Quantum Fiber vs. Fidium Fiber Internet Providers Compared

Quantum Fiber brings superior internet speeds and reliability at an appealing price

Quantum Fiber is a new, all-fiber brand owned by parent company Lumen Technologies. Lumen is the seventh-largest ISP in the U.S., based on its combined internet service of both all-fiber internet and DSL. In total, Lumen serves about 3 million customers [1]. Quantum Fiber is the all-fiber brand of Lumen. A second DSL-based brand also owned by Lumen is known as CenturyLink. We will review CenturyLink’s DSL service separately, as the two brands are very different in what they offer customers. Quantum Fiber is a very strong choice for internet service that earns good customer satisfaction ratings. If you sign up for Quantum Fiber, you’re going to get lightning-fast speeds and reliable service. Quantum Fiber offers clear, low pricing for gigabit fiber speeds that run up to 8000 Mbps. Fiber speeds will provide you with an internet connection that can handle any use you want from a home internet connection, including heavy streaming and gaming.

Great prices for Quantum Fiber plans up to 960 Mbps

Your prices will be good for Quantum Fiber. The first-tier price for all-fiber service will be $50/month for 500 Mbps. With any of the Quantum Fiber plans, you will get the use of a 360 Wi-Fi router for free. Quantum Fiber has no data caps and no required contracts. That means you won’t run into unexpected data overage charges or early termination fees. We like this simple, affordable pricing for fast fiber speeds. It's one of the best deals you’ll find on fiber internet.

Fidium Fiber’s pricing is simple, transparent, and matches other best deals

Fidium Fiber offers prices that are good across the board, with no hidden fees. The entry-level plan currently starting at $25/month offers 100 Mbps download and upload speeds. For families on tight budgets, this is one of the most affordable first-tier plan prices you’ll find in the industry. With those symmetrical speeds, you will get very good internet performance for activities such as videoconferencing. Fidium Fiber’s faster speed plans are also good deals. At $70/month for 2000 Mbps, these are fiber prices that can compete with any other fiber pricing nationwide. Best of all, you will get transparent, simple pricing from Fidium Fiber that is much easier to understand than the complex pricing of many other ISPs. Fidium Fiber requires no contracts, no bundling, and no data caps. That means you won’t face bills with unexpected overage charges or early termination fees. You also won’t have the usual $100 installation cost for new internet, as Fidium Fiber offers free professional installation. Fidium Fiber will include the use of a modem/router with your monthly plan price.

All-fiber internet from Quantum: the latest and greatest technology

Quantum Fiber uses the newest internet technology available. Their fiber-optic lines send data using light signals instead of electricity, and that’s why fiber is so much faster than any other kind of internet technology. An all-fiber connection will give you symmetrical speeds and enough bandwidth to handle any internet activities you choose. If you get a gigabit fiber plan, you can have up to 10 devices doing heavy streaming or real-time games online, and you will still have smooth performance. In some cases, though, Quantum Fiber advises that it may need to run Fiber-to-the-Curb (FTTC), with the last few feet of line to your house connected with coaxial cable. This is important, because even those few feet of coaxial cable will slow your upload speeds. Most of the time, that will not be the case, and you will get the all-fiber connection known as Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). But it is important to understand the difference in performance just in case you’re in that small minority that will get an FTTC fiber connection. Even an FTTC connection may still be the fastest internet in your area, though, and a Fiber-to-the-Home connection will definitely be your fastest choice.

Fidium Fiber brings fiber’s speed and reliability to new service areas

Fidium Fiber offers to bring you symmetrical speeds between 100 Mbps and 2000 Mbps depending on your plan. That’s great news if you live in a town that hasn’t had fiber internet before. For example, fiber internet is often not available in rural states such as Maine and Vermont. But Fidium Fiber continues to build fiber infrastructure in those states to add more towns to its coverage area [2]. Some Fidium Fiber customers have said that they are not getting their promised speeds, but others report being very satisfied [3]. If you have any doubts, you can test your actual speed here to see what kind of performance your current internet connection is giving you.

Get free use of a  360 Wi-Fi mesh router or use your own router

If you order a fiber plan from Quantum Fiber, both your equipment and installation fee will be included free of extra charge. Keep in mind that equipment fees and prices do change with various promotions, so make sure you check with your customer support rep on current fees when you call. If you use the free router included with your Quantum Fiber plan, you will get their 360 Wi-Fi system. 360 Wi-Fi is a mesh network, which is much more sophisticated than a single modem/router [2]. You will be able to set up extra Wi-Fi Pods to ensure seamless coverage of your entire space, which is especially helpful if you live in a large home or one with thick walls. You will also have the option to use your own router. The only drawback is that Quantum Fiber tech support cannot give service or information for your personal router the way they can support their own equipment.

Free installation, free equipment loan with Fidium Fiber internet plans

Several fiber ISPs will offer you good promotional prices and no contracts. They may even offer no data caps, as Fidium Fiber does. But very few ISPs also offer free installation for all their plans. The free installation for Fidium Fiber is a nice touch that means you don’t have to invest up front to get Fidium Fiber. Fidium Fiber will give you free use of a Wi-Fi 6 Gateway and a whole-home Attune Wi-Fi app that will allow you to control all your devices. If you have smart home devices, the app will be especially useful. But it’s also nice to have a network management app when you want to adjust your settings without logging in to your router.

Quantum Fiber earns high customer satisfaction ratings

Because the split in branding between Quantum Fiber and CenturyLink DSL is still very recent, we have to interpret customer satisfaction rankings that were previously based on the name “CenturyLink” for both brands. Customer satisfaction is much higher for Quantum Fiber than for the DSL provided by CenturyLink. The American Customer Satisfaction Index shows that split in results by dividing “CenturyLink” specifically into fiber and DSL. Fiber (aka, Quantum Fiber) ranks 16 points higher than the DSL service [3]. For Quantum Fiber, these customer satisfaction rankings tell the story clearly. You are likely to have a great internet experience with Quantum Fiber. To avoid confusion, be aware that there is still a certain amount of online cross-marketing between the two companies. Pay attention to the speeds available, whether your internet source labels it “Quantum Fiber” or “CenturyLink.” If the speed is above 200 Mbps, it is a Quantum Fiber product. If the speed is 100 Mbps or below, it is CenturyLink DSL. Overall, we highly recommend Quantum Fiber for its top-of-the-line speeds and reliability, great pricing, and good customer satisfaction ratings.

Reviews are mixed for Fidium Fiber’s customer service and operations

Fidium Fiber doesn’t yet have a large enough customer base to qualify for one of the major national customer satisfaction reviews such as the J.D. Power Survey. Fidium Fiber does have over 1 million fiber passings (or potential connections for customers) thanks to its buildout. But Fidium Fiber is still a relatively small provider, reporting approximately 123,000 fiber broadband customers at the end of 2022 [4]. Even though Fidium Fiber doesn’t yet show up in major national surveys, you can still find a number of user reviews online in various forums. A casual scan shows the usual bumps in the road for a new provider without a long history of successful operations. Some customers say they do not get their service installed quickly and don’t get satisfactory responses from the company. Others say they don’t get promised speeds. But an equal number seem to feel that they are getting a better deal for their money and better performance than with their previous providers [5]. Overall, it seems likely that Fidium Fiber is providing good service to many customers, but still ironing out kinks in its operations, staffing, and support.