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◊ Provider star ratings are based on user reviews and our independent customer satisfaction survey.
* Data effective 05/04/22. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
† w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill plus taxes & equip. charges. Terms apply. Not available in all areas.
Our Suddenlink internet review
Suddenlink is generally a good go-to cable internet provider if you can’t get fiber in your area and want a faster connection than DSL. The maximum available speeds depend on where you live, so DSL may be a faster or cheaper option in some areas. Unfortunately, Suddenlink just began building its fiber-to-the-home service, so those plans are restricted toTexas for now.
Pros
- No contracts
- Wide availability
Cons
- Limited fiber availability
- Data caps in some areas
Jump to: Plans and pricing | Speed and data caps | Fees | Installation, equipment, and contracts | Customer ratings | Suddenlink vs. the competition | Bottom line | FAQ
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Compare Suddenlink internet plans and pricing
| Package(s) | Price | Speed | Type | View on Suddenlink |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet 50–150 | $29.99–$49.99/mo.* | Up to 50–150 Mbps | Cable | Shop Plans |
| Internet 200–300 | $39.99–$59.99/mo.* | Up to 200–300 Mbps | Cable | Shop Plans |
| Internet 400–500 | $59.99–$79.99/mo.* | Up to 400–500 Mbps | Cable | Shop Plans |
| Internet 1 Gig | $79.99/mo.* | Up to 940 Mbps | Cable | Shop Plans |
| Fiber Internet 100–300 | $29.99–$39.99/mo.* | Up to 100–300 Mbps | Fiber | Shop Plans |
| Fiber Internet 500 | $59.99/mo.* | Up to 500 Mbps | Fiber | Shop Plans |
| Fiber Internet 1 Gig | $79.99/mo.* | Up to 940 Mbps | Fiber | Shop Plans |
*w/Auto Pay & Paperless Bill plus taxes & equip. charges. Terms apply. Not available in all areas.
Suddenlink’s speeds: What’s best for you?
The average household can probably get away with a 200–500 Mbps plan. Anything less works for a couple or customers who do very little online, like check emails and post to social media. Gigabit speeds are generally overkill for most homes unless you run an in-home business or need lots of bandwidth to accommodate the local data hogs munching up all your bandwidth.
How fast are your Suddenlink speeds?
Click below for a quick speed test and find out.
Download speed
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Upload speed
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Latency (ping)
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Jitter
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Suddenlink’s data caps
Suddenlink has data caps in areas where its fastest internet connection is 50 Mbps. Connections with a 15 Mbps max speed have a 250 GB data cap; 30 Mbps connections have a 350 GB data cap. In both cases, it costs $15 for each 50 GB block you go over the monthly cap, or you can pay $10 extra each month for unlimited data.
Our favorite plan: The Fiber Internet 500 plan is our pick. There’s more than enough speed for a growing family—until the kids grow into teens and download everything in sight. The Internet 500 plan is a good alternative if fiber isn’t available.
The biggest difference between Suddenlink’s cable and fiber plans is that fiber has equal upload and download speeds, whereas cable does not. Suddenlink’s fiber is currently limited to Texas, but the company expects to branch out into eight additional states, including Arizona and North Carolina, over the next several years.2
Fiber aside, not all the cable internet plans are available where you live. Suddenlink has four distinct markets that are limited in speed, so you may not see plans above 50 Mbps in one area or plans above 400 Mbps in another area.
Suddenlink enforces data caps in areas where speeds top out at 50 Mbps. So you may be better off with a DSL alternative if fiber isn’t in your area.
Suddenlink ongoing deals and promotions + bundles
Depending on the plan, you can get a Wi-Fi 6 gateway and a Wi-Fi extender rent-free. The promotion also includes up to one year of HBO Max™, and a Visa® Prepaid Card with up to $200 until July 31, 2022.
Suddenlink internet fees
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* for plans with data caps
Suddenlink typically charges a set fee for standard or premium install, but you can get free installation if you order service online before August 1, 2022. As for the network enhancement fee, Altice USA’s other internet service, Optimum, discontinued this fee in early 2022 (but still lists it), so we assume the same applies to Suddenlink.
Suddenlink internet installation, equipment, and contracts
Suddenlink provides two installation options only, whether you have cable or fiber: standard and premium. Suddenlink also has a Wi-Fi-only install.
Suddenlink installation and equipment
The standard install includes:
- 1 new or existing outlet
- Setting up the modem
- Setting up one wireless device
- Installing up to 2 set-top boxes
The premium install adds the following:
- Setting up another wired device (computer, game console, Smart TV)
- Setting up 3 or more set-top boxes
- Setting up all wireless devices
The curious Wi-Fi install fee appears if the technician only installs a router.
Suddenlink internet contracts
Suddenlink does not enforce contracts but instead offers discounted pricing for 12 months. Standard rates apply after a year.
Suddenlink internet customer ratings
| Overall Rating | Reliability Rating | Customer Service Rating | Speed Rating | Price Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suddenlink customer satisfaction rating | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Average rating* | 3.8/5 | 3.3/5 | 3.7/5 | 3.7/5 | 3.7 |
*Based on our annual customer satisfaction survey.
