Mediacom

Mediacom Internet Providers

Mediacom is among the top ten largest cable internet provider in the U.S., offering high-speed internet across 22 states largely but not all in the Midwest and South. Its internet plans are average in just about every respect. The company appears to have good leadership in place. It is often the best option in areas that don’t have fiber internet.

Mediacom is better than most DSL plans, but not as good as fiber so if you can get fiber optic service where you live you should look into it. Here are a few quick takes on Mediacom:

Pro: Faster than advertised: Mediacom is one of the few providers to actually over-deliver on speed. On its 100 Mbps plan, for example, customers received 131 Mbps during peak hours. That’s not a guarantee you will be it’s a pleasant flip from big promises for fast speeds but failure to get those speeds in real life.

Pro: Inexpensive plans: Mediacom has one of the cheapest internet plans in the country with its $19.99/mo. Internet 100 plan. The 100 Mbps speeds are good enough for homes that only use a few devices at a time. You may want to note that the average U.S. home now has 12 internet connected devices. And that number of growing. A laptop here, a laptop there, a tablet here and there, and cell phones … it adds up fast. So, the more devices you have sharing the same signal the slower it can get. In other words, when you’re not actively online with a device, close your web browser windows and your email. Those pages and programs running in the background use up bandwidth.

Pro: Mediacom also offers download speeds up to 1,000 Mbps — the same maximum speeds that fiber usually provides. That’s a wow.

Con: Price increases: Mediacom’s price increases go well beyond what most providers charge. On some plans, your bill will increase until it has more than doubled in size from what you started with.

Con: Data caps: Mediacom internet plans all have data caps which is relatively unusual for cable internet. And while providers like Cox and CenturyLink start their data caps above 1,000GB, Mediacom’s Internet 100 plan only gives you 200GB a month and for even one or two people in the household that number is probably going to be achieved. The average monthly internet usage for a U.S. household was 490GB in 2022. So, if you exceed your 200 GB data cap with Mediacom there will be a $10 (currently) add-on fee for every additional 50GB you use.

200 GB is enough to do each one of these, but not all of these, every month: Stream video 2 hours a day in HD or 8 hours a day in SD. Stream an hour of music a day. Read 50 emails a day. Game 1 hour per day. Use social media 2 hours a day. Videoconference 1 hour per day in HD or 5 hours a day in SD. Browse an hour a day (the proliferation of videos everywhere has become part of browsing but those little videos can eat up lots of data because essentially you are streaming.

When subscribing to Mediacom's internet plans, anticipate paying approximately $17 per month more than the advertised price. If you don't have your own Mediacom-compatible modem, there will be an additional equipment fee of $12 per month for all plans. Furthermore, taxes usually amount to around $5 per month, which is common. Once Mediacom's promotional rates expire, your bill will experience an increase of either $10 or $30 per month in the second year, with the potential for further increments in subsequent years. For example, if you choose the Internet 400 plan, your monthly cost will be around $67 in the first year, $97 in the second year, $107 in the third year, and $117 thereafter.

Additionally, after Mediacom’s promotional rates expire, your bill will increase by $10 or $30/mo. in the second year, and possibly more after that. So, if you sign up for the Internet 400 plan, you’ll pay around $67/mo. in year one, $97/mo. in year two, $107/mo. in year three and $117/mo. after that.

Taxes and fees are standard; fees could be lower with Mediacom that with other providers. Mediacom’s equipment fees are about the average price you’ll pay with most providers.

Installation fees: Mediacom typically charges a $109.99 installation fee but has been known to run promotions where that fee is not charged to customers who sign up online. There is a one-time activation fee of $10.

Contracts: Many Mediacom plans do not require a contract. If your plan does require a contract, try not to cancel before the term expires, or you could pay up to $240 in cancellation fees.

Overall, while Mediacom offers affordable plans and delivers faster speeds than advertised, it's important to consider potential price increases, data caps, and additional fees when deciding on an internet service provider.