Staff rating

4.2

Plans starting at $55.00

Download speeds up to 2000 Mbps

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Staff rating

3.5

Customer rating

3.2

(8)

Plans starting at $38.95

Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps

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Staff rating

4.0

Customer rating

3.9

(12)

Plans starting at $9.99

Download speeds up to 1200 Mbps

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Staff rating

4.2

Outstanding local service with promises to expand in the future

Local internet service providers (ISPs) sometimes lack a certain something. They might be expensive or fail to reach the speeds of national providers. Omni Fiber wants to buck that trend with speedy internet at an affordable price and the promise of local customer service, but can it deliver? Spoiler alert—yes, it seems it can.

What we like

Competitive prices
Symmetrical speeds
No contracts

What we dislike

Limited availability
Relatively limited support options
Very new company

See full review

Savings tip: Omni Fiber often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

Check deals

Staff rating

3.5

Inconsistent speeds for the price, but it’ll do

This budget internet provider offers DSL, cable, and fiber internet at a low price. However, TDS doesn’t guarantee advertised speeds, and the quality of service will likely vary by location and connection type. If you want the highest speeds, guaranteed speeds, or unlimited data, this might not be the provider for you, but if you can get fiber, it’s worth a look.

What we like

Several plan options
Fiber in some areas
Easy installation

What we dislike

Complaints about speed
Self-setup not available everywhere
Contract required

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Savings tip: TDS Telecom often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

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Staff rating

4.0

Wow! Internet earns its name

Fast, inexpensive internet with great customer service, equipment, and installation? Wow is right. This internet company is a solid choice for most people. But if you’re a heavy streamer, its cable and fiber networks might not be beefy enough in all locations.

What we like

Low costs
Optional contracts
Award-winning customer service

What we dislike

Limited upload speed
Not ideal for online gaming
Availability in only 9 states

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Savings tip: WOW! often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

Check deals

Value

4.0

Exceptional value for relatively little money

Omni Fiber offers excellent value. All three plans are competitively priced—the 1 gig plan is on par with the most affordable options we’ve reviewed, and the 2 gig plan is actually the most affordable plan of this speed we’ve seen from any provider. In addition to the low package prices, you also get equipment included at no extra cost, which further increases the value of the service.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

Omni Fiber's website

or call 1-844-844-6664 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Value

3.5

Low prices, but varying value

TDS’s DSL, cable, and fiber internet range from a superslow 1 Mbps to a superfast 2 Gbps, with over a dozen plans in between. Prices vary by location, but most seem to come in below US benchmarks for comparable broadband speeds (1) and are cheaper than similar plans from Xfinity, Spectrum, and Cox.

Our favorite things about TDS prices is that in some locations, we've seen a "price for life" guarantee. That means the price you sign up at is the same price you'll pay as long as you're a customer. Since most providers have significant price hikes after a year or two of service, being able to lock in your price is a huge deal—and a big reason to stick with instead of switching to a different internet company.

We interviewed Marci-Ray, a TDS fiber customer since 2020. In a household with multiple gaming consoles and smart home devices, she’s been very pleased with the reliability and price of the 300 Mbps fiber plan: “For the value of the speed and the price…it’s great. I’m very happy with that.”

Unfortunately, not all TDS customers have had the same experience. We’ve seen some customer complaints about slower-than-advertised speeds, meaning that customers aren’t getting what they paid for, especially on DSL or cable plans. If you opt for a higher plan to account for that (which is what TDS recommends if you don't see the speeds it advertises), you may end up paying more than you would somewhere else for the same speed.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

TDS Telecom's website

or call 1-844-726-0721 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Value

4.0

Great value, whether you sign a contract or not

WOW! offers 100 Mbps to 5 Gbps plans at a great price, whether or not you sign up for an optional one- or two-year contract. If you don’t mind signing a contract, WOW!’s plans will cost you about 25% of the national benchmark for a similar plan (1). After that, prices transition to month-to-month rates, which are $10 to $15 higher but still well below the benchmark.

To get WOW!’s advertised prices, you need to sign up for both autopay and paperless billing (a $5 monthly savings) and commit to a two-year contract. If you’re not sure whether you want to be chained to WOW! for that long, don’t worry too much about it. If you duck out early, you’ll pay only $15 for each month left on your contract—which isn’t much more than you’d pay if you skip the contract from the start. (2)

There are data caps of either 1.5 TB or 3 TB, depending on your plan. These are pretty high, but if you’re a heavy user, you could be charged up to $50 extra every month and have your speed throttled.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

WOW!'s website

or call 1-844-727-4910 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Performance

5.0

Fast speeds and unlimited data earn a big thumbs up

Omni Fiber performance is outstanding. Speeds are fast, with plans ranging from 500 Mbps to 2 Gbps. All three plans feature symmetrical upload speeds, which means the upload speeds are equal to the download speeds—this makes a huge difference for sharing content, particularly large files like videos. For reference, a typical upload speed for a cable provider is one tenth of the download speed (and often quite a bit lower). Finally, all Omni Fiber customers get unlimited data, which is a big thumbs up in our book.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-844-844-6664 to speak with a Omni Fiber rep or

go to its website.

