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Home / Compare Internet / Cincinnati Bell vs Spectrum โ€“ Comparing Internet Providers 2023

Cincinnati Bell vs Spectrum โ€“ Comparing Internet Providers 2024

Need to compare Cincinnati Bell vs Spectrum 2024 then we answer all your questions and more in this article.

cincinnati bell vs spectrum

Spectrum and Cincinnati Bell has been giving tough competition to each other in the recent years in terms of bandwidth and price. They are going head to head with each other and even mentioning each others name by advertising that one has better speed and price than the other. You might also have come across some of those online and offline ads of them.

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You might also be eager to which one you should go for to enjoy a good internet experience at a reasonable price. Our in-depth comparison between Spectrum and Cincinnati Bell in terms of speed, price, coverage area, data caps, contract, installation, internet plans, pros and cons of both ISPs will help you to select the best one for your online needs. Now letโ€™s go into the comparison without wasting time.

Comparing Spectrum and Cincinnati Bell

Spectrum Internet Service

When you are searching for the best internet connection you may have heard of Spectrum. Spectrum is considered to be the 2nd biggest cable internet connection provider in the US in terms of revenue. It is owned by Charter Communications and offers both fiber connection and cable internet. You will also be able to get a bundle of both cable TV and internet from them.

Cincinnati Bell Internet Service

Cincinnati Bell is the 8th biggest fiber connection provider in the US in terms of coverage area. It provides internet connection through traditional cable internet, fiber connection, and also DSL internet. It offers 1 Gbps speed in the Cincinnati area through fiber connection. They also offer cable TV and phone services as well.

Actual Internet Speed

The most important element to find out when you connect to any ISP is speed for any internet user. Most of us see the package โ€˜s speed first then the next thing we check out is that package โ€˜s price. You canโ€™t enjoy your internet-based activities like online gaming, surfing the web, downloading and much more without a good internet speed. So, speed is a must check variable for everyone.

Cincinnati Bell offers a quite impressive speed range that starts with 50 Mbps internet at only $39.99 and ends with their hottest plan of 1000 Mbps fiber connection which costs around $64.99 per month. Thus, the highest bandwidth offered by Cincinnati Bell is 1000 Mbps and other speed options include 100 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps and 750 Mbps.

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On the other hand, Spectrum has three options for bandwidth which includes 200 Mbps, 400 Mbps and 940 Mbps. The speed range of Spectrum is 200 Mbps to 940 Mbps highest, which is their gigabit plan via fiber connection that costs around $109.99 per month.

Giving close competition to Cincinnati Bell in terms speed Spectrum loses because their highest speed is 940 Mbps max which is 60 Mbps less than the max speed option of Cincinnati Bell which is 1000 Mbps. So, our winner here is Cincinnati Bell as they offer 60 Mbps more speed than Spectrum in their max speed internet plan.

Availability

After checking the speed the next thing to find out is coverage, as you compare two of the best Internet service providers. If you choose an Internet service provider without verifying whether the ISP is reachable in your area or not, it will be a waste of time and effort.

In the United States, Spectrum has broad coverage and they offer their internet and other services in 44 states serving approximately 102.7 million throughout the country which makes it the 2nd biggest residential cable connection provider.

Top areas served by Spectrum include California, Texas, Nee York, Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Georgia, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, and Kentucky. Thanks to this extensive coverage for making it easy for consumers to get a fast connection. Large coverage area means that you will have a greater chance to be in the coverage area of the service provider.

On the contrary, Cincinnati Bell serves approximately 1.4 million by offering internet connections across 31 states in the US which makes it the 8th biggest residential fiber internet connection provider in the country. Top 7 areas served by Cincinnati Bell include Cincinnati, Hamilton, Loveland, Mason, Covington, Fairfield, and West Chester.

The winner here in terms of availability is Spectrum as they serve 13 more states and 100 million more customers than Cincinnati Bell.

Price

Price is a very important factor while comparing two similar internet service providers to select the best one that suits all the needs of the user at a reasonable price. If you go for subscribing to an ISP by getting fascinated about their download and upload speed without checking the price you might get stuck at a high-cost plan for almost a year as most of the ISPs has a contract period of 12 months.

Cincinnati Bell comes with a price range that starts with $39.99 per month for 50 Mbps connection and ends with $64.99 per month for 1 Gbps connection. They also have price options of $44.99 per month for 250 Mbps connection and $59.98 per month for a 500 Mbps internet connection.

On the other hand, the price range of Spectrum starts with $49.99 per month for 200 Mbps internet and ends with $109.99 for a 940 Mbps internet connection. Another price option offered in the Spectrum website costs $69.99 per month for a connection of 400 Mbps.

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Clearly, the winner here in terms of price is Cincinnati Bell as their price range starts at $39.99 per month which is almost $10 cheaper than Spectrum and also the highest priced data plan of Cincinnati Bell has a price of $64.99 per month which is $45 less than the highest costly plan of Spectrum and also provides 60 Mbps more bandwidth. However, the starter plan of Spectrum gives more value for money as the plan gives 200 Mbps at $49.99 per month where the starter plan of Cincinnati Bell gives you only a speed of 50 Mbps at $39.99 per month. So, you should choose according to your needs.

