Astound Broadband, Powered by Grande, Internet Review

For residents of Texas, Astound Broadband, powered by Grande Communications, beats bigger-name competitors with low prices and fast speeds. But if you’re outside the state, you’re out of luck.

Astound Broadband logo
Astound Broadband
4 out of 5 stars
4
  • pro
    No contracts
  • pro
    High speeds for less
  • con
    Only available in Texas
Catherine McNally
Nov 08, 2023
Icon Time To Read6 min read

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Astound Broadband, powered by Grande, offers low promotional prices for fast download speeds with no contract required. It also comes with unlimited data, and all this good news may leave you wondering, "What's the catch?"

Well, if you're not a resident of Texas, you won't see Astound, powered by Grande Internet, in your area. And those low prices don't last forever.

But if you call the great state of Texas home, let's dig into the details and find out if Astound, powered by Grande Wi-Fi internet service is right for you.

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Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet prices and plans

Astound ain’t greedy, you’ll get a lot of speed for comparatively little cash.

If you’re daydreaming about a faster internet connection, Astound Broadband has you covered with its cable internet plans. Even one of its lower-priced plans, Internet 400, gives you more than enough speed to stream in 4K, escort the payload in Overwatch, or binge-watch the latest season of Once Upon a Time.

Usually, we recommend fiber internet over cable or DSL because fiber speeds are more reliable. But with 300, 600, or even 1500 Mbps, we think Grande's cable plans should do the trick for most anyone.

Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet promotional prices
Plan
Price
Download speed
Data cap
Details
300 Mbps Internet$25/mo.*Up to 300 MbpsUnlimited
600 Mbps Internet$40/mo.*Up to 600 MbpsUnlimited
1500 Mbps Internet$60/mo.Up to 1500 MbpsUnlimited
* No contract required. 24 Month Internet Pricing. Equipment priced separately. Includes $10 discount for 12 months w/ ebill & autopay. Experienced speeds may vary. Excludes surcharges and fees. New residential customers only.

Not everybody needs more than 1 gig (in Astound's case, 1500 Mbps) speeds, so if you can save some cash by grabbing the Internet 300 or 600 plan, go for it. But that's not to say Astound's Internet 1500 Mbps plan isn't well-priced. It's one of—if not the—lowest-priced 1500 Mbps data plans out there right now.

The Internet 1500 plan also comes with the fastest upload speeds. That's perfect if you upload lots of photos or plan on starting a career as a famous YouTuber in the new decade.

Astound Broadband's 300 Mbps plan is its cheapest offer out there, and it is certainly both affordable and provides enough data for most folks. 

Here's how Astound internet prices compare to Spectrum and AT&T Fiber, two other ISPs serving the great Texas state.

Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet price comparison
Provider
Monthly price
Download speeds
Data cap
Learn more
Astound Broadband$25-$60300-1500 MbpsUnlimited
AT&T Fiber$55-$225300-5000 MbpsUnlimited
Spectrum Internet®$19.99-$89.9930-1000 Mbps^Unlimited
Data as of 04/05/2023. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
Includes $10 discount for 12 months w/ ebill & autopay. Experienced speeds may vary. Excludes surcharges and fees. New residential customers only.
Price after $5/mo Autopay & Paperless bill discount (w/in 2 bills). Plus taxes $ fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
^ Limited time offer; subject to change; valid to qualified residential customers who have not subscribed to any services within the previous 30 days and who have no outstanding obligation to Charter.

Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet speed

This ISP offers unlimited data and fast speeds for gamers and streamers.

With decent download speed choices, Astound Broadband's internet plans are all affordable enough for casual users. The best part is most of those plans are also fast enough for power users like gamers, HD and 4K streamers, and live streamers.

Astound's (formerly Grande) Wi-Fi internet download speeds are comparable to big names like Verizon Fios, Xfinity, and Frontier. That's good news because if you go with Astound Broadband, you may pay less for higher speeds.

Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet download speeds and upload speeds
Plan
Download speeds
Upload speeds
Data cap
Learn more
300 Mbps InternetUp to 300 Mbps300 MbpsUnlimited
600 Mbps InternetUp to 600 Mbps600 MbpsUnlimited
1500 Mbps InternetUp to 1500 Mbps940 MbpsUnlimited

When it comes to delivering the download speeds it promises, Astound does well. It ranked eighth overall and fifth in terms of large ISPs in our latest report of the fastest internet providers.

Astound broadband (formerly Grande) internet speed score 1
Provider
Reviews.org weighted score
Overall rank
Astound Broadband

42.9 out of 100

8th out of 38 ISPs

Data as of 04/05/2023. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.

While Astound, powered by Grande's score of 42.9 out of 100 may seem mediocre, it's quite good. The fastest ISP scored 75.6 out of 100, and Astound's score still puts it eighth out of the 38 total internet providers we analyzed.

We should also note that the Reviews.org weighted speed score doesn't represent Astound Broadband's (formerly Grande) actual download speeds. Instead, it's a combination of the average download speeds, upload speeds, and latency that Astound internet users saw in more than 1 million speed tests in 2019.

Data caps

Great news: Astound (formerly Grande) Wi-Fi internet doesn't have a data cap.

Many ISPs cap off your data around 1 terabyte (TB), which is plenty for most users. However, if you’re constantly streaming or downloading online games, you might hit that 1 TB cap before the month ends.

But with Astound's unlimited data, your speeds won’t be throttled, and you won’t get a passive-aggressive email at 2 a.m. on the 28th of the month that warns that you've almost hit your data cap.

