.
Conclusion
While CenturyLink may not be able to compete with some of the more common and dedicated internet providers on the market, it can be a great supplement to people with an existing cable subscription or those looking for basic and affordable internet access.
However, we would like to remind you again that picking out an internet service provider is a very personalized experience, full of context and with many variables to weigh. What may be cons to most could be pros to your household. Regardless of your final decision, we hope that this information on CenturyLink Internet has proved helpful and wish you the best of luck with your continued search.
