CenturyLink vs. Frontier Internet Providers Compared

CenturyLink’s DSL internet has wide coverage but slower speeds

CenturyLink is a DSL internet provider owned by a parent company known as Lumen Technologies. Lumen is the seventh-largest ISP in the U.S., based on its combined internet service in both DSL and fiber. Lumen serves a total of about 3 million customers [1]. CenturyLink is the DSL brand owned by Lumen. The fiber brand of Lumen is now known as Quantum Fiber. This review will focus on the CenturyLink DSL half of the Lumen brand. We will cover Quantum Fiber in a separate review, because the two brands provide very different technologies. If your only available internet is CenturyLink, your DSL connection is likely to be slower than if you have cable or fiber. DSL speed can vary widely depending on your neighborhood and even on the wiring in your home. But CenturyLink, like most DSL companies, will charge you the same price for a slow 10 Mbps download speed as for 100 Mbps download speed. It’s luck of the draw, with no price break for slower service. DSL customers just aren’t getting the same kind of value that fiber customers are getting. And that’s one probable reason that Lumen separated its two brands. Now, it should be easy to tell what you’re getting – mostly.  CenturyLink is DSL, and Quantum Fiber is all-fiber. On websites that still mix the two names, though, the speeds of each plan will often be a giveaway. CenturyLink sold half of its DSL network to Brightspeed in 2022. CenturyLink now has a very unusual coverage footprint: think of it as the Western half of the United States, minus California, plus Florida.

CenturyLink DSL charges high prices for widely varying speeds

DSL is not one of the faster internet technologies on the market. Usually, DSL customers sign up for their plans because there is no cable or fiber internet in their areas. And that can be a valid choice if DSL will give you better performance than satellite internet, though you have to evaluate that on a case-by-case basis. Many times, DSL plans are good options for customers in rural areas. CenturyLink plans are no exception to the general qualities of DSL. You will generally pay around $50 for your DSL package, whether you get 10 Mbps download speed or whether you are lucky enough to get 100 Mbps download speed (very unusual for DSL and true for only 28% of CenturyLink DSL customers) [2]. In better news, CenturyLink’s DSL plans are free of data caps. So, despite the fact that CenturyLink’s DSL prices are high for the speeds, at least you won’t have unexpected data overage charges.

Frontier will give you a good deal on fiber, but DSL varies widely

Frontier is the 8th-largest internet service provider in the United States, with 2.8 million broadband subscribers [1]. The company has a total of 9.9 million copper passings and 6.8 million fiber passings. At the end of 2023, over 70% of their customers were fiber internet customers [2]. Frontier’s main distinction among fiber internet providers is that you will get faster speeds compared to the competition. For example, Frontier’s first-tier fiber plan costs about $44.99 per month at present, like many of its rivals. But that Frontier plan will give you 100 Mbps download and upload speeds, where many other fiber providers tend to start at 200 Mbps and 300 Mbps. With modem-router rental included and no data caps, Frontier Fiber offers the kind of simple, clear pricing that earns high ratings from us. The only drawback is that Frontier Internet (the name for their DSL plans) does not provide the same kind of bargain. Frontier pricing is just average for DSL in the industry. Plus, the DSL speed you will be able to get at your address will vary depending on infrastructure. (DSL usually ranges from 3-50 Mbps download and 1-3 Mbps upload.) Average DSL pricing in the industry is not a great deal for customers compared to cable and fiber pricing. That’s why Frontier and many other providers are moving away from copper-based service in favor of fiber.

“But it was so fast in the ‘90s!” DSL shows its age in many locations

CenturyLink DSL uses one of the oldest internet technologies: copper cables originally designed as telephone wire. Only 65% of CenturyLink’s DSL achieves speeds over 25 Mbps, or what the FCC calls “high-speed” internet.  85% of the CenturyLink DSL network is above 10 Mbps. That means a good 15% of CenturyLink’s DSL customers have very slow connections below 10 Mbps [3]. If DSL gives you under 10 Mbps download speed and only 1 Mbps upload speed, you won’t be able to play real-time games online with any kind of reliability. You may also experience glitching if multiple people stream or videoconference at the same time. To be fair, some DSL connections will give you faster speeds. 28% of CenturyLink customers will get 100 Mbps download, and that speed will considerably improve your performance. But if you are considering ordering CenturyLink DSL, make sure you know what your other options are. You can test your actual speed here to see what kind of performance your current internet connection is giving you.

Frontier Fiber offers speed and reliability, but their DSL lags behind

Just like pricing, performance for Frontier plans is heavily split depending on whether you get fiber or DSL. With Frontier Fiber, you can get multi-gigabit speeds up to 5000 Mbps. That’s right up there with the top few providers in the fiber internet business. And pricing for the 2 Gig and 5 Gig plans is cheaper than comparable offerings from other ISPs. These multi-gigabit speeds will be more than sufficient for very large households with many devices all streaming or gaming simultaneously. Even 500 Mbps is still a lot of speed and will be more than capable of supporting a five- or six-person home and all the devices in it. DSL performance will be unpredictable, but the only constant is that it will not deliver fiber-like performance. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a speed above 25 Mbps download. With that speed, you’ll be able to do most standard internet activities such as streaming and browsing, though you’ll have to watch how many devices are online at once. But if you get a speed that’s 10 Mbps or lower, you may find your service glitching or freezing during heavy-data tasks.

Option to use your own modem/router or self-install your connection

With the CenturyLink DSL plan, there’s a $15 a month modem/router rental fee, which is on the high end of equipment fees. You can avoid the modem/router fee by buying your own. And that might not be a bad plan, given that you will make up the price of a typical modem/router in a year or less. You may have to pay for a professional installation, which is usually a one-time fee of $99. Fortunately, in many places you may also have the option to self-install for $15. It depends whether there is still a working CenturyLink DSL connection in your home.

Installation fees waived with one year of service

Frontier provides your basic modem/router at no charge when you get fiber internet or DSL. For both technology types, standard installation fee is $100, but the fee is waived as long as you keep your service for at least 12 months. So, you basically get free installation unless you cancel before the year is over, in which case you'll pay a pro-rated fee.

CenturyLink runs below average in some satisfaction rankings

CenturyLink’s customer satisfaction rankings vary widely by region on the J.D. Power survey [3]. In the North Central region, CenturyLink ranks above average. In the West, CenturyLink ranks slightly below average, and in the South, CenturyLink is second from last in customer satisfaction. The North Central and West regions where CenturyLink/Quantum Fiber rank higher are also the regions in which Quantum Fiber provides most of its fiber access. The South only includes one state with fiber internet coverage, which means most of that low customer satisfaction rating is based on CenturyLink’s DSL. The American Customer Satisfaction Index confirms that split in results by dividing “CenturyLink” specifically into fiber and DSL. Fiber ranks 16 points higher than the DSL service [4]. For CenturyLink and Quantum Fiber, these customer satisfaction rankings tell the story clearly. CenturyLink’s DSL service is not as likely to please you. However, be aware that there is a certain amount of online cross-marketing between the two companies. So, if CenturyLink says they are able to sell you “fiber” as they seem to imply on their homepage, all that means is that they’re going to send you to a Quantum Fiber plan if your address has fiber availability.

Frontier Fiber shows strong performance in customer satisfaction

Frontier's reviews have improved greatly with increased fiber service, as is reflected in higher rankings in the J.D. Power Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction study [3]. Frontier's sharp rise in the rankings is a promising sign that if you get Frontier Fiber, you will be happy with your choice. In addition, Frontier outranks even strong fiber competitors in the well-regarded national survey known as Net Promoter Score [4].