Contracts, equipment, and fees

No contracts means you can break free from Astound Broadband, powered by Grande internet without getting charged.

Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet contracts

We appreciate that Astound's (formerly Grande) internet doesn’t make you sign a long-term contract. Some ISPs go as long as 2- or 3-year agreements. And if you leave those contracts, you usually end up paying early termination fees, sometimes up to $240 or more. No thanks.

If you're unsatisfied with Astound Broadband, powered by Grande, you can tell them goodnight and go home without facing any early termination fees or other messy breakup problems. No muss, no fuss.

Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet equipment

You can rent a modem or Wi-Fi mesh system from Astound—or you can bring your own equipment.

  • Whole-home Wi-Fi equipment: $9.99/mo. for one eero base and one beacon. 
  • Whole-home Wi-Fi equipment: $9.95/mo. for two eero Pro 6 devices. Additional devices cost $10.95/mo.
  • Wi-Fi modem/router combo: $17.00/mo.

The monthly fee for Astound's equipment isn't bad. We’ve seen these fees as high as $20 per month elsewhere.

But you'll likely save money if you purchase your own modem and router combo.

Here's a quick look at the yearly rental cost of your Astound Broadband internet equipment compared to the cost of an Astound-compatible modem and the Amazon eero mesh Wi-Fi system.

Estimated cost of buying vs. renting Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet equipment
Equipment
Monthly rental cost
Total cost
Astound (formerly Grande)Standard Wi-Fi & Modem $17.00/mo. $179.88/yr.
Astound (formerly Grande) Standard Wi-Fi & Gig Modem$6.99/mo. $83.88/yr.
Astound (formerly Grande) Whole-Home Wi-Fi$9.95/mo. $119.40/yr.

NETGEAR Cable Modem CM1000

N/A

$159.99* one-time cost

Amazon eero mesh Wi-Fi system (3-pack) N/A $169.99* one-time cost

*Amazon.com List prices of $159.99 and $169.99 (as of 10/16/2023 at 11:23 AM MST). Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Reviews.org utilizes paid Amazon links.

Service fees

We’re always on the lookout for fees that companies don’t include in an advertised monthly price. Fortunately, we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary with Astound Broadband, powered by Grande. You’re always subject to taxes and other weird little fees, but we wouldn’t expect these to change your price dramatically.

  • Installation fees: All offers we came across had free installation with a coupon code. If you don't see an option for free installation, call Astound and ask.
  • Activation fee: $9.99
  • Early termination fee: None. Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) doesn't require contracts.

Customer service

Don't expect spectacular customer service from Astound Broadband, powered by Grande. Or from any ISP, for that matter.

The world of internet service isn’t great when it comes to customer service, and we don’t see anything stand out from Astound (formerly Grande) in that department.

According to HSI's 2023 customer service survey, Astound Broadband ranked 3.6 out of 5 overall with a 3.7 in customer service. 

This is an average rating among internet providers, with the highest-scored customer service ISPs being Google Fiber and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet

Astound Broadband, powered by Grande internet customer service rating
Rating
Customer service score
Highspeedinternet.com Customer Service 2023 Survey 3.7 out of 5

But there are some good points. The company has chat (our preferred way of handling tedious internet problems) and some basic user guides and FAQs that might get you through some tough spots.

You still have the option to call an agent, and it shouldn’t take you more than seven rings to get your problems solved. Grande has 24/7 support, which is more than you can expect from other companies.

Here's how to get a hold of Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) in case you need to get them on the horn:

Recap: Is Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet good?

Yup, Astound Broadband, powered by Grande, gets an A+ in our book. We think it's one of the better ISPs out there.

Astound Broadband's great speeds at decent prices—and without data caps or contracts are what makes it such a big deal. We're just ugly crying in our corner over here because it's available only in Texas.

  • Prices and plans: Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) has some of—if not the—cheapest prices for the download speeds it gives you. That's what we call a high-value internet plan.
  • Speed: Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) earned a spot in the top five for the fastest large internet providers in the US. And even when you count smaller providers, it's still speedy enough to earn eighth place.
  • Contracts, equipment, and fees: "No contracts" is what we like to hear. And we also love that Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) offers free installation and lets you bring your own equipment if you want to.
  • Customer service: Listen, with few exceptions, internet customer service is just a mediocre experience at best. We doubt Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) is much different, though the ISP does offer online chat assistance, which we highly recommend using.

Recap: Astound Broadband (formerly Grande) internet promotional prices

  • Internet 300: $25.00/mo.,*up to 300 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data
  • Internet 600: $40.00/mo.,*up to 600 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data
  • Internet 1500: $60.00/mo.,*up to 1500 Mbps download speeds, unlimited data

Data effective 11/8/2023. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
* For the first 12 months.

Methdology

When reviewing internet services, such as Astound Broadband, we use our 8+ years of experience in testing, reviewing, and researching to give you the information you need to make the decision if this is the right ISP for you. 

We consider technical details, such as download speeds, upload speeds, and data caps. We also consider overall availability, affordability, and contracts.

Here are the factors we considered when reviewing services:

  • Download and upload speeds
  • Dollar per Mbps
  • Contracts, equipment, and fees
  • Availability
Catherine McNally
Written by
Catherine McNally
Catherine has a degree in journalism and an MBA, and has spent the last 10+ years writing everything from Okinawa travel guides to stories on Medium. She’s been online since AOL CDs were a thing and is an unapologetic PC gamer. She believes the internet is a necessity, not a luxury, and writes reviews and guides to help everyone stay connected. You can also find her on Twitter: @CMReviewsIt.

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