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Getting Installation and Other Fees

If you do not pay attention to installation fees itโ€™s possible that you might end up with a huge installation and equipment fee with some service providers.

Spectrum comes with both pro installation as well as self-installation abilities. The professional installation fee will cost you around $49.99 for the internet only and ultra internet plan. However, they will charge a higher cost of $199.99 for the fiber gigabit connection. One big advantage of Spectrum is that they donโ€™t charge for renting or buying out a modem. The self-installation cost of Spectrum is $9.99 and the Wi-Fi activation charge is $9.99.

On the other hand, Cincinnati Bell also has both options of self and professional installation but they charge on an hourly basis. So, the exact amount is not fixed and the time starts when the technician arrives at your home. However, Cincinnati Bell does impose monthly charge $8.99 per month for renting their modem.

Installation fee of both the competitors may be close to each other but you get a free modem with Spectrum and you have to pay a charge of $8.99 per month for renting a modem from Cincinnati Bell.

Data Caps and Contracts

Data caps limit your ability to use the connection and either blocks your access or charges you further. Contracts are annoying features of internet connection providers which means that you will have to stay with them for an extended period of time whether you like the service or not and if you want to cancel before the contract ends you will have to pay extra charges.

When you are deciding between Spectrum and Cincinnati Bell you do not have to worry about these things because both of the ISPs come with unlimited internet with no data cap and with no contract boundary.

Customer Support

Customer support availability and flexibility should be checked to ensure that you donโ€™t get bad and sluggish experience with the customer representatives of your ISP when you badly need them to fix a service-related problem you are facing.

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Spectrum has American Customer Satisfaction Index score of 70 in the year 2020 which is a very good score for an ISP where most of the companies get very low scores and only a few manages to get a good score above 70. The scores of Spectrum are increasing over the past years meaning that they are doing a good job in customer support.

On the contrary, Cincinnati Bell internet has not managed to get listed in the main list of ASCI rating 2020 but it is rated under โ€œthe othersโ€ section. However, Cincinnati Bell also gives good support to their customers as theyโ€™re serving a small number of customers than Spectrum but we will keep Spectrum on the top for customer support.

Internet Plans of Cincinnati Bell

Internet 50

  • 50 Mbps Download and 3 Mbps Upload Speed
  • 5-6 Devices
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract
  • $39.99/MO

Internet 250

  • 250 Mbps Download and 100 Mbps Upload Speed
  • 10+ Devices
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract
  • $44.99/MO

Internet 500

  • 500 Mbps Download and 125 Mbps Upload Speed
  • 15+ Devices
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract
  • $44.99/MO

Advanced 1000

  • 1000 Mbps Download and 250 Mbps Upload Speed
  • 25+ Devices
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract
  • $64.99/MO

Internet Plans of Spectrum

Internet 200

  • 200 Mbps Download and 10 Mbps Upload Speed
  • 2-3 Devices
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract
  • $49.99/MO

Internet Ultra

  • 400 Mbps Download and 20 Mbps Upload Speed
  • 3-5 Devices
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract
  • $69.99/MO

Internet GIG

  • 940 Mbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload Speed
  • 10+ Devices
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract
  • $109.99/MO

Pros and Cons of Spectrum and Cincinnati Bell

Spectrum

Pros

  • Value For Money
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract

Cons

  • Speed Slow Downs

Cincinnati Bell

Pros

  • Good Price
  • Variety of Plans
  • No Data Cap
  • No Contract

Cons

  • Limited Coverage
  • Price Increases After 12 Months

Alternative 3 Internet Providers

Xfinity

Xfinity is considered to be the largest residential Internet service provider accessible to 111.6 million customers in 39 states throughout the United States. It is popular mainly because of the wide availability of its internet connection throughout the US.

Viasat

Viasat is one of the largest providers of satellite internet services in the USA. It is ideally suited for rural areas where no other choices are open.

Verizon

Verizon also offers plans with no data cap and no contract at a reasonable price. You might be interested in checking out their plans.

FAQ

How to know if both the providers are available in area or not?

You can check availability by visiting their website and putting strret address and zip code.

Do they offer bundle plans?

Yes, both Spectrum and Cincinnati Bell offers double and triple pay bundles.

Do I need to be in-home during the installation?

Yes, at least one adult person should be at home.

Final Word

Spectrum and Cincinnati Bell both are strong competitors to each other. They share their own part of advantages and disadvantages. In three main factors of speed, price and availability Cincinnati Bell won in both price and speed but Spectrum won in availability. However, you should select the one that best meets your internet needs by going through our in-depth comparison.

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John
John
A tech maestro with a penchant for Android systems, John is also a self-proclaimed Mexican food critic. When heโ€™s not exploring the latest tech trends, heโ€™s likely binging on the newest series on Netflix.
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