Spectrum clearly wants you to bundle home internet and mobile service, but should you?

Charter Communications-owned Spectrum has had a tough time since the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program, as many of its customers were previously enrolled in subsidized plans. This has led to numerous complaints about confusing price structures and sudden increases, which has unsurprisingly caused many customers to jump ship. In a move to simplify its plans and attract both new and returning customers, Spectrum announced several big changes to its service, including better pricing for its mobile bundle.

Let’s start with the core plan changes. Spectrum introduced a new Internet Premier plan with speeds of up to 500 Mbps for just $50 a month while discontinuing many of its older, slower plans. Spectrum’s Gig plan remains priced at around $70 in most markets but now includes free Wi-Fi service. Previously, customers had to bring their own Wi-Fi router or pay $10 per month to rent one. Spectrum is also offering a free year of Spectrum Mobile service with both plans.

The second major change is aimed at customers considering bundling internet with either Spectrum TV service or Spectrum Mobile. The new promotion drops your internet bill to just $30 a month for the base plan or $40 for the Gig service. All you need is either a Spectrum TV plan or two lines of Spectrum Mobile to qualify.

Spectrum even announced a new customer commitment pledge, ensuring faster turnaround for service disruptions and greater transparency throughout outages or other service issues. This includes a new three-year price guarantee, at least for those who take advantage of the new bundles.

This is significant because, with most ISPs, Spectrum’s standard plans typically offer promotional pricing that applies only to the first twelve months, with prices increasing by about $30 a month afterward. If you don’t want to haggle over pricing every year, this new bundle could be tempting.

Bundles keep you locked in

Many ISPs in the US offer great introductory rates but after this promotional period, prices typically rise. Some services let you switch to a different company at this point, but many ISPs require you to sign a contract (often for two years), forcing you to wait a full year before you can sign up for a new plan or switch to another provider. Spectrum doesn’t require contracts, which I suspect has become a problem for it this year more than ever before.

Ever since American ISPs started offering promotional pricing for new customers, there’s been a segment of customers that flip-flop between providers to get the best deal. But this may have increased in 2024. With the end of ACP, many Americans were suddenly forced to either switch to cheaper, slower ISPs or pay more than they could afford. It seems likely that many of these customers moved to a new ISP to find the cheapest service available, which is probably one reason for Spectrum’s new plans and customer commitment promise.

That’s only part of the problem. The big three carriers have also gone after home internet customers with improved LTE and 5G home internet plans, often available for relatively low prices to existing mobile subscribers. For example, T-Mobile offers home internet for just $30 a month for its postpaid phone customers, while Verizon starts at $35 a month for postpaid customers.

These cheaper internet plans might not be as fast or reliable as wired service, but they represent notable savings. This is especially important for those affected by the ACP ending in June, as they suddenly saw their bills increase by $30 a month, with plans that were previously $15 to $30 a month jumping to $45 or more. These new 5G plans also don’t have temporary promotional periods, making them a great alternative to the ACP-assisted plans that are no longer available. It’s also a good way to leave your current ISP and return for a better deal.

While the exact terms vary between ISPs, Spectrum requires customers to leave for thirty days to qualify for promotional pricing again. For those already on one of the big three networks, switching to 5G for a month is a great way to reset these offers.

Are the new Spectrum Mobile bundles worth it?

Whether Spectrum Mobile bundles are worth it depends on a few factors:

• How do you feel about prepaid?
• If you’re on postpaid, do you utilize any special perks?
• Do you have strong Verizon network coverage in your area?

If you’re already on prepaid service, the new bundle could be worth it, especially if you’re using a Verizon-based carrier or have strong Verizon service in your area and don’t mind switching networks.

Spectrum Mobile offers two plans (both of which use Verizon’s network), but only the Unlimited Plus tier is eligible for this promotion. That’s $40 a line. For a prepaid carrier, this leans toward the pricier side, but it offers an experience more in line with postpaid and top-tier prepaid plans like those from Google Fi Wireless.

In my personal testing so far, Spectrum Mobile performs similarly to Verizon postpaid in most situations. You might experience slightly more aggressive throttling during times of congestion, but in many cases, the slowdown isn’t significant enough to impact performance, which is something you can’t say about many of the ultra-cheap prepaid options. It also includes extras like free roaming in Mexico and Canada, 50GB of priority data, and perks like a free Anytime Upgrade, which lets users upgrade their phones by turning in their old phone at any time, even if they’re still paying for it.

For those already on Verizon postpaid or another postpaid provider, Spectrum Mobile might be a harder sell. Most postpaid customers stick with their provider either for grandfathered perks or to take advantage of payment plans and other protections. Spectrum offers similar payment plans and protections, but there are no streaming perks or other cool benefits.

If you’re in a market with 5G or solid LTE coverage, Verizon and the other big three carriers also offer low pricing on their home internet solutions for existing mobile customers, so the Spectrum bundle might not be as tempting in that case either. Of course, you’ll often get better more reliable speeds on a wired connection, so that’s worth factoring in.