Submitted by RandyPhylum t3_10k645b in Connecticut
I'm looking to downgrade my Comcast package to just internet. I currently have 800 Mbps package and don't want to go lower. Has anyone had both Comcast and frontier fiber? Is Frontier worth getting? My main issue is all of comast's hidden fees.
I wouldn't be here right now if GoNetSpeed was available here. I know I'm going with fiber, that's not really my quam. I'm mainly concerned with Frontier outages that I hear about. But are those more frequent with their outdated DSL infrastructure? Is their fiber network more reliable?
Frontier - when it works it works, when you have an issue, expect little to no helpful troubleshooting or resolution.
I had intermittent, very brief (<5 min) outages on a relatively frequent basis on fiber for a while (although they were almost always between 2 and 5am), but they did some sort of neighborhood-sized switch upgrade which totally solved the problem. Since then we've been pretty much consistently up.
My parents and sister both switched from Comcast to Frontier last year and have had nothing but positive feedback. They switched because Comcast was expensive, unreliable, and never actually reached the speeds quoted. My BIL sometimes works from home and has had no issues since the switch. My father used to have so many issues trying to stream video, he thought it was the service he used. Ever since they switched his streaming service runs like butter.
We just moved to Seymour and also got Frontier fiber per their recommendation. I work from home every day and decided to go with their 500 Mbps package to save a bit of money. It's only been about a week and a half but so far it has been really great and reliable. I am almost always sitting right at 500Mbps down and up, which is great and crazy fast.
Based on my own and my family's experience, I would recommend the switch.
Just had Gonetspeed installed today, so far so good and the wifi coverage has been way better then my xfinity set up. Fingers crossed it continues
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I have not heard any complaints about outages or connection problems on Frontier fiber.
I'm new to CT, had AT&T fiber in previous state and Comcast fiber before that, and had Frontier installed here when I moved in last summer. It works exactly like any fiber internet, but costs less. I have had 0 issues with it.
Not to mention: Comcast charges you if your monthly usage is over 1TB; the other companies do not. Unlimited Fiber thru Frontier is cheaper than capped-at-1TB fiber from Comcast.
I'm also of the opinion that anything that can get you off Comcast is a huge win..
Frontier fiber is great
I hate Comcast. always have. So back in October when Frontier finally started offering fiber in by area I switched immediately, and I can tell you it was the biggest mistake I've ever made. The tech that did my install did a terrible job. I'm talking ran a wire right in front of a window, left the fiber line laying on the piping for my heat. Even after I told him not to TWICE, still cut the coax line. So after he left I fixed all of this myself. We had working internet for less than 48 hours. Thankfully I didn't cancel my Comcast service so I just ran a new line to replace the one he cut and hooked my cable modem back up. Over the next month I had 4 Frontier techs come out and say nothing was wrong, gave me a hassle when I had them swap out the PON box, and every time it'd work for a few hours and then crap out. I had multi hour conversations with customer service, technical support, etc. It took until December for them to finally admit that something was wrong and allow me to cancel my service. The best part is, they just sent me a new bill even though I don't a have Frontier anymore.
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TL;DR never ever get internet from Frontier.
That's unfortunate and I'm sorry you had that experience.
The tech we had install ours last summer was amazing. He made suggestions that would require him to work more, but would hide the wires and be a better placement for aesthetics. Really just paid a lot of attention to the details.
He also gave us a hub for plugged in LAN for free, and said Frontier usually charges extra for that equipment but he had a few spares in his truck.
In fact, I don't think I've ever had such a wonderful service person from a utility company like that.
Also, our internet has been fantastic - zero issues.
I've never tried Frontier but I have downgraded my Comcast to internet only. And I downgraded all the way down to 75 Mbps! And I'm happy to say, I really didn't need 800 Mbps! I have no issues with my internet and I stream movies and game.
Just a suggestion, if you are looking to lower your bill, I would consider at least going down to 200 Mbps and see if that works for you. You can always go back up if you run into any issues, but you might be surprised.