Performance

3.0

Speeds not guaranteed

TDS says you could see speeds “up to” your plan’s max, which isn’t uncommon of internet service providers, but TDS seems to get a lot of complaints from customers seeing much lower speeds than advertised. And if you’re not happy with the speeds you’re seeing, TDS’ solution is to switch to a lower-level plan, and it’ll waive its usual $15 fee for switching plans mid-contract. But if you ask us, this feels like an ineffective solution since lower-level plan speeds aren’t guaranteed either. You could end up with even lower speeds, albeit at a lower cost.

If TDS fiber is available in your area, you should see more consistent speeds since fiber-optic technology is more reliable all around. One customer who switched from Spectrum cable service to TDS fiber in the Madison, WI area told us that TDS has been far more reliable for them, with fewer slowdowns and outages.

Depending on your location, your TDS plan might come with unlimited data. Or it might come with a data cap of 500 GB and overage fees if you go over that. This cap is pretty low, considering most people use around 500 GB per month all on their own. Unless you live alone, it won’t be enough. And if you use less than 500 GB, the extra won’t roll over.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-844-726-0721 to speak with a TDS Telecom rep or

go to its website.

Performance

4.0

Cable and fiber networks deliver fast, reliable download speeds

The majority of WOW!’s network is cable and fiber, though some customers in Alabama still have legacy DSL service. WOW!'s speeds top out at 5 gigs, but for most households, 250 Mbps is plenty fast. We generally don't recommend more than 1 gigs.

WOW's cable plans have upload speeds that cap out at 50 Mbps, but its fiber plans are symmetrical. That means you can upload as fast as you can download. Most people will be fine with 50 Mbps upload speeds, but if you upload a lot of photos or videos, WOW! fiber could save you some headaches.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-844-727-4910 to speak with a WOW! rep or

go to its website.

Equipment and installation

4.0

Decent equipment and free installation, with one potential catch

Omni Fiber’s equipment is fairly standard. The provider offers two choices: a standard gateway that’s free of charge, and a Whole Home Wi-Fi gateway you can upgrade to. The standard version, which Omni confusingly calls “premium Wi-Fi,” is a standard Wi-Fi modem and router, while the Whole Home version uses extenders to cover larger areas. It’s recommended for homes larger than about 2,000 square feet.

Mesh networks tend to work a little better than Wi-Fi extenders, but we still think the Omni Fiber system will be adequate for most homes. If you want to use your own equipment, you'll need to make sure it's compatible with a fiber connection but either way, there's no extra charge!

Omni Fiber also gets high marks for installation. There is no installation fee or other cost involved, and the technician will ensure your equipment is properly placed to cover as much of your home as possible. The only potential concern is that Omni Fiber is still building out its infrastructure, so—depending on where you live—there may be some additional construction involved.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

Omni Fiber plans

available in your area.

View plans

Equipment and installation

4.5

Low-cost equipment and installation options

TDS offers two equipment options, which you purchase and pay down each month. A standard modem and Wi-Fi router combo is $10/month, and Wi-Fi+ is around $20/month. Wi-Fi+ comes with a modem plus an eero Wi-Fi home base and one mesh extender—all of which should give you 2,500 sq. ft. of signal, which isn’t too bad. (2) TDS recommends adding an extender ($5) for every additional 1,000 feet beyond that. This system comes with a smartphone app that makes managing your Wi-Fi easy.

Self-installation is free and takes about 15 minutes, but it’s available in only some locations. In others, professional installation is required for no additional charge. However, if self-installation is available in your area and you still want professional help, it’ll cost you around $50.

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Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

TDS Telecom plans

available in your area.

View plans

Equipment and installation

3.5

Competitive Wi-Fi gear and installation

WOW! includes a free modem for your first year ($14/month after that), and fiber plans come with a free Wi-Fi router too. If you have cable service, you can rent a Whole Home Wi-Fi system, which includes a coveted eero base and one extender for $9.99. Additional extenders are $5.99 each, but most households won’t need more than one because eero’s that good. eero comes with an app you can use to manage your network, and you can add security services for an additional cost (under $10/month) if you want ad-blocking, malware protection, or parental controls.

A free self-startup kit is available to most new customers, but if you prefer professional installation, it’ll cost you $75. The good news is that with professional installation, WOW! waives its $10 activation fee, so it’s really just $65 more to have a technician’s help.

As an Amazon Associate, Switchful.com may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

WOW! plans

available in your area.

View plans

Customer experience

4.0

Local service, but without the resources of the big players

If there’s an area to be cautious with Omni Fiber, it’s customer experience. The provider promises personal, local customer support and service to its subscribers. However, remember that this is a relatively small company that is still building and growing. Omni also doesn’t have the same resources as national companies when it comes to providing support—for example, there’s no chat option yet.

On the other hand, local customer service certainly sounds better than the automated and outsourced support many large providers offer. Omni Fiber also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is promising.

Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that Omni Fiber is a very new company. While this isn’t inherently a bad thing, there could be growing pains. Issues like billing problems or service outages could crop up as the company gets its infrastructure sorted out.

Omni Fiber will be available first in the Ohio towns of Clyde, Dover, and Shelby. It plans to expand to small and mid-size markets in the Midwest "as quickly as possible," CEO Darrick Zucco said in a press release in August of 2022. (1)

The company, founded in 2022, has not yet been studied by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in either its annual performance tests (2) or its rate study (3).

Visit Omni Fiber's website

or call 1-844-844-6664 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Customer experience

3.0

Extra help if you need it—at a price

Like most internet service providers, TDS gets mixed reviews from customers, but overall it seems about average. You’ll get around-the-clock tech support, including phone calls, online chat, and remote internet sessions (during which a technician logs into your computer remotely to troubleshoot your connection).

If you want help with more than your connection, you can pay around $13 per month for a Remote PC Support subscription. With it, you can get help with network security, optimizing your computer, and setting up your devices. Without the subscription, you’ll pay around $50 each time you need these services. If you’re tech savvy, you’ll save a lot by skipping the subscription. But if you think you’ll need help at least once per quarter, the subscription will be cheaper.

When we interviewed a current customer about their experience with TDS customer support, they said that TDS was very responsive, clearly explained what was happening, and fixed connection issues for them without charging for the service.

They were also able to negotiate their internet price back down after their promotional price ended. TDS customer service recommended setting a calendar reminder to call in again each time the promo pricing was close to running out. It’s less convenient than just getting the lower price consistently, but we appreciate the willingness to bring prices back down.

The one downside the customer mentioned was the lack of a dedicated app for managing their service and billing—something many other providers already provide.

Visit TDS Telecom's website

or call 1-844-726-0721 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Customer experience

4.5

Award-winning customer service, even in areas under new management

WOW! provides an award-winning customer experience, ranking fourth-highest in J.D. Power’s ISP Satisfaction list in the North Central US region in 2022. (3)

We should note that in 2021 WOW! sold a couple regions of its business (Evansville, IN and Chicago) to Astound broadband, so customers may see some changes in their service. That said, Astound ranks fifth on P.C. Mag's Readers' Choice awards, so you're probably in good hands. (4)

Visit WOW!'s website

or call 1-844-727-4910 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Made up your mind?

Find out what providers are available near you.

Omni Fiber

0.0

(0)

5 Star

4 Star

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

TDS Telecom

3.2

(8)

5 Star

12%

4 Star

37%

3 Star

25%

2 Star

13%

1 Star

13%

Sheridanfrom Mounds, OK

TDS Telecom Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 8-29-2022

I’m just fine using TDS the speed and reliability is spot on

Beverlyfrom Hobbs, NM

TDS Telecom Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 6-22-2022

TDS provides my needs internet connection speed and capacity. Since we are all mature in the house, we don't do any gaming and live stream. We are also working most of the time, thus social media access from our side is mostly done only after work or during weekends.

Sherryfrom Milliken, CO

TDS Telecom Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 6-22-2022

It took close to 6 months to get a permanent line and half of that to get a temporary line. They kept saying it would be done in a week. We have issues with speed and reliability on a weekly basis. The only reason we stay with them is they ae cheaper then Century link and they have the same issues.

Jefffrom Milliken, CO

TDS Telecom Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

They have horrible customer service

WOW!

3.9

(12)

5 Star

33%

4 Star

33%

3 Star

25%

2 Star

1 Star

Annfrom Sterling Heights , MI

WOW! Customer for 4+ years

Reviewed on: 6-22-2022

Nothing is good. The internet is too slow. It sucks.

Rickfrom Canton, MI

WOW! Customer for 8+ years

Reviewed on: 6-22-2022

WOW started off fine for years. In recent years there service has gone down hill. There are more interuptions and slower speeds.

Mercedesfrom Knoxville, TN

WOW! Customer for 4+ years

Reviewed on: 6-22-2022

I think that wow is a great internet service company, they get the job done and are always there when you need them. I think that they could improve by offering more services to the public

Angelfrom Leslie, MI

WOW! Customer for 4+ years

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

I THINK IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE FOR BASIC PHONE AND INTERNET

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Endnotes and sources

(1) "Omni Fiber announces first wave of Ohio markets to be served with new 100% Fiber Network," Omni Fiber via PR Newswire. Accessed 15 December, 2022.(2) "Measuring Broadband America," FCC. Accessed 15 December, 2022.(3) "2022 Urban Rate Survey," FCC. Accessed 15 December, 2022.

Endnotes and sources

1. “2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 9 December 2022.2. "TDS Wi-Fi+," TDS. Accessed 9 December 2022.

Endnotes and sources

1. “2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 21 June 2022.2. "WOW! Internet - Terms of Service," Wide Open West. Accessed 12 October 20223. "Price of Residential Internet Drives Customer Choice, J.D. Power Finds," J. D. Power. Accessed 7 December 2022.4. “Readers’ Choice 2022: Your Favorite ISPs for Any Type of Broadband,” PCMag. Accessed 7 December 2022.