Have you recently moved to a new location or upgrading the internet connection at your place? If Brightspeed is available in your region and you're interested in learning more about services, support, and worthiness, you're in the right place.
For the past four weeks, I've been using their Gigabit Fiber connection as my primary setup. Find my honest opinions across different parameters. Besides, I also presented its pros and cons to help you make a better decision.
As one of the best fiber internet providers, Brightspeed's competitors include:
- Google Fiber
- AT&T Fiber
- Verizon Fios
- Quantum Fiber
- Frontier Fiber
- Optimum Fiber
- Kinetic by Windstream
Brightspeed Internet Customer Reviews
Here's what some of my readers have to share about their experiences with Brightspeed:
Brightspeed Internet Prices & Plans
| Plan | Download Speed | Upload Speed | Price | Data Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet DSL | Up to 140 Mbps | Up to 12 Mbps | $50/mo | No |
| Fiber 200 | Up to 200 Mbps | Up to 200 Mbps | $50/mo | No |
| Fiber 500 | Up to 500 Mbps | Up to 500 Mbps | $65/mo | No |
| Fiber Gigabit | Up to 940 Mbps | Up to 880 Mbps | $75/mo | No |
| Fiber 2 Gig | Up to 2,000 Mbps | Up to 2,000 Mbps | $150/mo | No |
Compared to other fiber internet providers, Brightspeed manages to deliver a similar range of plans at comparative prices. This is understood with its Gigabit plan which comes at $75 per month, while AT&T fiber charges $80 for the same.
Detailed Review of Brightspeed Internet
There are both good and bad things with this service provider, which I have discovered after using it for different activities including gaming, streaming 4K content, browsing the web on multiple devices, and more.
So, without further ado, let's get into the details!
Wireless Speeds
On paper, the plans Brightspeed offers look great with symmetrical download and upload speeds, unlike cable internet providers like Cox, Spectrum, and Optimum. And, the pricing similar to Glo Fiber adds a cherry on top.
So, I got the Fiber 1 Gig plan and TP-Link Archer AXE75 router to test it out. In proximity (15 feet), my MacBook Air (15″) manages a download and upload speed of 921 Mbps and 835 Mbps, respectively.
While the distance test (30 feet) clocks respective speeds of 646 Mbps and 512 Mbps.
Besides speed, I tested the latency on multiple occasions. During non-peak hours (11 pm to 4 am), the value stays around 16ms, while it was 32ms during peak hours (11 am to 4 pm).
The obtained speeds and latency make the network viable for any bandwidth-intensive tasks like gaming, streaming, video conferencing, and others. And the best part is that there’s no data limit, irrespective of the plans, unlike Xfinity Internet.
Up Time & Reliability
Performance is not just about the highest speeds but how it pans out in the long term. Brightspeed's wireless speeds stay well above 900 Mbps, with latency values not fluctuating much throughout the day.
Keeping in mind that numbers can be deceiving, I played Red Dead Redemption 2 for two hours straight on my gaming console. And courtesy of well-stable internet, I could complete up to 20 story missions (most of Chapter 2) without any jitters or dropouts.
I also tried out games like PUBG and Destiny 2, and the performance was more or less equivalent.
Other than gaming, I indulged in intense media-streaming activities, asked my brother to do the taxes, and other family members to engage in one thing or another. The total summed up to 35 devices at once, and the network didn’t slow down once.
Other users mention that the internet is bouncing in and out over the week, and despite repeated assurances from the provider, much hasn’t changed.
There were similar instances in the past and on average it takes around 6-7 days for the operator to fully fix the problem. Brightspeed is said to be working diligently to minimize the cases of outages and acquire enough manpower in the next few months to deal with them as fast as possible.
Availability or Coverage
Saw the light in 2021, and got hold of their first land in 2022, Brightspeed is now available in over 20 states nationwide. What happened is, that Lumen, the parent company of CenturyLink, sold its local telephone assets in these 20 states to Apollo and is operating under the name “Brightspeed”.
These include:
| Alabama | Arkansas | Georgia | Illinois | Indiana |
| Kansas | Lousiana | Minnesota | Michigan | Mississippi |
| New Jersey | North Carolina | Ohio | Oklahoma | Pennsylvania |
| South Carolina | Tennessee | Texas | Virginia | Wisconsin |
In such a short time, Brightspeed managed to expand over 20 locations, which compared to AT&T Fiber operational for over 40 years is available in 21 locations.
But there’s a catch. The availability of Brightspeed fiber is less and accounts for roughly 30-35% of the available area.
And the connections are likely to be found mostly in cities instead of rural areas. It still betters its competitors like Xfinity fiber and Ziply fiber in terms of availability.
Pricing & Other Costs
Aside from plans, multiple costs are involved. To start with, if you opt for its Simply Unlimited plan (Internet DSL), you must pay for equipment that costs $15 plus tax to lease or an upfront cost of $200 plus tax. But if you sign up for the Fiber Gigabit plan, it waives you their activation and lease fee.
There’s an installation fee of $99 and a late fee of $5 or a percentage of the overdue amount, or both if you miss a payment. You can set up autopay on your account to avoid this.
Now that I’m talking about investment, I feel obliged to mention the Affordability Connectivity Program. It’s not a Brightspeed deal, but a federal grant that lets you save up to $30 per month off your bill, if you’re earning less than 200% of federal poverty guidelines. This means you get the Fiber 200 plan for free and a Simply unlimited plan for just $20.
Installation & Setup
Installation and setup are smooth as everything is handled well by their technician. The one who visited my place was quite knowledgeable and quick.
Brightspeed Internet Customer Service
From my encounter, it’s safe to say that the customer service isn’t diligent enough. It took them two days to properly respond to my calls & messages, and around a week to fix the connection issues. Similar was stated by other users as well.
The customer service team can be contacted in two ways. First is live chat, Second, you can call on 833-692-7773 if you prefer to speak with a human. Either of these is available from 7 am to 7 pm CT, and you might have to wait a bit if you opt for the phone method.
Frequently Asked Questions
Speed and performance-wise, it’s great and comes at less cost compared to its competitors, but most complaints are regarding the quality of services, as the number of outages has increased over time.
Apollo Global Management is the parent company of Brightspeed.
Brightspeed took over CenturyLink on October 3, 2022.
The fiber internet plans Brightspeed offers are a much better value as they offer more speed for money less than CenturyLink’s plans. And the overall cost comes at a much inferior.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that Brightspeed is one of the best ISPs out there in terms of affordability, and speed. Although there aren’t many deals or bundles on offer, its value is excellent. Besides, you can get the internet in many major states. It’s pretty impressive considering its age.
