Spectrum and Frontier are both internet service providers, but their market reach is quite different from each other. Spectrum provides cable internet services, whereas Frontier mostly provides DSL internet services. There are also several differences that you will come to know about the battle of Spectrum vs Frontier.
Before you begin, let’s understand a few things. Cable, DSL and optical fibre, these three internet connection types are very much different from each other. When you see a collection of internet plans, you need to further investigate this matter. Ask them whether the plans are based on DSL, cable or optical fibre.
Optical fibre connections are costly. Let’s say if you see an internet plan worth $20 or $30 a month then the ISP provides either DSL or cable connection. So, keep these things in mind.
Spectrum vs Frontier: A Head-to-Head Comparison
It’s all about the epic battle between the two great ISPs. Who is the best? And why is that? To answer the questions, let’s check out all the facts which will prove and answer all your queries.
Speed and Availability
It’s confusing, right? Both speed and availability are indeed necessary for an internet connection. According to the experts, Spectrum is one of the best service providers in terms of offering speed. Whereas, Frontier is best for availability. What will you do now? Obviously, you are not going to take both these connections, right?
It’s quite difficult to judge which one you want to take. According to the experts, first, you have to understand the type of work you do, using the internet. The maximum speed of Spectrum starts from 200 Mbps to 1 Gbps. It might increase or decrease due to the variation of data packets. Whereas, the speed of Frontier ranges from 9 Mbps to 900 MBps. One unique thing is present regarding the comparison of Spectrum vs Frontier. Spectrum provides cable connection and Frontier provides DSL and Optical Fibre connection.
Also Read: Spectrum Router IP Address
This means that with Frontier you get an advantage. No matter what speed the connection provides, network consistency is guaranteed. In this part, there is a greater chance for Frontier to win the network consistency battle with a decent upload and download speed.
Plans and Prices
Here, you must know the details of Spectrum plans along with all the details. The first one is Spectrum Internet Assist, which costs nearly about $14 to $15 per month. This connection is solely used for household purposes. The upload and download speeds are 30 Mbps. The second one is Spectrum internet, and the cost of this plan is about $50 per month. The upload and download speed is 200 Mbps. The last two plans are Spectrum Internet Ultra and Internet Gig and their costs per month are about $70 and $110 per month. Furthermore, the maximum speed is 1 Gbps.
The plans of Frontier starts from Internet Basic that costs $38 per month. Its speed is 9 Mbps which is not that great indeed. The Internet preferred and premium plans cost $45 and $55 respectively. According to the users, these two plans are affordable as they provide 25 and 115 Mbps.
Now, the speed master has the Optical Fibre with the plans of FibreOptic 50, FibreOptic 500 and FibreOptic Gig Service. All of their charges are $50, $60 and $80 per month. The speeds are 50 Mbps, 500Mbps, 940 Mbps respectively.
Now, the speed will obviously vary according to the plans. It will solely depend on how much speed you need to cover all of your internet activities. One more important thing, carefully look at the speed and note down the maximum limit. If the climate interferes, then the speed might slow down a little bit. So, in this case, the selection of the ISP will depend on the user. Therefore, the battle of Spectrum vs Frontier is tied.
The Installation
Now, the installation battle between Spectrum vs Frontier is the same. Both of these ISPs provide professional and user installation. The primary difference is the cost. The professional installation of Spectrum costs about $50, whereas self-installation costs around $10.
The professional installation of Frontier is $75. In addition to that, as Frontier provides optical fibre connection, hence there is a high chance that they might also provide you with a router or modem. So, if this happens, then you have to pay an additional $10 every month.
The end is not here actually, regarding the self-installation, obviously, there is no need for any charges. But, for the handling of their provided network devices, you might have to pay a $10 handling fee. Furthermore, another $10 might be required for the network processing fee. If you seek help from the authorized technicians, then the installation time will take at least 8 hours.
So, clearly, the Spectrum ISP is much cheaper than Frontier. Spectrum also offers its customers internet plans without any contract. This means that if you have paid for a month’s subscription and are not satisfied with the bandwidth, then you can cancel it at once. So, in this comparison between Spectrum vs Frontier, Spectrum holds the upper hand.
Data Cappings
Data cappings mean fair usage. Let’s say you have an internet plan that provides high-speed data usage of up to 50 GB. But, after that, the speed will slash down to one-fourth. For example, within 50 GB of data, if the download speed is 10 Mbps (for example), then after the usage of 50 GB, the data will be slashed down to 1.5 or 2 Mbps.
Here, there will be no comparison of Spectrum vs Frontier. Why is it so? Because, both Spectrum and Frontier have no data cappings. You will receive unlimited data along with high-speed bandwidth, download and upload speed.
The Customer’s Notes
The battle of this section regarding Spectrum vs Frontier will be epic. The overall rating of Spectrum is 3.8, reliability is 4.0, customer service rating is 3.8, the speed rating is 4.1, and the price rating is 3.3.
Coming to the Frontier, the overall rating is 3.8, reliability rating is 3.8, customer service rating is 3.7, the speed rating is 4.0 and price rating is 3.5. According to the reports of the customer satisfaction survey, Spectrum has flanked Frontier in overall performance and others. Whereas, Frontier has gained an edge over Spectrum in only price and speed.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is Frontier or spectrum better?
Which is faster spectrum or Frontier?
Does spectrum use fiber-optic?
Fiber-optic Internet access is available in 41 states and 32 urban regions across the United States.
