CenturyLink Internet Review: A Complete Guide to the Internet Service

CenturyLink Internet Review: A Complete Guide to the Internet Service

Today it's hard to imagine going without
high-speed internet at home. With more than 2,000 ISPs in the United
States, how do you know which one to pick?

CenturyLink is the
third biggest telecom company in the United States. Keep reading to see a
comprehensive Centurylink internet review.

Centurylink's Biggest Pro

When you are looking for the best internet
services available in your area, you might have a variety of
qualifications. If you're focusing on reliability and surprise-free
monthly pricing, CenturyLink is one of your best options.

If you're setting stakes in the ground and planning on staying, CenturyLink's biggest pro is its price for life. This means your price will not change as long as you have CenturyLink.

If you move, your price can change because you'll have a new plan. But if you have just moved and are ordering new internet, then CenturyLink is a great option.

CenturyLink Plans

CenturyLink
is among one of the best providers in the United States. Thus, if
they're available where you live, they're most likely one of the best providers in your area.

The
CenturyLink Plans come with the option of phone and/or TV service
bundled with them. The DSL internet is not as fast as cable internet on
average but does the job for the average internet user.

Here's the breakdown of what CenturyLink currently offers. None of these plans include the bundle of TV or phone.

• For $49 a month, you can receive up to 15Mbps speed of DSL internet.
• For $49 a month, you can receive up to 20Mbps on a DSL connection.
• For $49 a month you can also receive up to 80 Mbps on a DSL or Fiber connection if the speed is available in your area.
• For $65 a month you receive Fiber Gigabit, CenturyLink's newest service. This service offers up to 940 Mbps of fiber internet.
• For $49 a month you can receive up to 100 Mbps of fiber internet.

CenturyLink
is amping up its service by offering more people fiber internet
options. Their bundling makes them one of the best options out there if
you want a TV package with no-strings promotional pricing attached to
it.

If you're looking for a phone-only service, CenturyLink is one of the pricier options.

Which States Offer CenturyLink?

CenturyLink
is the third largest telecom company in the country. Thus they offer a
significant amount of service to lower-population and rural areas
throughout the midwest and west coast.

If you live in a place where
you can see the sunrise and set on the horizon daily, then CenturyLink
may be your best bet on high-quality internet where you live. They may
also be your only provider where you live. These are the states where
CenturyLink offers service.

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

If you see your state on this list, you still may not have CenturyLink as an option. The CenturyLink availability map helps you see if you have CenturyLink in your community and also what other services you can bundle with your internet.

For
example, if you live in South Dakota, a state with a significant rural
population, you'll see CenturyLink offers service to the state. However,
over 20 of the counties are not eligible for CenturyLink's service.

Additionally,
your quality of service will depend on the distance between your home
and the CenturyLink office. So if you're in a more rural area, you may
have poorer service.

What is CenturyLink Price for Life?

CenturyLink's
biggest pro is their Price for Life. CenturyLink waits until a contract
is up to introduce final pricing on the promotional package.

Often
companies will set a contract up so you pay a low price initially and
then a higher rate for the second half of your contract. CenturyLink has
its "price for life" guarantee, which means you have a locked-in price
for a defined time. They won't jack up your rates.

If you're
planning on establishing some roots and staying in one place for a
while, the price-for-life guarantee is worth putting up with
CenturyLink's weaknesses.

Initial Fees and Add Ons

If
you're looking at CenturyLink and have a particular budget in mind, be
aware of the initial fees and add-ons to your bill. The price-for-life
is just for internet service. Here is a breakdown of what you'll pay
when you sign up for CenturyLink plans.

• $60 for an installation fee
• $15 for a Gateway rental fee
• $150 for a Gateway purchase fee
• $5 rental fee for a DVR receiver per receiver if you bundle your TV in with your internet
• $20
  to $250 for terminating TV service. If you terminate your PRISM TV
  service before the contract has expired, you will $20 a month or up to
  $250 for the remainder of the contract.
• $200 for terminating
  internet service early. You will have to pay up to $200 for an early
  termination fee if you cancel your contract depending on how time you
  have left on your contract.

CenturyLink also will require
you to either lease or purchase a modem from them. The lease will cost
you $10 a month, and you will see this tacked onto your monthly bill.
Purchasing the modem will cost you up to $150.

CenturyLink gives
you the option of purchasing your modem from a third party. Third-party
modems range from $50 to $200, depending on the seller.

If you are
a short-term customer, renting makes the most sense. If you're going to
stay with CenturyLink for years, then purchasing the modem is a logical
move because you can save a few hundred dollars in the long run.

Are CenturyLink Bundles a Good Deal?

When
you're looking for internet, CenturyLink doesn't look like as good of a
deal as some of the other providers. Their biggest strength lies in
their ability to offer a bundle of communication and entertainment
options as one package.

Internet-Only

CenturyLink
struggles to compete with faster cable and fiber-option companies that
offer just internet. CenturyLink's strength in the internet-only game is
its price. They're among the most affordable internet services out
there.