You are better than I could ever be. I like downloading massive games in 30 minutes with my 1200mbps plan. I hated how long it took when I was at 50mbps, sometimes I would take a nap and it would still be downloading!
My frontier works well. Does anyone ever utilize the max internet speeds? I have 500 up/down but when I test my connection I'm not getting anywhere close to 500. Still is plenty fast for me.
>Does anyone ever utilize the max internet speeds?
Not really if you are an average user. Basically what you're getting with higher speeds is more bandwidth for multiple devices.
I have gigabit and it's very nice for moving large files around.
My wired stuff averages in the 900s, stuff connected on wifi 500-600, so yeah, I make use of my speeds.
How does one attain 500+ mbps from wifi. Is it cause your location is prime?
I have two Eero Pro access points and most of my devices are Wifi 6.
Got it thanks. I'm not knowledgeable when it comes to hardware. Maybe I need to upgrade. I pay for 500mbps but get closer to 200 in reality.
Yeah if you have an older router or older access points, that would do it.
I'm a fan of the Eeros. They also have a couple of wired ports in them that you can use for devices that have weaker wifi chips (Like a Playstation4 for example)
Newer routers that are equipped with WiFi 6E allow for this type of speed. Usually need to be on the 6 GHz band, but the range on that is short compared to 5 GHz. Also, I think 6 GHz wifi on phones/laptops started becoming mainstream within the past year or so.
Ubiquiti Ailen router can do like 600/600 over WiFi. Maybe a little higher if you’re in the same room.
Tough to get more than that over WiFi.
Ever have any outrage issues?
Never.
frontier user here too. No issues.
I have the 500 service, too, and i get 480 when I test it
I had frontier when I lived in an apartment while house hunting. It was great and cheap except if it goes out. Takes about 3 business days to get someone there then they don’t always fix it. I didn’t have internet for about 2 weeks (that’s how the kids and I watch tv) and they didn’t lower our bill.
Was that fiber or DSL?
Asking the essential questions.
DSL
My main concern with Frontier is their outrages. But it seems those are more prevalent with DSL that fiber.
Outrage works best with the other utility, Eversource.
Outages. The word is outages.
Either works, lol
I am now concerned about any outrages as well.
Autocorrect
I had frontier for two days before I had what was going to be a two day outage. Mind you I never experienced one with Comcast that wasn’t related to a power outage so this hit my family hard. No TV or internet for two days?! Frontier said they couldn’t have someone come out earlier so my wife and I resigned with Comcast for their fastest internet package and haven’t looked back.
Was that outage on the DSL side or fiber?
Fiber. It was two days after the initial install
How long ago was this?
About 8 months ago.
This is my biggest concern with them. I don't recall a single outage with Comcast in 7 years.
Don’t get me wrong. The speed of their fiber service was exceptional but the outage tainted any good feeling I had. I told the service tech on the phone that there was a frontier car down the street (true) and if they could just swing by and change out the non working fiber connection. They said they were on a schedule and couldn’t interfere with prior service calls, which I respected. The fact that they wanted me to wait two days with no internet or tv (YouTube TV) was insane.
Frontier is definitely cheaper.
But I currently have just internet 1.2gbs from comcast for $80 a month.
I just called, $97 a month for 800mbps. Customer for 9 years....
Say you’ll cancel your service subscription if they don’t give you the package you want.
That usually works. More than 75% of the time, I’d say.
Their call center policy is to haggle with you to try and keep you as a customer.
Ask other people in your local area and use them as a bargaining chip. Point out that your neighbor has the package and price point that you want. Ask why they can get that price and package, but why can’t you?
I know it’s been typical to hate comcast but they’ve been weirdly amazing to me lately. Halved my bill for no reason, a month later doubled my speed, sent a crew to fix the internet on our street within a few hours when construction messed it up, etc. Not sure if i’m lucky or if they’ve turned it around?
>Halved my bill for no reason
Oh they had a reason: competition from Frontier. I got the same mailer from them about 3 days before my Frontier install date.
I've had both, switched to Frontier Fiber late last year (new rollout in my area). It's amazing and I'm never going back. Never had any outages.
