CenturyLink vs. Lumos Internet Providers Compared

CenturyLink DSL charges high prices for widely varying speeds

DSL is not one of the more consumer-friendly 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. DSL deals are what you have to take if there’s no better option in town. 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 $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, at least you won’t have unexpected data overage charges.

Attractive pricing for Lumos Fiber plans and better DSL pricing than competitors

Lumos does not emphasize its DSL offerings in its promotions. The ISP is working hard to replace DSL networks with fiber service. Nonetheless, you may live in a service area where Lumos can only offer you DSL. If that is the case, your pricing will be $34/month for DSL, which is pretty good considering most DSL plans from other providers start at $50. Still, what most people are going to want from Lumos Fiber is… fiber. Even solid DSL will not come near the speed and reliability of fiber internet. Your fiber plan offers from Lumos Fiber will be appealing. For fiber’s symmetrical speeds, you will get 200 Mbps for $40/month. That price will not get an automatic hike after a year. It’s simply the standard price. That is a very good deal! Most other providers that even approach that monthly price are offering slower speeds such as 50 or 100 Mbps. In Lumos’s higher speed tiers, you will also get attractive promotional offers for a year, then a minimal price hike of $10 after that first year. This increase is far less that the $20-30 price increases you’ll often see from other fiber or cable providers. For example, the Lumos 500 Mbps fiber plan will start at $50/month for 12 months, then move to $60 standard pricing. The 1 Gig plan will begin at $70/month for 12 months, then increase to the standard $80 rate. Lumos Fiber also has a 2 Gig plan available in select areas starting at $100/month. These are great internet plan prices. All the Lumos Fiber levels are $5-10 below AT&T Fiber’s monthly prices, and AT&T is usually thought to have competitive fiber plans. As for a comparison with major cable providers, Lumos Fiber comes out way ahead. Spectrum’s standard cable internet rate for 1 Gig download/35 Mbps upload is $120/month. Need we say more? Lumos Fiber’s price is 30% lower than the Spectrum price, and Lumos is also offering a superior speed at symmetrical 1 Gig download/upload speeds. When you consider that Lumos also does not require data caps or annual contracts for its plans, it’s easy to see why users like Lumos 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. In some things, age is good. Age brings wisdom to people, depth to a wine, and richness to cheese. But in internet technology, age is usually a negative, and especially when it comes to internet speed. 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, 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 such as the 28% of customers who will get 100 Mbps download, and  that 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.

Lumos Fiber offers up to 2 Gigs symmetrical fiber speeds

Lumos has been building fiber infrastructure as quickly as possible, often “overbuilding” fiber in areas where they once offered DSL [4]. As usual, fiber internet outperforms every other internet technology. With Lumos Fiber plans, you will get symmetrical speeds that allow you to use multiple devices for HD streaming or real-time gaming. Videoconferencing will be smooth and glitch-free. If you have to upload large files for work, fiber internet can do it in seconds where DSL might take 30 minutes. That brings us to how your internet performance will differ if you are in an area where Lumos can only offer DSL. Your download speed with a Lumos DSL plan will vary from 15 Mbps to about 30 Mbps depending on your location, while upload speeds usually won’t top 3 Mbps. If your only alternative is satellite internet or fixed wireless, then you might consider DSL. But if you have a choice of a cable internet provider, cable will probably be your best option until fiber internet reaches your area.

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.

Monthly equipment rental fee optional if you use personal modem/router

Lumos charges about $10 a month to supply you with a gateway (modem/router combo). Though Lumos allows you to use your own modem/router, you should first be sure your device is compatible with their service. Like most providers, Lumos can’t guarantee tech support for customers’ personal modems and routers. If you get Lumos Total Home Wi-Fi, you will also have access to an app that allows you to manage your Wi-Fi network, including parental controls for internet access. Lumos will charge a $75 installation fee for some plans, but your installation fee may be waived for certain promotions or plans.

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.

N/A (too new to score)

As we mentioned in the summary, Lumos Fiber is too new and small to have accumulated any national scores from customer satisfaction surveys such as J.D. Power. There isn’t even much of an internet footprint for customer reviews since the merger occurred in summer 2022. For that reason, we will not assign Lumos Fiber an official score for customer satisfaction until there’s more user feedback online. However, reporting from our staff’s experience, Lumos Fiber is quite popular with customers in North Carolina. Taking a straw poll on a neighborhood association page or on Nextdoor.com will often result in your neighbors telling you that Lumos Fiber is the best ISP in town. Do remember that ISP satisfaction can vary widely from one location to another. Customers of the former North State in North Carolina may have a different experience from customers of the former Lumos Networks in Virginia. But thus far, reports for Lumos Fiber seem positive. We’ll update you with more information as the company establishes a track record in its new form.