TDS Telecom Internet Definitive Buyers Guide

Speed varies widely by technology type

TDS Telecom offers fiber internet and DSL internet, with some cable internet mostly in western states including Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Their DSL footprint scatters across the U.S. and reaches the largest number of households [6]. This is no surprise given that most of TDS Telecom’s subsidiaries are phone companies, and the technology that runs through copper telephone lines is DSL. Areas where DSL is more dominant include rural southern states such as Mississippi and Alabama, north Georgia, and north Florida. Fiber availability roughly follows the DSL footprint, but with less coverage [7]. TDS Telecom is building fiber over their DSL networks and installing new fiber as quickly as possible [8]. Pay close attention to which technology you can get, if you are considering TDS Telecom. DSL is the oldest technology still in wide use on the market. TDS Telecom has a couple of DSL plans with technology so slow they will raise your eyebrows, such as Life Internet (only up to 1 Mbps) and Express Internet (up to 5 Mbps). If these are your choices, we recommend you consider satellite internet instead. There are higher speed DSL plans on offer as well, but because your speed will depend on your neighborhood, make sure you understand the speeds on offer. If you get TDS Telecom fiber internet, you are almost certain to be very happy with the speed and reliability. With fiber’s equal upload and download speeds, you will have plenty of bandwidth for all types of internet activities. This provider offers an array of fiber speeds, ranging from 300 Mbps fiber plans all the way up to 2 Gigs. 300 Mbps fiber plans should be plenty for HD streaming or gaming in a large, multi-user household. Depending on you usage, though, you may want to consider more to prevent any issues.

Equipment rental will add to cost, but you can use your own router

Standard Wi-Fi equipment from TDS Telecom will run you $12.00 per month on top of your monthly plan fee. If you want TDS Whole Home Wi-Fi, which includes mesh router equipment, you can rent it for $14.95/month [9]. You can avoid these high extra fees if you buy your own router, as long as it is compatible with TDS Telecom’s network technology. Installation costs $49.95, but the fee is often waived through various promotional offers. Oddly, there is a “cost recovery” fee on some plans of $2.99 a month [10]. TDS Telecom will summarize all these extra fees for you clearly, but be aware that your monthly bill may be higher than the basic plan fee.

Fiber customers are happy, DSL customers less so

TDS Telecom is yet another provider too small to appear on national surveys for customer service, but large enough to collect a number of customer reviews online. Their fiber internet reviews are very good. TDS Telecom Fiber customers report satisfaction with internet performance and with their pricing [11]. Colorado cable internet users were positive overall, though they had some complaints about customer service [12]. Though there are a few complaints of slow DSL, by far the most customer dissatisfaction seems to come from customer service issues. TDS Telecom will need to improve its responsiveness and billing (not to mention the far more serious accusations of predatory practices [13]) to raise its scores in this area. Overall, TDS Telecom can’t earn the highest score in our rating system simply because there is too much variation in their product and service from area to area. The best advice here is to see what they can offer you locally. If you can get TDS Fiber, that will be a strong choice. Otherwise, check your other options.