I also have Frontier fiber, and it's the darndest thing: The advertised price is what I pay? Every month? Like, they said it would be $59.99, and that's what the bill is. Total. I was mildly flabbergasted.
Turns out, it is possible to not have hidden fees and taxes.
I moved to Frontier almost a year ago, internet only went from $116 a month to $60. Dm me and I can get you a referral and we each get $200 gift cards.
Frontier Fiber, it’s symmetrical. Xfinity has pretty slow uploads comparatively.
I’m switching to frontier fiber tomorrow from cox. I’ll let you know how it goes. They’re here between 8 and 12.
Last time I tried to get Comcast to just give me internet without TV, they told me they cost the same: TV + Internet for $X, just Internet also for $X. fwiw.
I dropped to just internet a few years back. It was about $90 a month compared to $120 for basic internet and tv. It has since doubled.
thanks
Switched to Frontier Fiber from Comcast.
Frontier has better pricing/upload speeds/no equipment fees (still recommend using your own router).
Comcast had a better app and much quicker response time for tech calls (repairs/etr). I had intermittent outages during COVID on a weekly basis with Xfinity and a pending price increase for the internet alone. Outages were either resolved within an hour or same day.
Made the switch to frontier and so far only had one outage that took an entire week. Apparently there was a fire damaging my area. The app is useless. I'm saving hundreds a year with overall a better experience.
If you or anyone is interested in a referral ($100) DM me.
Thanks. Good info here. Glad to hear overall good experience. Can't do anything about a local fire.
I just switched from comcast to frontier fiber, and it's great!
When I lived in NL I had the AT&T fiber and it was stellar. Very very few outages, and the TV service was the best (I know that doesn't matter to you in this case.)
Here in Mystic we can either have Comcast or Breezeline. I have had Breezeline (formerly Thames Valley,) because I refuse to Reno the devil with Comcast. My neighbor switched to Comcast a couple of years ago, and then switched back.
Last week I was complaining to my SO about the hidden charges on my Breezeline acct. For their Gold package for Internet and TV it's about $110 a month, but the additional fees are over $50 a month! I am paying almost $25 a month for the local TV fee and the local sports fee, neither of which I even use. I've considered just going to Internet only, however in my case I'd need to subscribe to an iPTV, and that would jack my monthly cost to over what I pay now.
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Been on Frontier fiber for about 6 months now. Paying for 500/500 and I’m getting 550/550 great coverage great for gaming. Compared to xfinity when I had their gigabit plan and was only getting 600 max while wired it’s a huge upgrade. So far no hidden fees signed up for the plan at 50$ a month and get auto charged 53$ with tax absolutely no issues
No hidden fees from Comcast for me.
Step one have a SO in the house to switch account to.
Step two take all Comcast equipment to the store, mine was in Middletown and cancel.
Step three have SO sign up for Internet only I pay 39.95 for 800 speed with autopay.
Step four buy your own modem and router and plug them in and activate on SO's account.
Step 5 enjoy the fact that n the North East there is no cap on data.
Have not tried Frontier but would guess the fiber is fine also look if Netspeed Fiber is in your town.
Just switched from comcast to GNS, at the 900mbs, had issues with them for a while, weak signal, slow speeds. It was a nightmare, the second GNS was available I jumped right to them
Sorry, but what is GNS? Is that frontier's fiber network?
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Aegisx5 t1_j5oo7rp wrote
The thing with Frontier is they have two separate services - Frontier DSL and Frontier Fiber. They bought the DSL rights from AT&T a decade or so ago, and it's terrible - mostly because the infrastructure is 100+ years old, and they aren't going to invest billions into replacing it. DSL in general is an inferior technology for high speed internet anyways.
Fiber on the other hand, is brand new. All the lines are run brand new, with direct fiber lines all the way to the street in front of your house. Plus it has a much higher bandwidth. Cable internet also works excellently (unless you care about high speed upload), so it really comes down to cost. There is also GoNetSpeed fiber optic available in some towns, depending where you live.