Charter Internet Review

With cable Internet plans reaching up to 60 Mbps, Charter is one of America's fastest broadband cable providers. If you are considering them for your cable Internet service, then hopefully our Charter Internet review can help you decide.

Charter is America's fourth largest cable ISP. The company is one of many that went through bankruptcy shortly after the recent economic meltdown. Charter emerged from bankruptcy in November of 2009 as a much more financial stable company. As of the end of 2010, Charter Internet had over 3.2 million broadband subscribers and has been growing at a fast pace in 2011.

NetFlix recently ranked Charter as one of the fastest providers when using their streaming online television service. Also, NetIndex.com rates Charter as one of the fastest cable ISPs in America. So, if speed is important to you, Charter probably won't dissappoint.

Five Charter Cable Internet Plans To Choose From

Charter has a wide choice of bundles and cable Internet plans to choose from and you can easily upgrade to one of the faster plans at any time. Although Charter Internet is able to offer a connection with up to 60 Mbps downstream, these are only available in areas where they have upgraded to DOCSIS 3.0. If you are still in an area that only has DOCSIS 2.0, then the 25 Mbps "Max" plan is your fastest option.

Check For Charter Bundles In Your Area - Call 1-877-476-0648

The company has made significant progress in upgrading to DOCSIS 3.0 technology. As of May 3rd, 2011, Charter Internet reported that at least 70% of their cable Internet service area has been upgraded to the faster DOCSIS 3.0 speeds. This gives Charter a significant advantage in speed over most competing DSL Internet providers.

• Lite - $19.99/mo.* - Up to 1 Mbps, perfect for email & surfing.
• Express - $29.99/mo.* - Very popular plan reaching up to 12 Mbps.
• Plus - $39.99/mo.* - Download speeds of up to 18 Mbps.
• Max - $54.99/mo.* - Up to 25 Mbps, great for streaming video.
• Ultra - $99.99/mo.* - Fastest plan with downstream speeds up to 60 Mbps.
• PowerBoost® available on Express, Plus and Max Internet packages.
• Charter Security Suite® include anti-virus and firewall protection.
• 10 Email Accounts - Each plan comes with 10 personal email accounts.
• ESPN3.com - Check tons of scores and watch games live online.

* Listed prices are for the first 12 months of service when you bundle.

If you are looking for the best deal, then you can bundle Charter Internet service with their TV & Voice services. The Charter "Triple-Play" bundle is the best overall value, and over half of Charter Internet customers have some form of bundle. Ordering these types of services in a bundle is always the best option for saving money.

Check For Charter Bundles In Your Area - Call 1-877-476-0648

Customers of Charter Internet service also get to use their own unique online portal in the form of Charter.net. This customizable home page provides world-wide news coverage, local weather, local movie listings, games, and streaming radio. You can also use your Charter email and view your TV & On Demand listings from one location.

 Plans That Balance Speed With Price

Charter is conscious of consumers who want some form of broadband, but don't want to pay more than around $20 per month. Their "Lite" plan is perfect for anyone on a budget since you get up to 1 Mbps downstream speeds (comparable to entry level DSL plans) for only $19.99 per month. You can even get this plan as a part of a bundle with Charter Internet's "Digital + Lite + Unlimited" package.

At the start of 2011, on January 31st, Charter Internet increased the speeds of their two most popular plans - "Express" and "Plus". They did this at no additional cost to customers. The speeds of the "Express" plan were moved from "up to 8 Mbps" to "up to 12 Mbps". With the "Plus" plan, downstream speeds were changed from "up to 16Mbps" to "up to 18Mbps." This effectively gave the majority of their cable Internet customers a nice Internet speed boost - for free.

Check For Charter Bundles In Your Area - Call 1-877-476-0648

And, of course, there are always those who want the fastest available speed. In early 2009, Charter Internet began rolling out their Ultra 60 plan. With this faster plan, customers in Charter's service area can get some of the fastest speeds available in the country. It is pricey right now, but as technology is improved over time, these ultra fast plans will become more affordable. For example, the Ultra 60 plan was $129.99 per month bundled when it first came out in 2009, but now it is down to $99.99/mo. for the first 12 months as part of a Charter bundle.

Monthly Bandwidth Caps For Charter Internet

Charter high speed Internet does have monthly bandwidth caps. Currently, the amount of monthly bandwidth available is based upon which plan you use:

• 100 GB Per Month - Lite & Express Plans
• 250 GB Per Month - Plus & Max Plans
• 500 GB Per Month - Ultra 60 Plan

These caps should not hinder the vast majority of Charter cable Internet customers. Right now, the company's current policy is not to charge for exceeding the limits. Instead, they send out warnings to excessive users or those getting close to the limit and may suspend accounts which don't comply.

Charter Internet Speeds & Customer Ratings

Charter truly is one of the fastest ISPs in America. Speed testing averages show that their downstream speeds are well above average for the United States. Their upstream speeds are lagging a little behind the national average:

• Downstream Average: 17.01 Mbps**
• Upstream Average: 1.87 Mbps**

As far as customer reviews go, the results are in the medium range:

• NetIndex.com Ratings:  2.9 out of 5 stars**
• DSLReports.com: 3.16 out of 5 stars**

Some of their customer service is now handled out of country in order to cut costs, and a lot of customers have complained on forums about the quality of this support.

** Speed test data & customer ratings as of May 29th, 2011.

For more reviews of High Speed Internet providers similar to Charter Internet, please return to the home page where all of our primary content is listed.