We checked out AT&T’s DSL and fiber hybrid internet service as well as its full-fiber internet to see how its prices and speeds compare to other internet service providers (ISPs). What we found was that AT&T internet isn’t a bad deal, but the best value lies in its fiber internet plans. Let’s dig into the details and see if AT&T internet is right for you. What plans you can choose from depends on where you live—AT&T Fiber is available mainly in large cities, but its DSL service is available in suburbs and more rural areas. (P.S. For simplicity’s sake, we’re referring to AT&T’s DSL-fiber hybrid service as “DSL.”) AT&T DSL internet plans come with a max speed of 100 Mbps, but depending on your location, you could see speeds as low as 10 Mbps. (More on internet speeds in just a bit.) That said, if you can get those faster speeds, the price isn’t too bad. Plus you get unlimited data and upload speeds that match your download speeds. That’s perfect for school or work at home. Here’s a quick look at how much the other plans cost after 12 months. View AT&T Internet Plans | View AT&T Fiber Plans Still need to do a little comparison shopping? Check out these other reviews:
Cox Internet Review Spectrum Internet Review Xfinity Internet Review WOW! Internet Review
Compared to Cox: AT&T Internet and Cox prices start out even, but Cox’s Gigablast 940 Mbps plan is more expensive than the AT&T Fiber Internet 1,000 plan. Compared to Spectrum: There’s no comparison of AT&T’s low-speed DSL plans here since Spectrum plans start out at up to 200 Mbps*, but at that speed you’ll pay more per month for Spectrum than if you got the AT&T Internet 100 plan. And AT&T’s gig-speed plan is much cheaper than Spectrum’s. The saving grace? Spectrum comes with no equipment fee. Compared to Xfinity: AT&T’s DSL plans might be a better deal than Xfinity’s 25 Mbps plan—depending on what speed you can get with AT&T. Otherwise, these two ISPs are neck-and-neck when it comes to price for the speed you get. Compared to WOW!: WOW! and AT&T charge a similar price for their 100 Mbps plans. But you’ll pay almost $15 more per month for gig speeds with WOW! compared to the price of AT&T’s gig plan.
View AT&T Internet Plans | View AT&T Fiber Plans But its DSL plans pair you with the fastest speeds you can get in your area—up to 75 or 100 Mbps, depending on which plan you have. That could land you with internet speeds of 10, 18, 25, 50, 75, or 100 Mbps. Confusing, right? AT&T Fiber, on the other hand, sports symmetrical internet speeds. So whatever download speed you get, you’ll get the same upload speed to match. (Except for the 940 Mbps plan, which comes with 880 Mbps upload speeds.) That makes AT&T Fiber the superior high speed internet choice for anyone running a home office, home business, studying from home, or aiming to become the next YouTube sensation. That’s not a great rank, but it’s not horrible either. And more than likely, AT&T’s DSL internet is bringing down its score since DSL is slower than fiber (and sometimes cable too). Sad fact. But if you’re still on AT&T’s DSL internet, you’ll want to keep an eye on your data usage. Its Up to 75 Mbps plan comes with a 1 TB data cap. We think most internet users won’t go through a TB of data each month, but if you do, AT&T will charge you an extra $10 for every 50 GB of additional data you use. Or you can splurge on unlimited data for an extra $30 a month.
AT&T DSL data cap (up to 75 Mbps): 1 TB of data, $10 per 50 GB or $30/month for unlimited data AT&T Fiber data cap (100–940 Mbps): Unlimited
That Wi-Fi gateway device will come with a $10 per month rental fee too, but as far as rental fees go, it’s one of the cheaper ones we’ve seen.
AT&T equipment fee: $10 per month
It’s also really nice that you can sign up for internet service and have the equipment delivered straight to your door. A buddy of mine, Andrew, did just this while he was staying in Virginia but needed internet in his new house in Florida. “They shipped the box on Monday. It came Wednesday, and my girlfriend hooked it up and followed the instructions. The box activated itself, and she was up and running,” he says. Imagine that: you move in, and your internet and Wi-Fi connection is set up before you even get your mattress unloaded. Priorities, right?
Installation fee: Pay a $35 activation fee if you prefer DIY installation, or call up the pros for $99. Early termination fee: AT&T Internet doesn’t have contracts, so you shouldn’t have to pay an early termination fee (ETF). However, its site does state that some plans may require a contract in order to get promotional pricing. If you fall into that bucket, you’re looking at an ETF of $15 for each month left on your contract—up to a total of $180.3
AT&T has made some improvement over the last two years, as the customer service rating used to be 68 the year prior.6 That puts it ahead of the average score of 65 out of 100.
AT&T internet customer service phone number: 1-800-288-2020 Online chat (you’ll need to scroll down for the chat option) Facebook: @ATT (hours are 6 a.m.–1 a.m. CST) Twitter: @ATTHelp
Prices and plans: AT&T’s prices either match other ISPs serving similar areas or are cheaper. But its DSL plans quickly lose value if you can’t get max speeds of 75 or 100 Mbps. Download speed: With speeds of 300 to 5000 Mbps, AT&T Fiber speeds are perfect for a family who works, studies, and has fun online. But AT&T DSL speeds are too slow and too iffy for our liking. Data caps: All AT&T Fiber plans come with unlimited data, but if you’ve got AT&T DSL, you’re stuck with a small-ish 1 TB data cap. (Unless you pay for extra data, that is.) Contracts, equipment, and fees: We’re happy to say that AT&T Internet comes with no contracts. Plus its equipment rental and self-installation fees are reasonable. Customer service: No ISP is known for great customer service, sorry to say. But AT&T rates as one of the better internet providers out there.
Usually a DSL-fiber hybrid connection involves installing a fiber network in your neighborhood, then connecting your home to that fiber network with a DSL line. The good news? Fiber tends to be more reliable and offers faster download and upload speeds than DSL. The bad news? That final DSL connection to your home will still slow your internet speeds down. You can check to see if your city has AT&T Fiber on AT&T’s coverage map. While fixed wireless is certainly an exciting new technology for rural areas missing out on more than one internet option—or areas with no internet options—it isn’t without its downsides. You can learn more about it in our fixed wireless guide. You can learn more about low-income internet assistance in our guide. If your AT&T internet bill went up in 2021, it might be because your promotional pricing expired. If not, we recommend giving AT&T a call to double-check your bill and explain any confusing fees. Still, when you have few choices for internet providers like most of us do, sometimes you just have to deal with the bad and find a silver lining. (Like at least we’re not hogging the phone line with our AOL CD internet anymore, right?) And if you upload large files, like YouTube videos or RAW image files, the Internet 1,000* plan’s symmetrical upload speeds of 880 Mbps are a life saver.
