Armstrong Cable Review 2023

Is Armstrong Cable good?

Armstrong Cable offers high-speed internet (mostly cable, some fiber), digital high-definition (HD) TV, and telephone service in the northeastern US. Armstrong has been family-owned and operated in the region since the early 1940s.

Unfortunately, smaller business often have higher prices. Armstrong’s internet and TV plans are way more expensive than its competitors’ plans of comparable speed and channel count. But if you don’t mind paying more for better customer service and the privilege of supporting a local business, give Armstrong a try.

Armstrong Cable pros and cons

• No contracts
• 100+ channels with 245+ more in add-on packs
• Included modem
• Free installation

• Limited availability
• High prices
• Bundling requirement for TV
• Limited TV choices for new customers
• Limited Latino channels and packages

Jump to:

• Deals
• Plans and prices
• Bundles
• Equipment, specs and features
• Availability

Armstrong Cable deals

At this writing, Armstrong Cable is offering new customers a discounted rate for its Zoom, Zoom II, and Zoom Extreme internet plans, along with the internet-and-TV bundle, Zoom + EXP Stream.

• Zoom: $54.95/mo. for up to 150 Mbps (reg. $76.95/mo.).
• Zoom II: $69.95/mo. for up to 300 Mbps (reg. $91.95/mo.).
• Zoom Extreme: $89.95/mo. for up to 500 Mbps (reg. $109.95/mo.).
• $40 off Zoom + EXP Stream:* $152.90 for up to 150 Mbps and 100+ channels (reg. $192.90/mo.).

*Note: We tested the $40 bundle discount during the ordering process and discovered that it works with Zoom, Zoom II, and Zoom Extreme. Yay.

These promotional rates are good for the first 12 months. But the prices are still higher than you’d find for similar speeds from other providers.

Armstrong Cable internet plans and prices

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by area and are subject to change.

* For 12 mos.

Armstrong has four internet plans. Zoom, Zoom II, and Zoom Extreme include Armstrong’s free, whole-home Wi-Fi service, Enhanced Wi-Fi. (Zoom Express does not include this, but you can add it for an extra $10.95 monthly.)

Each plan also includes free Trend Micro security software (for 3–15 computers, depending on the plan), so you’ll be protected against malware and viruses. You also get 3–15 email addresses (again, depending) to accommodate your entire household plus a couple of troll accounts (wink).

Zoom Extreme is Armstrong’s fastest plan with up to 500 Mbps for $89.95 per month, this isn’t a good deal. Remember, $89.95 a month is Armstrong’s promotional price—and two competitors in the same area can crush it.

Spectrum has 1,000 Mbps—twice the speed of Armstrong’s Zoom Extreme—plus a free modem for $89.99 a month. Xfinity has 800 Mbps for $69.99, which is 60% faster speeds for $20.00 less than Armstrong’s rate. But Xfinity charges $14.00 a month for its modem/router combo, which reduces the savings to $6.00 total per month.

The news isn’t much better for Armstrong’s TV service, as you’ll learn in the next section.

Armstrong Cable internet and TV bundles

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by area and are subject to change.

* For 12 mos.

Armstrong has only one TV plan for new customers, Television Plus, and you can get it only through bundles—Armstrong does not offer standalone TV service.

Television Plus has 100+ channels for $115.95 a month, not including cloud DVR service. You can bundle it with any of Armstrong’s four internet plans and pay $150.90–$185.90 a per month with Armstrong’s current promotion (or $150.90–$225.90 a month afterward).

But, just like the internet plans, Armstrong’s internet and TV bundle pricing is too high. A lot of providers can beat this offer. We’ll cover that in the next section.

Armstrong Cable vs. the competition

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by area and are subject to change.

In Armstrong’s service area, Spectrum Internet Gig + TV Select Signature has 155–160+ channels and speeds up to 1,000 Mbps for $139.98 monthly, while Xfinity’s Super Double Play with Blast Internet has 800 Mbps and 185+ channels for $139.99 a month. Both providers charge separate fees for cloud DVR service but are ultimately a much better deal than Armstrong.

