Can You Use Iphone With Suddenlink Service

Suddenlink Internet Review 2021

Suddenlink offers fast internet from Greenville, North Carolina, to Kingman, Arizona—and a few towns in between. But are the speeds you get worth the price?

3.75

Data effective 11/19/18. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.

* w/ Auto Pay & Paperless Bill plus taxes,fees & charges.

Published on December 16, 2020

If you live in Jonesboro, Abilene, or another small Southern town, then Suddenlink may be one of your few choices for high-speed internet.

Suddenlink's strategy seems to be this: offer affordable, high-speed internet in the places where the biggest internet service providers (ISPs) haven't yet dominated the market. That's good news for anyone stuck with satellite internet, dial-up, or no internet at all.

But before you jump on the Suddenlink bandwagon, make sure you read up on its less flashy attributes: price increases, weird fees, and less-than-stellar customer service. Let's dig in and find out if Suddenlink internet is right for you.

Pros

Fast speeds
Price for life on 1,000 Mbps plan
High-speed internet in rural areas

Cons

Oddball fees
Price hike after one year for 100 and 300 Mbps plans

Find out if Suddenlink internet is available near you.

Suddenlink prices and plans

Suddenlink's promotional prices are reasonable, and its 1 Gig plan comes with a price for life.

Suddenlink offers internet plans with download speeds ranging 100 to 1,000 Mbp, and its prices for those speeds sit on the low end when you look at other internet service providers (ISPs).

Plus, Suddenlink internet comes with no contract, no data cap, and a price for life guarantee on its 1,000 Mbps plan. (As long as you remain a customer in good standing, of course.)

Suddenlink internet promotional prices

Data effective 11/19/18. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.

* w/ Auto Pay & Paperless Bill plus taxes,fees & charges.

Need help deciding how much speed you need?

Is Suddenlink internet cheap?

Suddenlink's 400 Mbps undercuts Spectrum's 400 Mbps plan, and Suddenlink's Internet 100 plan is pretty much the same price as Xfinity's price for its 100 Mbps plan in the western US.

If you're after gig speeds, the price for Suddenlink's Internet 1 Gig plan is pretty excellent. Most gig-speed plans fall around that monthly price—and some are even costlier. Not to mention Suddenlink gives you a price for life guarantee on the 1 Gig plan as long as you don't make any changes to your service and you pay your bills on time.

Suddenlink internet price comparison

Provider	Monthly price	Download speeds	Learn more
Suddenlink Internet	$24.99 – $74.99 †	75 – 940 Mbps	View Plans
Spectrum Internet®	$49.99 – $109.99 ‡	200 – 1000 Mbps	View Plans
Xfinity Internet	$19.99 – $94.99 ^	50 – 1200 Mbps	View Plans

Data effective 11/19/18. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.

† Plus taxes, fees, and other charges. Price for Life. Customer must remain in good standing and up to date on bill payments to remain on Price For Life.

‡ For the first 12 months.

^ For the first 12 months. Some packages require a 1- or 2-year contract.

Where is Suddenlink internet available?

Suddenlink provides internet service in 14 different states, with most of its service focused in West Virginia, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

To find out if your particular town has Suddenlink internet, we recommend checking out the full list of service areas.

Suddenlink internet speed and data

Suddenlink internet speeds zoomed past other large ISPs in the US.

If you're looking for quick downloads, Suddenlink starts you at 100 Mbps and goes up all the way to one gig (1,000 Mbps).

Those speeds are more than enough to keep most families streaming Parks and Recreation over and over or enjoying a game of Overwatch together.

Unless you've got a ton of connected devices, like cell phones, computers, tablets, home security systems, and smart TVs, in your home or have the next YouTube star streaming from the living room, the 100 and 300 Mbps plans should be enough.

But if your family says yes to all the above or if you do a lot of downloading, file sharing, or work from home, the 400 or 1,000 Mbps plans are probably more your speed.

Suddenlink internet download and upload speeds

We're pretty impressed with Suddenlink's speed score in our analysis of the fastest ISPs in the US. It earned a weighted score of 37.1 out of 100, putting it ahead of competitors like Frontier, AT&T, and Cox.

Suddenlink internet speed score¹

Provider	Overall rank	Cable ISP rank
Suddenlink	11th out of 38 ISPs	5th out of 22 cable ISPs

Just a quick note, though: Suddenlink's weighted score doesn't represent any actual download speeds you might see if you sign up for its service. Instead, that score is a combo of the average download speeds, upload speeds, and latency that Suddenlink users saw in more than 1 million speed tests taken in 2019.

As with any internet provider, you may run into days where your internet experience is a slog. So we put together some tips for speeding up your internet to help you out.

Data caps

Suddenlink says "No problem!" to unlimited data. That means no data overages and no paying extra for more data when you go wild with streaming and Steam downloads. And that's what we like to hear.

'Nuff said.

Suddenlink contracts, equipment, and fees

"No contracts" is music to our ears. We just wish Suddenlink would explain these weird fees . . .

Suddenlink's 1,000 Mbps plan is easy, breezy, and beautiful. There's no contract, no data cap, and you get that same price for as long as you remain a good Suddenlink customer on the same plan.

But for the 100, 300, and 400 Mbps plans, the devil is in the details.

