Astound Broadband Powered By Wave Review 2024

Is Astound Broadband powered by Wave good?

Although Astound’s internet plans won’t knock your socks off, the internet service provider (ISP) offers fine download speeds, no-contract service, and reasonable first-year prices. But Astound’s TV plans are expensive, and we’d recommend them only if you’re looking for channels that aren’t on a streaming bundle.

Astound Broadband powered by Wave pros and cons

• Good first-year internet pricing
• Larger data caps on 500 Mbps and Gig Internet plans

• Expensive TV plans that require an internet plan
• Slow upload speeds on Gig Internet

Jump to:

• Deals
• Plans and prices
• Competition
• Features

Astound Broadband powered by Wave deals

Astound’s deals include free installation and discounted equipment rental fees for your first year of service. Visit Astound to learn more about deals in your area.

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Astound Broadband powered by Wave internet plans and prices

*For the first 12 months.
†24 month Internet Pricing. Equipment priced separately. Experienced speeds may vary.

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Astound keeps its internet options simple with four no-contract plans that have sensible download speeds and pricing. We’ll give Astound props for making its 100 Mbps plan affordable for the first year—many ISPs have starting internet plans that cost more than $30 monthly, which hardly make them budget-friendly. Astound’s Gig Internet promo pricing is similarly impressive, as we rarely see ISPs with gigabit plans that cost less than $50 per month.

We could do without the 100 Mbps plan’s 400 GB data cap—it’s decently sized, but most providers have adopted unlimited data or 1 TB data caps. On Astound’s 100 Mbps and 500 Mbps plans, you can double your data cap for $10 monthly or upgrade to unlimited data for $20 per month. If your household is full of heavy internet users, you could also upgrade to Gig Internet for an additional $10 per month.

Astound’s upload speeds are similarly unimpressive. For better or worse, they’re in line with competing cable ISPs, but one of Astound’s biggest misses is saddling Gig Internet with the same 10 Mbps upload speeds as its 500 Mbps plan. Gig Internet is one of Astound’s premium internet plans, but to get comparably premium upload speeds, you’ll have to pay an additional $5 monthly upgrade fee for 30 Mbps upload speeds. Astound’s 2,000 Mbps plan has equal download and upload speeds of 2,000 Mbps, though, but comes with a big price tag to match if you want that type of speed.

You’ll need upload speeds above 10 Mbps if more than a few people at home regularly take video calls or do cloud backups for work. Competitors like Xfinity and Spectrum made faster upload speeds a given on their gigabit plans, and it’s a shame that Astound didn’t follow suit.

Astound Broadband powered by Wave vs. competition

*100 Mbps Internet: For the first 12 months. 500 Mbps, Gig Internet: For the first 24 months.
†2,000 Mbps Internet: 24 month Internet Pricing. Equipment priced separately. Experienced speeds may vary.

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

When it comes to pricing, Astound falls in line with other internet service providers that have West Coast coverage. Although AT&T and Xfinity have higher internet prices on paper, these rates cover each ISP’s premium gigabit plans that offer speeds up to 5 Gbps.

When you compare apples to apples, Astound’s first-year pricing for its 1 Gbps plan ($49.95/mo.) is less than Xfinity ($75.00/mo.) and Spectrum ($49.99–$79.99/mo.), although this difference evens out after Astound’s second-year price hike. For instance, Astound’s second-year prices range from $69.95 per month to $99.95 per month, while Xfinity’s prices on its comparable plans fall between $70.00 per month and $100.00 per month.

By comparison, CenturyLink and AT&T moved to flat-rate pricing, so you won’t have to worry about your bill doubling after your first year.

Astound Broadband powered by Wave features

Astound also offers TV and phone service alongside its internet plans. Here’s what you need to know about Astound’s TV plans and fine print.

Astound Broadband powered by Wave TV bundles

*For the first 12 months.

Data effective as of publish date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Astound’s TV plans look fine on paper, but they’re not worth it, thanks to a headache-inducing number of fees and add-on charges. For starters, you can’t get standalone TV service through Astound, as you have to bundle an internet plan with one of Astound’s two base TV plans.

Local TV ($31.95 per month, free for first year) is Astound’s local network-only plan, while Expanded Content ($79.75 per month) is a starter basic cable plan with channels like Disney Channel and TBS. You’ll also have to pay between $24.00 and $28.00 per month in station fees, which are standard for most cable TV providers.

On top of that, you’ll have to add separate packs if you want more channels. For basic cable networks, you’ll choose between the following packs:

• Digital Sports ($12.00/mo., ESPNU, NFL Network, and more)
• Digital Variety ($8.25/mo., Cooking Channel, Magnolia, and more)
• Digital Favorites ($13.00/mo., Disney XD, BBC America, and more)
• Digital Cable Pack ($32.75/mo., bundles all three packs together)

Thanks to all these charges, you’ll be paying far more for TV service on Wave compared to the competition. For example, Xfinity’s 600 Mbps and 125+ basic cable channel bundle costs $80.00 per month for your first two years. With Wave, you’ll be paying $147.65 per month for a comparable plan. (And this doesn’t even include the $80 second-year price hike you’ll see after Astound’s promo prices end.)

Astound Broadband powered by Wave fees

During the checkout process, Astound has no shortage of optional add-ons. Astound offers modem and router rentals for between $6.00 and $10.00 per month, but we’d recommend purchasing your own equipment to save on fees. You can also upgrade your data cap or upload speeds for between $5.00 and $20.00 per month.

For TV service, Astound offers a TiVo Stream 4K that’s free for your first year and only $1.49 per month afterward. You can add premium cable offerings like Max (formerly HBO Max) and CINEMAX® to your cable plan for an additional fee.

Is Astound Broadband worth it?

From internet plans to TV bundles, Astound Broadband doesn’t separate itself from the competition. The ISP’s great first-year internet prices are offset by standard second-year pricing, expensive TV plans, and average upload speeds.

Still, Astound could be a decent fit if you’re simply looking for internet service and your neighborhood isn’t covered by a major provider. Astound’s internet plans won’t impress—and don’t about that second-year price hike—but they’ll be fine if you want set-it-and-forget-it internet service.

Astound Broadband powered by Wave FAQ

Methodology

To figure out how Astound Broadband powered by Wave stacked up to the competition, we spent a week analyzing all five Astound plans and researching their pricing, availability, and download speeds. We also compared Astound to competing ISPs to see which one offers the best deal for customers.

For more information on our methodology, check out our How We Rank page.