Satellite TV is available almost anywhere, and DISH America’s Top 250 plan has 290+ channels for $112.99 a month. DVR service with the DISH Hopper 3 will cost $15 a month, but it’s still a fantastic deal compared to Armstrong. DISH also earned our Editor’s Choice Awards for best overall TV provider and the best TV provider for families.

Unfortunately, DISH doesn’t offer bundles in Armstrong’s area. But that means you can sign up for DISH and save some money, then choose any local internet service provider you want, Armstrong included.

Armstrong Cable channels

Armstrong Cable does carry more than 100 channels if you want to pay even more for the service. But before we get into Armstrong’s channel add-on packs, let’s zoom in on the main package’s channels.

Popular channels

Armstrong Cable’s Television Plus package includes 31 of the top 35 most-watched channels of 2021, according to Variety.¹ The missing ones are ION, MeTV, UniMás, and Univision.

Variety’s Top 35 most-watched channels of 2021¹

Armstrong Cable channel add-on packs

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by area and are subject to change.

With these three channel add-on packs, you can add up to 93 more channels to the Television Plus package. But, again, do you really want to pay more for TV service? You can find many of the same channels in Xfinity’s second- and top-tier plans for less money.

Premium channels

Get this: Armstrong Cable no longer offers premium channels like Max™ (formerly HBO Max), Paramount+ with SHOWTIME®, and STARZ®. To get these channels, you’ll need to sign up for the separate streaming services—but you’ll be able to use your Armstrong EXP Stream TV box to run the streaming apps.

Armstrong Cable equipment, specs, and features

Speaking of the EXP Stream box, it’s one of two pieces of equipment you’ll need for Armstrong service if you bundle internet and TV.

Armstrong Cable equipment

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by area and are subject to change.

* Requires internet service with Wi-Fi.

Armstrong Cable provides a modem with its internet plans. But for TV, you’ll need the EXP Stream (powered by TiVo®), which costs $9.95 a month.

The Stream plays all of your live channels, on-demand content, cloud DVR recordings, and separate streaming apps (including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, Peacock, and more) in up to 4K UHD resolution. The EXP Stream also includes the Google Assistant, Google Play Store, a built-in Google Chromecast, and accessibility features like a talking guide (screen reader), enhanced closed captioning, and a voice remote.

If you have multiple TVs, additional EXP Stream units are available for $5.00 each per month. The boxes require a home Wi-Fi network to run and do not include physical DVR storage.

Armstrong Cable cloud DVR fees

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by area and are subject to change.

Cloud DVR is becoming the new industry standard with cable TV providers. It’s handier and more reliable than physical DVRs, which have hard drives that can fail. But the storage amounts are lower and the fees are a bit high.

But Armstrong’s cloud DVR fees are surprisingly reasonable—better than Spectrum’s and Xfinity’s. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make much difference since Armstrong’s Television Plus TV plan is already so expensive.

Armstrong Cable mobile app

There are two Armstrong Cable mobile apps. The EXP App (Android, iPhone) works together with the EXP Stream TV box to let you watch your live channels, on-demand titles, cloud DVR recordings, and more on the go. You can also use the app to set and manage DVR timers.

The Armstrong App (Android, iPhone) is for account management, bill pay, email, tech support, voicemail, and more.

Availability

Armstrong is available in the northeastern US, mainly in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

• Kentucky
• Maryland
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia

Final take

We wouldn’t call Armstrong Cable bad, just prohibitively expensive. DISH, Spectrum, and Xfinity give you so much more—for so much less—in the same service area.

Armstrong Cable FAQ

Methodology

Our TV experts have a combined thousands of hours of experience researching and testing cable TV and internet providers like Armstrong Cable. For this piece, we compared Armstrong to other top internet and TV providers in the region (including DISH, Spectrum, and Xfinity) based on plans, pricing, equipment, channels, features, and more. We then analyzed the data to present concrete recommendations for our readers. To learn more about our process, see our How We Rank page.

Endnote

1. Michael Schneider, Variety, “Most-Watched Television Networks—Ranking 2021’s Winners and Losers,” December 2021. Accessed June 17, 2022.