Turns out that low price for the 100 and 300 Mbps plans lasts for only 12 months, while the price for the 400 Mbps plan lasts for 24 months. That means your bill goes up after that amount of time. Yup, there's no price for life guarantee to be seen here. Move along.

Equipment and fees

You can rent a Wi-Fi modem or a wireless gateway from Suddenlink for $10.00 a month. If you'd prefer to spend that money on a loaded burrito instead, then you can bring your own compatible modem.

We recommend checking out the ARRIS SURFboard modem and Wi-Fi router, available on Amazon.

Service fees²

Suddenlink's fine print is like a thriller novel: the further on you read, the more twists and turns you find. The next big reveal is the dreaded fees.

Standard installation fee: $99, but Suddenlink sometimes offers free installation deals if you sign up online.
Premium installation fee: Suddenlink charges $149 to hardwire one device and set up Wi-Fi on six devices of your choice. It'll also help you create a Suddenlink ID.
Activation fee: $40
Upgrade service fee: $25. It seems kind of icky for an ISP to charge a fee just to upgrade your service plan, which likely costs more per month than what you previously paid.
Hourly service call fee: $60. Yikes, better to see if a Suddenlink rep can help you troubleshoot over the phone instead.
Network enhancement fee: We're not sure what this is, but Suddenlink charges you a $3.50 one-time fee for it.

Suddenlink customer service

We expect as much from Suddenlink as we do from other ISPs: not-so-great customer service.

Unfortunately, your customer service rep might be less fun to deal with than running out of toilet paper. Suddenlink, like most ISPs, has a bit of a public relations problem.

But while your average ISP earned a score of 65 out of 100 in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) report, Suddenlink scored a 57 out of 100.³ That's a drop in score from the previous year. Sounds like Suddenlink needs some tutoring on how to give the customer what they want.

Suddenlink customer service score³

Rating	Suddenlink score
ACSI 2019–2020	57 out of 100

You can contact Suddenlink online here:

1-877-794-2724
Online chat
Twitter: @SuddenlinkHelp
Facebook: @mysuddenlink

Our picks: The best Suddenlink plan

Best for most families: Internet 400

Who it's best for: Small- to medium-size families that enjoy streaming and gaming together.

Why we picked it: The Internet 400 plan comes with 400 Mbps download speeds. That's more than enough to cover all your bases when it comes to streaming The Mandalorian on Disney+ (baby Yoda!) or going toe-to-toe with your friend across the country in a game of Hearthstone.

And while the Internet 100 and 300 plans can handle all that too, they don't come with a price that's set for two years like Internet 400 does.

3.75

Data effective 10/06/2021. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.

Recap: Is Suddenlink internet good?

Suddenlink may not be everyone's ISP in shining armor, but it does have plenty to offer the right person, like low prices for fast speeds in areas other ISPs have forgotten.

But Suddenlink isn't without issues too. Its 100, 300, and 400 Mbps plans don't come with a price for life guarantee, so your cost goes up after one year (two years for the 400 Mbps plan). There's also a few weird fees, not to mention Suddenlink's less-than-stellar customer service.

Overall, though, we think Suddenlink internet is a good deal for anyone living in the small towns it serves. (Read: It's still faster and cheaper than satellite internet.)

Recap: Suddenlink internet deals

Internet 100: $34.99/month,* 100 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data
Internet 300: $44.99/month,* 300 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data
Internet 400: $59.99/month,† 400 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data
Internet 1 Gig: $74.99/month,‡ 1,000 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data

Data effective 12/16/2020. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
* for 1 yr. Plus taxes, fees, and other charges. Includes Auto Pay and Paperless Billing.
† for 2 yrs. Plus taxes, fees, and other charges. Includes Auto Pay and Paperless Billing.
‡ Plus taxes, fees, and other charges. Includes Auto Pay and Paperless Billing. Price for Life. Customer must remain in good standing and up to date on bill payments to remain on Price For Life.

FAQ

Q: Is Altice the same as Suddenlink?

Suddenlink is a subsidiary of Altice, which bought Suddenlink Communications in 2015. Altice owns and operates several media and communications brands across the US, including Suddenlink, Optimum, Cheddar, and Altice Mobile.

Q: Does Suddenlink throttle its speeds?

Not officially. You may see slower internet speeds from Suddenlink during peak hours (like weekends or when everyone gets home from work) or if there's a performance issue with your modem or router.4 Slow download speeds may also occur if Suddenlink experiences issues with its hardware.

Q: Does Suddenlink have an app?

Yes, Suddenlink has a support app for both Android and iOS devices. You can use it to manage your account, pay your Suddenlink bill, keep tabs on when your tech is arriving, and more.

Sources

Catherine McNally, Reviews.org, "The Fastest Internet Providers," December 2020. Accessed December 16, 2020.
Suddenlink, "Pricing and Packages," 2020. Accessed December 16, 2020.
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), "ACSI Telecommunications Report 2019-2020," June 2020. Accessed December 16, 2020.
Suddenlink, "Residential Services Agreement," June 2020. Accessed December 16, 2020.

Catherine McNally

Written by

Catherine McNally

Catherine has a degree in journalism and an MBA, and has spent the last 10+ years writing everything from Okinawa travel guides to stories on Medium. She's been online since AOL CDs were a thing and is an unapologetic PC gamer. She believes the internet is a necessity, not a luxury, and writes reviews and guides to help everyone stay connected. You can also find her on Twitter: @CMReviewsIt.

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