On the bright side, Optimum internet is free of data caps and contracts, regardless of the service type or plan. But hey, no data caps, no contracts and now a 2-year price guarantee Instead, the company voluntarily lowered upload speeds to ensure they "are in line with other ISPs and aligned with the industry." So, Altice reduced upload speeds on all Optimum cable internet plans to better match the slower upload speeds of other major cable internet providers. It's a bold move by Altice and one that won't do any favors for the millions of people who continue to work and learn from home, but surely the decision was made for good reason, right?Īltice claims that the speed decrease is not the result of limited network capabilities or difficulty keeping up with demand. New customers, however, are stuck with the slower upload speeds. On July 12, 2021, upload speeds on Optimum plans dropped by 15 to 30Mbps, depending on the plan.Įxisting Optimum customers didn't have to worry about their upload speeds falling, unless they changed their plan by upgrading or downgrading their speeds. Optimum internet is no different, but parent company Altice decided to take its upload speeds down even further last year. That's just the nature of a cable internet connection.
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Upload speeds are competitively lowĬable internet upload speeds will be lower than the download speeds. Again, that won't matter much if you're just interested in internet service, but if you want to add TV, know that it will be more expensive without the bundle savings. It also means that the bundle savings, which are typically the incentive for signing up for a bundle package, are also gone. The real point of FlexAbility plans seems to be that Optimum isn't trying to lock you into a particular bundle package with services you don't need - a less frequent but still common practice of cable internet providers - or any trap pricing schemes that will have you upgrading to a more expensive plan every year or so ( looking at you, Cox). Spectrum does something similar, only without any of the perky marketing names.
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It's pretty similar to the Verizon Fios Mix and Match plan structure where you choose an internet plan, then add individual TV or phone packages instead of selecting from prebuilt bundle packages. Here's how it works: find out what Optimum plans are available at your address choose the internet plan you want add the TV package or mobile data plan you want, or not.
Via the new FlexAbility plans, Optimum lets you choose the internet plan you want and add a TV package and a mobile data plan. If you're hoping to bundle with TV to take advantage of bundle savings though, the new FlexAbility plan structure will be less of a steal. Most Optimum plans - especially Optimum 300, 500 and 1 Gig - are a pretty good deal if you just want internet. Optimum FlexAbility plans break up the bundle (and the savings) AT&T, for example, has the same monthly pricing on its 2-gig and 5-gig plans, and Frontier's 2-gig plan starts at $150 a month. Such prices for home internet can understandably feel a bit steep compared to other internet plans, but Optimum's multi-gig plans are actually priced as well as or better than competing providers. Multi-gig internet service is still fairly new with few major providers offering anything above 1,000Mbps, but Optimum has recently introduced 2,000Mbps and 5,000Mbps plans available in select areas starting at $120 and $180 per month, respectively. Beyond that, many Optimum service areas - approximately 1.6 million households - will have access to fiber service with symmetrical upload and download speeds and multigigabit plan options. Additionally, gig service is available to the majority of households serviceable for Optimum, roughly 80%, but not all. For example, select areas may also have the option of a low-cost 100Mbps plan and some locations will get 200Mbps or 400Mbps in place of the 300 and 500Mbps plans. Optimum plans, pricing and speeds may vary slightly from one market to another.