Optimum Internet Review: Customers Say It “Gets the Job Done”

Optimum offers cable and fiber internet services with unlimited data and speeds that range from 300Mbps all the way up to a whopping 8Gbps, depending on your location. As of Optimum’s 2024 first-quarter results, only about eight percent of Optimum’s four million residential or business broadband customers are on a fiber plan, but the service is continuing to expand to more locations.

Most of the plans start off at promotional rates for the first 12 months of service. According to Optimum’s website, the monthly fee will increase in periodic increments after the first year. Although nobody likes a price hike, new customers do get bougie perks like a free Optimum Gateway 6 with mesh technology (worth $130.00) and one free Wi-Fi extender so you can have better service throughout your home.

Freebies aside, there are other fees to watch out for—such as the monthly Network Enhancement Fee and service call fees for each time a technician is called out to your home. Signing up for a service plan like Total Care or Service Protection can mitigate those fees, but they aren’t full-coverage—we go into more detail on those farther down in this review. There are also live TV and 4K streaming packages you can add on to catch live sports, news, and the latest shows.

Optimum customers who spoke with Reviews.org have mixed experiences. A couple customers felt that the provider is able to hit them with price hikes because they don’t have other realistic internet options they can switch to instead. “I don’t have any bargaining power,” says Geoffrey Turbeville, an Optimum cable customer who lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York. He’s been an Optimum cable internet customer for six years–but only because it's the only high-speed internet provider available. “We really only have one option.”

Luther Shoultz, a business executive in Freehold, New Jersey, feels similarly. “If there were multiple providers available, companies could really start on really making sure customers are happy instead of making promises they can’t keep.” 

Josh Michael, an Optimum customer for eight years, has been able to negotiate prices because another provider became available in his neighborhood. “Once Verizon Fios came to my street, it changed things,” says Michael, who lives with his wife and two kids in Brooklyn. Michael told a customer rep at Optimum that he would switch providers unless Optimum maintained his promotional prices. This tactic has worked for the last three years. “Now I’m getting a good deal. Before I thought it was expensive,” he says.

Courtney Joan, a college administrator and customer in Beacon, New York feels like she is getting a good deal, but the internet isn’t always reliable. “It’s a good value, but you get what you pay for,” says Joan, who works from home and uses her internet to take video calls. “I don’t like the speed and the irregularity of it. There are certain times Wi-Fi just drops out.” Even though she is on the 1Gig internet plan, Joan’s most recent internet speed test showed a mere 187Mbps download speed.

Even though you can apply for a credit if you experience an outage that’s longer than four hours, it’s no fun having spotty internet. Shoultz struggles with his internet speeds and reliability. He and his wife work from home, but find that Zoom calls are unpredictable. “She’s on calls and they’re getting dropped while she’s talking,” he says. Streaming isn’t working well either. “The TV service is spotty, especially now that it's over the internet. If you lose the internet, you also lose TV.”

Turbeville also notices slow or inconsistent internet when he’s watching the Yankees live on TV. “We need to unplug the router and plug it back in fairly regularly, but it does solve the problem,” he says.

Turbeville has previously run into a unique issue where he was billed for his upstair’s neighbor’s bill. “It almost shouldn’t be possible,” says Turbeville, who was taking a timed online exam at his home when his internet cut out. He found a way to look up his account and saw money owed, so he decided to pay the bill because he thought his internet was disconnected due to an unpaid balance. It turned out that he was just experiencing an outage and the charge was a complete mistake.

Turbeville wasn’t able to resolve the problem online, so he had to go to an Optimum shop to talk with someone face-to-face. It took 45 minutes to get his money credited back to him. “It was bizarre,” he recalls. “I don’t know how that happened.”

Optimum offers support services you can access for a monthly fee, but they might not be worth it. The main support plan advertised is Total Care, which includes covered service-visit fees (saving you $80 per visit) along with priority positioning for technical support, technical support for equipment, and other benefits.

Even if you have Total Care, though, not all of your repairs will be covered. For example, you’d still have to pay for certain internet repairs that involve concealed wiring, non-Optimum-owned equipment, and complex or custom wiring. If you don’t sign up for Total Care, you can still access regular customer service for internet connectivity issues. So you probably shouldn’t bother signing up for Total Care or one of these other services unless you expect to need service visits on a regular basis.

Optimum internet is available in 21 states, mostly as cable. Fiber internet is available in limited locations, such as the New York tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut). “We continue to expand our fiber services and multi-gig speeds across our footprint,” says Raffaella Mazzella, an Optimum spokesperson.

Optimum also has a Wi-Fi hotspot map which is free for anyone on an Optimum internet plan if you want to connect your laptop, phone, or tablet while you’re out and about.

A big contender for Optimum is Verizon Fios, which offers fiber plans that are just as fast as Optimum but cheaper in the long run. Verizon also gets much better ratings for customer satisfaction in HighSpeedInternet’s 2023 Customer Satisfaction Survey, with 95% of customers saying they’re satisfied with their service.

Another major contender is Spectrum. The widely-available cable provider offers TV and mobile bundles with its internet, fast speeds, and unlimited data. However, Spectrum also has additional fees like Wi-Fi service and self-installation that seem like they should be free.

Optimum fiber is still a worthwhile internet plan. If you’re looking to switch your provider, type in your zip code below to find the best plans near you.