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Consolidated Communications rating
Consolidated Communications internet plans
Fidium Fiber plans
Regardless of the available connection type or fiber service available at your address, fees and service terms from Consolidation Communications largely favor the customer. Taxes and miscellaneous fees will add to your bill like any other ISP, but customers won’t have much to worry about otherwise.
No contracts, data caps or equipment fees (mostly)
Consolidation Communications plans, both DSL and fiber including Fidium Fiber, include unlimited data and require no contract.
Equipment is also included at no additional cost, save for Fidium Fiber’s two cheapest plans. Renting equipment with 100 or 300Mbps plans will add $10 to your monthly bill, while the 1 and 2Gbps plans include equipment rental.
Free equipment rental with all plans would be ideal, but it’s worth noting that the $10 fee is lower than many ISPs. Cox, Xfinity, CenturyLink, Brightspeed and others have a higher monthly rental fee. Additionally, Fidium Fiber customers can skip the fee altogether by using their own compatible equipment.
Consolidated Communications availability
Consolidated Communications DSL (pink) and fiber (purple) availability reaches coast to coast, but the greatest concentration of coverage is in the northeast states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Consolidated Communications is available in 20 states coast to coast, but the greatest concentration of availability is in the Northeast. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have the best coverage of DSL internet and fiber-optic service by Fidium Fiber. Coverage extends into New York, particularly to the southeast of Albany and northwest of Chautauqua Lake along the Pennsylvania border, but fiber service in New York is by Consolidated Communications, not Fidium Fiber.
Illinois, Minnesota and Texas also have decent-sized pockets of availability. Serviceability in others, including Colorado, California, Georgia and Iowa, is limited to a select few markets. Consolidated Communications is still available in parts of Washington state, but the ISP recently sold most of its copper and fiber networks to Lightcurve.
Comparing Consolidated Communications
As a DSL provider, Consolidated Communications is one of the few to offer multiple plans to choose from. Many DSL providers, including AT&T, CenturyLink and Frontier, charge a single rate for whatever speeds are available. However, plan selection is the only thing that really stands out, as Consolidated Communications DSL pricing is high, considering the speeds you get.
Fiber service is a much better value. But again, the level of value will depend on which service is available in your area: Consolidated Communications or Fidium Fiber. Considering the speeds for the price, Consolidated Communications fiber internet is less of a deal than you’d get from other major fiber ISPs. Fidium Fiber, on the other hand, is comparable to many fiber ISPs and may offer faster speeds and lower pricing than some.
It’s unlikely you’ll have the choice of Consolidated Communications DSL or fiber services in addition to another DSL or fiber provider, however.
In the case of DSL, your only internet alternatives may be fixed wireless or satellite internet. Fixed wireless, from ISPs such as T-Mobile Home Internet, may deliver faster speeds for a lower monthly price. Satellite internet may offer faster speeds but at a higher price with higher latency and restricting data limits, unless you opt for Starlink.
Areas with fiber internet availability also typically have a cable internet provider or two available. More often than not, I would recommend fiber over cable, but there are instances where a cable ISP, such as Xfinity or Spectrum, may be the better choice over Consolidated Communications.
Cable may prove to be the cheaper option, for example, as Consolidated Communications charges $60 a month ($90 after a year) for speeds up to 250Mbps while Spectrum and Xfinity have lower introductory and standard rates for faster speeds, up to 300Mbps.
Consolidated Communications Customer Satisfaction
The main sources we at CNET use to evaluate ISP customer satisfaction, the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, do not identify Consolidated Communications specifically in their reports. So, instead, I turned to the Better Business Bureau and Reddit to better understand what actual customers think about their service.
Consolidated Communications has an “F” rating and a customer review score of 1.09 out of 5. That’s not good, but it’s not completely unreasonable. Frontier, another DSL and fiber provider, has an even lower review score of 1.05, though it did receive an “A” rating. CenturyLink has a 1.02 and is not rated at all by the BBB.
Most of the complaints filed (167 in the last 12 months) involve service outages or billing issues. Additionally, some complaints mention difficulties reaching customer service to address their issues.
Reddit posts paint a similar picture regarding service outages. In addition to complaints of prolonged outages in various regions, some users reported problems with trying to self-install their equipment.
Ultimately, Consolidated Communications doesn’t appear to have the best record regarding customer satisfaction, but the telecommunications industry is known for low customer satisfaction. While the experiences of others are certainly something to consider, I would recommend evaluating Consolidated Communications or Fidium Fiber plans and pricing first, then forming your own opinion of the service if and when you choose to sign up.
Recap of Consolidated Communications
Like any ISP that offers DSL and fiber internet, the speeds, pricing and overall value of Consolidated Communications will depend on the available service type at your address. If fiber is available, it may be the faster option and a better deal than cable, particularly if you can get Fidium Fiber. DSL service, however, should only be considered as a last resort before settling on satellite internet.
Consolidated Communications FAQs
What kind of internet is Consolidated Communications?
Consolidated Communications uses copper-based DSL and fiber-optic networks. DSL service has a larger coverage area and customer reach than fiber service from Consolidated Communications.
What speeds can you get with Consolidated Communications?
Available speeds depend on the service type available at your address. DSL speeds range from 10 to 50Mbps while Consolidated Communications fiber service offers speeds of 250 or 1,000Mbps. Fidium Fiber, a fiber brand under Consolidated Communications, offers speeds ranging from 100 to 2,000Mbps.
How do I contact Consolidated Communcations customer service?
Does Consolidated Communications offer TV service?
No. Consolidated Communications no longer offers TV service to new customers. If you want to bundle internet and TV, Consolidated Communications may offer packages that include DirecTV or other streaming services.
