Spectrum, before Charter Communications, is one of many cable internet service providers that serve the United States. Spectrum is a telecommunications company serving customers in 41 states with more than 31 million users, providing internet without cable TV or home phone service bundles. This allows customers who may not wish for the other services to just subscribe to an internet connection only.
So, let’s assume that one wants to subscribe to Spectrum’s internet-only plan, how much might that cost? This guide will explain Spectrum’s pricing and fees and review what internet speed options are available if you don’t choose to bundle your internet with other services.
The availability, types, and cost of Spectrum Internet services.
Spectrum has several standalone internet plans within high-speed ranges that customers can choose from. Internet only offers more simplicity compared to the bundled services that Spectrum provides. Here are the monthly base fees for Spectrum's core internet plans:
- Spectrum Internet Assist: $17.99 per month with 30 Mbps speed.
- Spectrum Internet: At $49.99 per month, the company offers 200 Mbps.
- Spectrum Internet Ultra: Starting at $69.99 per month with an optional 400 Mbps speed increase.
- Spectrum Gig: $20 (70 Mbps), $40 (120 Mbps), $60 (190 Mbps), $80 (290 Mbps), $109.99 (940 Mbps).
Spectrum Internet Assist is another product offered by Spectrum as an affordable one for lower-income individuals and families. This provides connectivity at the speed of 30 Mbps at a meager price of $17.99 for a month.
The most basic Spectrum Internet is $49.99 per month and comes with Internet speeds of up to 200 Mbps. It is the most demanded package that Spectrum offers to users who need internet service only without TV service.
For the households that have more simultaneous users requiring an internet connection, Xfinity offers the Ultra ( 400 Mbps for $69.99) and the Gig (940 Mbps for $109.99) plans with higher speed and higher rates respectively.
These base rates are without any other charges for service and taxes. Estimations have been made that actual costs will be a few dollars more per month than calculated.
One-Time Fees
Spectrum also has other fees that are associated with the Internet service, these include one-time installation and activation fees when the client is signing up for a new service. The typical fees are:
- Installation fee: $49.99
- Activation fee: $9.99
However, such one-off charges are frequently excluded in the initial order, or ‘first-time user’ offers. Therefore, your actual costs for installation and activation could conceivably be $0 and that’s not a typo.
Modem Rental or Purchase
For one, to be able to access the internet provided by Spectrum, you will need a modem and router setup that is compatible with the company’s internet service. Spectrum gives customers two options:
1. Get a modem/router through Spectrum for only $5 monthly to save on costs.
2. Do not rent your modem and router from your ISP; instead, buy a compatible one on your own.
On the plus side, if you opt for Spectrum’s rental equipment, you shall be free from installation costs. But $5 per month is not pocket change; over a year, that could easily add up. If you are going to remain with Spectrum’s service for a long time then buying your modem as well as wireless router is preferable.
Spectrum has a large compatibility list of modems and routers compatible with cable internet. A minimum configuration from Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart, can be purchased for $60 to $120. Therefore, according to this scenario, after about one year of renting, you would be almost in the same position as if you had bought and paid for the house.
No Data Caps
A major plus of Spectrum in comparison to some other internet service providers, is that they do not set a limit on home Internet usage. Spectrum does not cap data usage per month and customers don’t have to worry about overage charges or additional fees.
This puts Spectrum among the top ISPs in terms of data usage from features such as video streaming, gaming, and file downloads, among others.
Taxes and Fees
Apart from the stated monthly base rates, Spectrum has standard extra taxes, fees, and surcharges to the client’s bill. These can include:
- Federal broadband tax
- Taxes such as state and local sales taxes
- The FCC regulatory recovery fee is the fee that some Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers charge their customers in addition to the regular rates to recover the cost incurred when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adjusts their rates.
- Broadcast TV surcharge
These additional monthly charges are usually about 10-20% more than the basic internet price offered by the company. Meaning if you are to pay $50 for internet service you will be charged about $60 to $65 on the final amount depending on the taxes and other fees added to the bill. Just do not forget that the truth of the matter is your real monthly charges will be more than what Spectrum has offered.
Bundled Service Discounts
It’s vital to understand that although this guide intends solely on Spectrum’s internet-only pricing, it’s crucial to also know about their broadband bundles for TV and home phones. Spectrum offers the following bundling price breaks:
- Internet + TV: This means you will be able to save about $30 each month.
- Internet + Home Phone: Consistently save $30 per month
- Internet + TV + Home Phone: Spend $180 LESS per month
This means that it is possible to sign up for a TV plan or home phone that you might not need in the first place to get the bonus bundle that you need which is applied to the price of the internet.
For instance, if you take the Spectrum Select TV offered at a $64.99 monthly deal, the bundling of 200 Mbps Internet will cost you $30 less per month. This means that if you opt for the bundling, you would pay $84.99 for the TV + internet package, while without bundling the price goes up to $114.99.
No Contract Requirements
To conclude, the last advantage is that Spectrum does not tie its new customers with service agreements. For the existing customers changing the plan or even discontinuing the service is allowed without any penalty of early termination.
The absence of contracts is advantageous when it comes to Spectrum services as you will have the option to modify your usage in the future. There aren’t any long-term contracts to sign and you can cancel your membership at any time without any restrictions.
Key Takeaways on Spectrum's Internet Costs:
Here are some key points on what to expect for pricing with Spectrum Internet only:
- Internet packages available at $17.99 to $109.99 and up to 940 Mbps.
- The initial costs of installation and activation, indeed, can be quite high but are sometimes excluded.
- $5 per month modem rental fee to own the modem commercially or buy one.
- Supplements increase the tariffs by 10 to 20 percent above the base rate
- Having no limits within which they can use their data allowance.
- No contracts at all, and no fee for early termination of the service.
Under the above-mentioned specifications, Spectrum offers affordable standalone high-speed internet connection prices. The prices or tariffs offered for most of the above services are fairly affordable given the speeds offered by Spectrum as well as the connectivity advantages.
