Mediacom
I actually cannot recall to mind a logo title that manages each to lift and decrease expectancies moderately like “Xtream.” I imply, I am getting it — you are a midsize cable web carrier supplier with a restricted marketplace percentage, and you are looking up on the likes of Comcast Xfinity. You need to face out, however you additionally need to have compatibility in. So, you write a large “X” on a whiteboard someplace, you name a gathering, you brainstorm a little, and on the finish of the day, there is a giant circle round “Xtream,” and everybody’s patting every different at the again. These items occur.
Dumb title or no longer, the branding of Mediacom’s domestic web carrier units the desk for streaming at excessive velocity — and one may just argue that Xtream essentially delivers, with gigabit downloads to be had to greater than 97% of serviceable addresses within the corporate’s protection map, as in line with the Federal Communications Fee, in addition to the choice of bundling in TiVo-powered cable TV. On most sensible of that, Mediacom Xtream web plans be offering add speeds of as much as 50Mbps. True, that is not anything in comparison to what fiber is able to, however it is quicker than the add speeds of any cable web plan from Comcast, Spectrum or Cox, all of which most sensible out at 35Mbps. (Xfinity, you simply were given Xtreamed.)
Like
- Gigabit obtain speeds to be had to over 97% of consumers
- Nice router {hardware} to be had to hire at an excellent value
Do not Like
- Costs move up two years in a row with some plans
- Information caps are too tight with the most affordable plans, and there is no restrict to the selection of overage fees you’ll rack up
- Deficient worth relative to different cable web suppliers
That stated, Xtream is not easiest. For starters, the cost of the 2 quickest plans is going up after the primary yr, after which it is going up once more at 24 months. Moreover, whilst its rankings were ticking up for the previous two years, Mediacom continues to be ranked underneath the {industry} common for ISP buyer pride by way of organizations like J.D. Energy and the American Buyer Pleasure Index. That would possibly have one thing to do with Mediacom’s per thirty days knowledge caps, which get in particular tight in case you are at the lowest velocity tier, or the truth that you can have a tendency to search out higher worth from Mediacom’s cable web competition, together with different midsize suppliers like Optimal and WideOpenWest.
Think you’ll glance previous all of that. Mediacom’s cable plans make sense as a cast selection to inferior DSL, satellite tv for pc and glued wi-fi connections. Give Mediacom further credit score for providing gigabit speeds in quite a lot of rural and suburban markets the place quicker web choices normally don’t seem to be to be had. Nonetheless, Xtreme web falls neatly wanting the in actuality excessive efficiency of a excellent fiber community, and the questionable worth relative to different cable suppliers makes it a problematic ISP to get eager about, if this kind of factor is even imaginable.
FCC/Mapbox
This is the place Mediacom provides Xtream web carrier
The country’s fifth-largest cable supplier, Mediacom’s domestic web carrier, is to be had to 7.7 million American citizens throughout a smattering of areas within the Midwest, the Gulf Coast, the Jap Seaboard, and California and Arizona.
Primary metro spaces of notice in that protection map come with Columbus, Georgia; Des Moines, Iowa; Duluth, Minnesota; Huntsville, Alabama; Ocean Town, Maryland; Pensacola, Florida; Springfield, Missouri. You’ll be able to additionally to find Mediacom’s Xtream web products and services throughout quite a lot of rural wallet close to puts like Apache Junction, Arizona; Clearlake, California; Decatur, Indiana; Elizabeth Town, North Carolina and Murray, Kentucky.
What sort of web connection does Mediacom be offering?
“Our means is discreet: Ship quicker web speeds, construct higher fiber networks and be offering awesome services at an inexpensive value,” writes Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco B. Commisso at the Xtream web page.
That bit about fiber piqued my pastime. In step with knowledge shared with the FCC again in December 2020, Mediacom’s web infrastructure consisted totally of cable connections, with fiber hookups making up exactly 0% of the footprint.
In step with the FCC, Mediacom’s web infrastructure is composed totally of cable hookups.
FCC
“Throughout all spaces, community engineers and their tech groups were including nodes, construction out extra fiber and increasing capability,” a Mediacom spokesperson defined once I requested in regards to the corporate’s plans for fiber. That is extra about bolstering the prevailing cable connections than organising new, devoted fiber connections. Nonetheless, Mediacom provides that authentic fiber-to-the-home hookups are within the works “for some tasks that construct to new communities.”
In the meantime, Mediacom were in court docket fighting it out with Google to take a look at and forestall an upcoming fiber enlargement in West Des Moines. Mediacom argued that town used to be “distorting the communications pageant” by way of granting Google an unique subsidy and different advantages as the corporate seeks to amplify its Google Fiber web carrier to a twelfth town. By means of mid-January 2022, it gave the impression that Mediacom had come to a agreement settlement with West Des Moines. Particular phrases had no longer been introduced as of this writing, and a pass judgement on nonetheless must approve the deal, however apparently this complaint will quickly be up to now.