They also offer a generous 1 TB data plan. If you plan on
binging on Netflix, you won't find a massive overage fee on your bill
with a plan like this.

Internet and TV Bundle

CenturyLink
has a sweet deal with DirecTV and Prism TV. The internet-TV bundle is
among the most affordable on the market. So you don't have to worry
about buffering a show on your laptop or tablet if you can watch it on
your tv with this bundle.

Internet and Home Phone

CenturyLink
started as a landline phone company. If you need a home phone, the
internet and phone package is one of the better features CenturyLink
offers.

If you purchase the internet alone, you might think it's
expensive. But when you bundle your phone and internet, the price drops
significantly compared to having the two services separately.

How Does CenturyLink Stack Up?

Speed Pro

CenturyLink
appears to be working on this. They now offer fiber in some areas of
the United States, which means they have superfast speeds. Typically
businesses receive this offer as CenturyLink is focusing on this sector
first.

Still, if you are a longtime CenturyLink customer
frustrated with your lagging internet, it's worth a call to see if
service has improved in your area. You may be eligible for a faster
speed now than when you first locked in your contract years ago.

Speed Con

DSL
internet speeds are slower and less reliable than cable and fiber; if
you need faster speed, compare with local cable, fiber, and fixed
wireless options;

works well for average Internet user; if you are
working from home and need basic speeds, CenturyLink is a good option;
if you're a gamer, a power user, a techie, or someone that has intensive
daily use, the lower-than-average upload speeds will frustrate you;
weather affects DSL more than other technology

Price Pro

As
we've mentioned, the CenturyLink price for life is something that makes
them shine. With other companies, you may find some surprises in your
monthly bill when your price goes up halfway through your contract. With
the Price for Life, you can find yourself saving money on your monthly utilities.

As
long as you do not move or change services, CenturyLink promises to
keep your bill the same. If you temporarily suspend your internet by
doing things like going on vacation, CenturyLink prices can go up, so be
aware of the fine print of your contract.

Price Con

The fine print in the Price for Life contract can catch you off guard. Price for Life applies as long as you do not change residences or internet services.

So
if you move across town in a community that offers CenturyLink,
CenturyLink will terminate your contract, and you will have to sign up
for a new contract that may cost you more.

If you sign up for the
cheapest, slowest internet package with CenturyLink and then later
discover you need a faster connection, you may end up paying quite a bit
more for faster service. You may even end up paying more than you would
have had you gone with a different provider.

CenturyLink also has the power, via their fine print, to terminate your service at their sole discretion without any notice.

If you're a long-time CenturyLink customer, you can attempt to negotiate your prices.

Let's
say you do move across town or even to a different community that
offers CenturyLink service. When you attempt to establish your internet
services with CenturyLink again if they try to hike up your prices,
negotiate with them.

Show them you're a reliable customer of many
years and how you've always paid your bill on time. They may be willing
to work with you to lower your prices. After all, they want your
business and they want customers they can count on.

You also need
to be aware of the added fees CenturyLink does not include in their
promotions. You will need to either buy a modem from CenturyLink or
lease one for a monthly fee. They will add the fee to your monthly bill.

So
while the promotional deal may tell you that you will pay $45 a month,
you may end up with a $60 a month bill with the added fees.

Also,
if you're getting new internet in your home, prepare yourself for the
$100 or more fee for installation. Getting the internet will make your
first bill a bit of a doozy.

Data Limits

All CenturyLink
plans come with the same data limit. You can use up to 1 TB (terabyte)
of data. But truly, this isn't a limit since CenturyLink does little
after you go over.

Plus, this is a huge amount of data. AT&T
says you would have to stream 400 hours of movies to hit this data cap.
That would be approximately 13 hours of streaming a day, every day, for
30 days.

More internet companies are going to this number for data
caps. CenturyLink is the one company that has the 1 TB data cap for all
of its plans. So you can use the internet without worrying too much
that you'll receive an overage charge on your monthly bill.

CenturyLink Internet Review on Customer Service

As
one of the three largest DSL Internet providers in the country,
CenturyLink has a huge coverage area and millions of customers to
please. They cover 39 states mostly in the midwest and west coast
states.

They receive their fair share of customer service calls. As a result, CenturyLink reviews on customer service vary.

While they receive only a little over one star of overall satisfaction rating at Consumer Affairs,
the recent reviews are 5-star reviews. This indicates that perhaps
CenturyLink has amped up its customer service department. The quality of
satisfaction is based on 415 ratings submitted by customers at the time
of this article.

Compare and Save with CenturyLink

This
Centurylink internet review shows how CenturyLink stacks up against
other internet companies. They have great prices and bundling services.
They're also proving that they are a forward-thinking company with their
new services on fiber internet.

If you're looking for the best internet service in your area, keep visiting our site. Take some time to learn about us so you can compare internet services and save money.