Suddenlink ranks fourth out of 12 for customer satisfaction in price, which is interesting given that its sister cable operator Optimum offers the same plans at the same prices but ranks far lower (eighth). Around 58% percent of Suddenlink’s customers said they experienced price hikes and hidden fees.
Suddenlink’s reliability ranks lower than competitors AT&T and Astound Broadband, with 56% of Suddenlink respondents reported experiencing outages sometimes or way too often. Moreover, 26% of the respondents said they experienced slowdowns way too often.
Suddenlink vs. the competition
| Speed | Price | Type | Customer rating* | Order online | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 50–940 Mbps | $29.99–$79.99/mo. | Cable, Fiber | 3.6 | View Plans |
 | 200–1,000 Mbps (wireless speeds may vary) | $49.99–$89.99/mo. for 12 mos. | Cable | 3.6 | View Plans |
 | 115–2,000 Mbps | $49.99–$149.99/mo. | DSL, Fiber | N/A | View Plans |
 | 75–5,000 Mbps | $55.00–$180.00/mo. | DSL, Fiber | 3.8 |
*Based on our annual customer satisfaction survey.
Suddenlink’s biggest competitors are AT&T, Frontier, and Spectrum. The former two offer fiber and DSL internet, while Spectrum is a direct cable internet competitor. You generally see Suddenlink compete with just one of these providers in any given area, along with DSL options from providers like CenturyLink and EarthLink.
Like most internet providers, Suddenlink’s standard rates increase dramatically after the first 12 months. The gigabit plan skyrockets to $139.99 per month, while Spectrum’s gigabit plan increases to $114.99 per month by the third year. Frontier’s gigabit plan increases to $84.99 per month by the fourth year (what a steal), and AT&T’s rate doesn’t increase at all, making it the best long-term deal of the four.
We need to note that while AT&T offers faster plans than 1,000 Mbps, we couldn’t find availability for those plans in the various towns we checked across the US where AT&T and Suddenlink overlap. But Frontier offers a 2,000 Mbps fiber plan—Charleston, WV and San Angelo, TX are two examples—so we suggest going with that (or AT&T’s fiber) if it’s available in your area.
Read our full reviews of Suddenlink vs. its main internet competitors
Is Suddenlink internet right for you?
Suddenlink is an ideal cable internet provider if fiber isn’t in your area. Suddenlink has fiber, too, but it’s currently available in Texas only. Parent company Altice USA expects to reach more states by 2025.
If you’re in an area where Suddenlink’s cable internet coexists with Spectrum or Astound Broadband’s cable internet, we recommend going with Spectrum, as Suddenlink’s prices increase dramatically after 12 months, and Astound Broadband enforces data caps on the west coast where it competes with Suddenlink.
Overall, go with Suddenlink’s fiber over cable if you can, but if AT&T or Frontier are in your area, they’re cheaper options for the long term.
Shop Suddenlink InternetFAQ about Suddenlink
Where can I get Suddenlink cable internet?
Suddenlink has a wider audience than Altice USA’s other fiber and cable networks in the New York tri-state area (and western North Carolina), Optimum. You can find Suddenlink in 17 states across the US, from California to North Carolina.1 In fact, North Carolina is the only state where both Optimum and Suddenlink operate.
Where can I get Suddenlink fiber internet?
Currently, you can get Suddenlink’s fiber internet in Texas. Altice USA plans to expand its fiber network in areas in Arizona, California, Louisiana, and five other states to reach 2.5 million fiber connections by 2025.2
Why is Suddenlink changing its name to Optimum?
When Altice USA acquired Cablevision in 2015, it also gained the Optimum brand. Altice USA began building its 10 Gbps Optimum Fiber network in the New York tri-state area in 2018. In 2021, the company rebranded Altice Mobile as Optimum Mobile while also rebranding newly-acquired cable internet provider Morris Broadband as Optimum.
Suddenlink Communications, which Altice acquired in 2015, is the next to receive the new name, according to a letter sent to customers in 2022. The bottom line is that Altice USA is following Charter’s lead by moving all services under one familiar brand.
What are the best routers for Suddenlink internet?
You don’t need a specific router for Suddenlink’s cable or fiber internet, but we suggest shopping for a Wi-Fi 6 model. Suddenlink’s fastest plan doesn’t exceed 1,000 Mbps, so you don’t need a router that supports multigig internet. However, it doesn’t hurt to be future-proof in case Suddenlink introduces faster fiber plans within the next few years. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
- Best Gigabit Routers for Superfast Wi-Fi
- Best Long-Range Routers
- Best Wi-Fi 6 Routers
- Best Routers for Online Gaming
Methodology
Our HighSpeedInternet.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.
Sources
- Altice USA, “All Service Areas.” Accessed May 4, 2022.
- Altice USA, “Altice USA Announces Acceleration in Fiber Deployment Strategy; Announces Multi-Year Plan to Bring 100% Fiber Broadband to More Than 6.5 Million Passings Across the Optimum and Suddenlink Footprint,” February 16, 2022. Accessed May 6, 2022.