At any price, as a supplier of cable web, Mediacom can be offering consumers gigabit obtain speeds as excessive as 1,000Mbps (1Gbps), which is far quicker than you’ll be expecting from suppliers of DSL, satellite tv for pc or fastened wi-fi web. The disadvantage to cable is that, not like fiber, your add speeds will at all times be a lot, a lot slower than that, which may also be noticeable in case you are seeking to add huge information to the internet or sign up for a high-res video name. That is true of all cable suppliers, maximum of which would possibly not be offering add speeds any quicker than 35Mbps. Mediacom no less than cranks issues as much as 50Mbps with its gigabit plan. And whilst we are at the subject of plans…
Mediacom Xtream domestic web plans
| Max speeds | Per month promo price (first 365 days) | Per month price after a yr | Apparatus price | Information cap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get entry to Web 60 | 60Mbps obtain, 5Mbps add | $20 | $30 | $12 modem condominium (skippable) | 200GB |
| Web 100 | 100Mbps obtain, 10Mbps add | $40 | $70 ($80 after 24 months) | $12 modem condominium (skippable) | 1,000GB (1TB) |
| Web 300 | 300Mbps obtain, 30Mbps add | $60 | $90 ($100 after 24 months) | $12 modem condominium (skippable) | 2,000GB (2TB) |
| Web 1 Gig | 1,000Mbps obtain, 50Mbps add | $70 | $100 ($130 after 24 months) | $12 modem condominium (skippable) | 6,000GB (6TB) |
Costs that move up — and up
With simply 4 plans to pick out from, Mediacom’s Xtream web choices are easy and slightly easy. Whichever one you move with, be expecting the fee to leap after yr 1, which is most commonly the norm amongst web suppliers. If you choose both of the 3 quickest plans, you’ll be expecting your invoice to move up after 365 days and once more after 24 months.
The double value build up signifies that the gigabit plan is going from a cost-per-Mbps of seven cents all over your first yr as much as 10 cents after 365 days, after which as much as 13 cents from month 24 onward. Necessarily, that is a excellent deal in yr 1, a so-so deal in yr 2, and a nasty deal after that.
It is also more or less on par with Mediacom’s greatest opponents within the cable class. It varies by way of area, however Comcast Xfinity’s gigabit plan is going from 9 cents in line with Mbps all over yr one to ten cents in line with Mbps in yr two. In the meantime, gigabit carrier from Cox and Spectrum rings in at a respective 13 and 14 cents in line with Mbps after the one-year promo charges expire. Alternatively, the opposite midsize cable suppliers of notice, Optimal and WideOpenWest, every provides gigabit plans at higher costs than Mediacom does, with WOW’s gigabit plan coming in at $75 monthly after the promo price expires. That is lower than 8 cents in line with Mbps and a excellent worth for a normal value.
Mediacom’s plans within the center be offering questionable worth, as neatly. Take the Web 100 plan, which provides obtain speeds of as much as 100Mbps and uploads as much as 10Mbps for $40 monthly all over your first yr and $70-$80 monthly after that. Relying on the place you are living, a 100Mbps cable plan from Comcast would possibly charge you as low as $55 and even $30 monthly after the promo price expires. In the meantime, Spectrum’s slowest cable web plan options speeds of as much as 200Mbps — two times as speedy as that Mediacom plan — for $75 monthly after the promo length ends. Cox supplies a 150Mbps plan that is $84 monthly after the primary yr (50% quicker than Mediacom for five% extra). In the meantime, Optimal and WOW every be offering 100Mbps plans which are no less than part up to what Mediacom fees — even WOW’s gigabit plan is more economical than the overall price of Mediacom’s 100Mbps plan.
As for Mediacom’s entry-level, 60Mbps plan, it prices simply $20 monthly all over the primary yr and $30 monthly later on. That is a superbly cheap deal if 60Mbps is all you want, however maximum properties, in particular properties with a couple of web customers, will need no less than a bit extra oomph. I will additionally notice that the 60Mbps plan comes with Mediacom’s maximum restrictive knowledge cap — extra on that during only a moment.
Admittedly, you’ll’t actually comparability store between cable suppliers — you need to move with the supplier that provides carrier to your house. Nonetheless, after taking a look on the numbers, it is transparent that Mediacom’s costs run at the excessive facet. If it have been my supplier, then I would be ready to indicate the gulfs in pricing with its competition once I inevitably known as to attempt to negotiate a greater deal.
Main points at the Mediacom knowledge caps
Mediacom enforces knowledge caps with every of its Xtream web plans. The precise, per thirty days knowledge allotment varies from plan to plot, and for those who exceed it in a given month, you can get started incurring consequences.
With the gigabit plan, you get a whopping 6,000GB (6 terabytes) of information every month, which is solely a huge quantity of information. (For reference, the typical domestic’s web utilization spiked to a top of about 400GB monthly in 2020, whilst everybody used to be at domestic the use of the web far more than standard.) The Web 300 plan brings the cap down to two,000GB (2TB), however that is nonetheless moderately beneficiant, and greater than sufficient for many families.
The 100Mbps plan comes with 1,000GB (1TB) of information every month. That is extra in step with maximum different knowledge caps, if no longer reasonably decrease. As an example, Comcast enforces an information cap of one.2TB throughout all plans, whilst Cox caps you at 1.25TB. Even so, 1TB is cheap, as knowledge caps move.
Much less cheap is the entry-level 60Mbps plan, which comes with an information cap of simply 200GB. That is about part of what the typical domestic makes use of in a month at the moment, and way more restrictive than you can get with some other cable plan that we have written about thus far. Even the knowledge caps with Upward push Broadband’s fastened wi-fi web carrier are extra beneficiant. If truth be told, the one knowledge caps we have noticed which are worse than what you get with Mediacom’s 60Mbps plan are those that include satellite tv for pc web plans from HughesNet or Viasat.
As for consequences, Mediacom will rate you $10 for each and every 50GB block of information utilized in far more than the cap — and in contrast to maximum suppliers that put into effect knowledge caps, I see not anything within the fantastic print that limits the whole quantity in consequences you’ll rack up in a given month.
If you want a router, Mediacom will hire you a two-piece Eero Professional 6 setup for $10 monthly. That is a excellent deal for an overly respectable mesh router.
Ry Crist/CNET
Apparatus charges and different fees
Mediacom does not tie you right down to a freelance with any of its Xtream domestic web plans, however it is important to pay a $10 activation rate while you first get started carrier. Xtream domestic web additionally calls for a DOCSIS 3.0 modem. Mediacom will luckily hire you one for $12 monthly, however you’ll skip that price if you have already got one in every of your individual.
Should you like, Mediacom will hire you a router, too — in particular, the Eero Professional 6 mesh router, a up to date type that helps Wi-Fi 6 (and which carried out moderately neatly once I examined it out at domestic ultimate yr). Ten bucks monthly will get you a two-piece setup — one software to function the router and a moment that purposes as a mesh extender. Should you are living in a big domestic and wish further Eero extenders, you’ll upload them for an extra $6 monthly every.
That is not a nasty deal if you do not already personal a router you favor. The Eero Professional 6 two-pack would charge $400 for those who purchased it outright, so you might want to hire it from Mediacom for a couple of years and nonetheless pop out forward.
Mediacom gained a below-average ranking from the American Buyer Pleasure Index in every of the previous 3 years.
American Buyer Pleasure Index
Buyer pride might be more potent
Organizations that observe buyer pride metrics have a tendency to agree that Mediacom is beneath common within the web supplier class. That is been the case for a couple of years operating with the American Buyer Pleasure Index, the place Mediacom recently sits at a ranking of 60 out of 100. That is some extent higher than the yr earlier than, and 5 issues higher than two years in the past, however even with the sure momentum, it is nonetheless 5 issues in the back of the {industry} common of 65.
In the meantime, J.D. Energy tracks ISP buyer pride throughout 4 areas in the USA. Mediacom used to be simplest rated within the South and West areas. It fared OK within the South the place it gained a ranking of 723 out of one,000. That is beneath the realm common of 727 and puts Mediacom in fourth position, in the back of simplest AT&T, Xfinity and Spectrum, however forward of Sparklight, Cox, Frontier, Windstream, CenturyLink, Suddenlink and HughesNet. It did not move so neatly within the West, the place it gained a ranking of 654, which is the area’s second-worst ranking (simplest perennial low-scorer Frontier fared worse), and beneath the area’s industry-wide common of 710.
As for low-income subscribers, Mediacom merits credit score for taking part within the govt’s Reasonably priced Connectivity Program, and for providing certified subscribers a plan with respectable broadband speeds (50Mbps obtain, 5Mbps add) for simply $30 monthly, and not using a value will increase in any respect.
The decision
Mediacom’s Xtream domestic web is a legitimate possibility for a quick connection at domestic, however the plans do not be offering worth that is as excellent as what you can get from fiber or different cable suppliers around the nation, and you will have to submit with an information cap, too. Issues get reasonably extra interesting if you want to hire a router, as Mediacom provides very good {hardware} for the fee, however outdoor of that, there may be no longer a lot to get eager about right here.
Nonetheless, Mediacom provides gigabit speeds in a large number of markets that do not have an abundance of alternative choices — and its cable plans are value it over the likes of DSL, satellite tv for pc or fastened wi-fi. You need to take the great with the unhealthy with any ISP, and Mediacom is not any other. It is only a disgrace that the plans do not come at a greater worth.
