WOW! provides cable internet service to nine states in the eastern half of the US, despite the acronym standing for “Wide Open West.” Its internet plans are fast (ranging from 100 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps) and relatively cheap ($39.99 to $74.99 a month). So far, so good for WOW!
WOW! has other perks besides fast, inexpensive internet, like no-contract plans and whole-home Eero mesh Wi-Fi upgrades. In the world of cable internet, WOW! is a viable contender among larger companies like Xfinity and Spectrum (and the name is more fun, too).
| Package | Price* | Download speeds up to | Upload speeds up to | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet 100 | $39.99/mo. | 100 Mbps | 10 Mbps | View plans |
| Internet 200 | $44.99/mo. | 200 Mbps | 20 Mbps | View plans |
| Internet 500 | $54.99/mo. | 500 Mbps | 50 Mbps | View plans |
| Internet 1 Gig | $74.99/mo. | 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) | 50 Mbps | View plans |
*With enrollment in AutoPay and paperless billing. Equipment and speed availability vary by area. Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
| Package | Price* | Download speeds up to | Upload speeds up to | Phone type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet 100 + Home Phone | $49.98/mo. | 100 Mbps | 10 Mbps | Digital VoIP | View plans |
| Internet 200 + Home Phone | $54.98/mo. | 200 Mbps | 20 Mbps | Digital VoIP | View plans |
| Internet 500 + Home Phone | $64.98/mo. | 500 Mbps | 50 Mbps | Digital VoIP | View plans |
| Internet 1 Gig + Home Phone | $84.99/mo. | 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) | 50 Mbps | Digital VoIP | View plans |
*With enrollment in AutoPay and paperless billing. Equipment and speed availability vary by area. Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
WOW! doesn’t bother with plans below 100 Mbps of upload speed, which is essentially the baseline for keeping an internet-hungry household humming. The chances of encountering data logjams between multiple users decrease as speeds increase, which makes WOW!’s 1 Gig plan pretty attractive for the price.
Since WOW! internet is delivered over coaxial cable, its upload speeds are a fraction of its download speeds—something to consider if you’re working from home or running a business. With fiber-optic internet, you get equal download and upload speeds, allowing for easier and faster transfers of large files and smoother video-conferencing. Fortunately, WOW! does have fiber internet plans for businesses in limited areas.
A note on advertised speeds: you don’t necessarily get the amount you see at sign-up with any provider. “Up to” means you could achieve that speed through a directly wired Ethernet cable connection, but not with Wi-Fi; the convenience of wireless may cut that number by almost half.
And if you’re looking to bundle your internet with a standard cable TV package, no dice: WOW! doesn’t do TV. Instead, it refers customers to third-party live internet-streaming TV outlets (specifically YouTube TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, or Philo). Solid services all, but kind of a surprise if you were maybe expecting cable TV from a cable company.
You can, however, bundle WOW! internet with digital VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) landline phone service for an extra $9.99 a month.
As with most internet service providers, WOW! gives you the option of renting a modem/router from them ($10 a month) or buying your own compatible third-party equipment. If you plan on being with WOW! for more than a year, we recommend buying your own modem/router—it’ll more than pay for itself in the long run.
WOW! also offers Eero whole-home mesh Wi-Fi for an extra $9.99 a month. If you’re unfamiliar, mesh Wi-Fi works like a range extender (or multiple range extenders) but doesn’t appear as separate Wi-Fi points—you’re always connected to the same network. They’re good for larger homes, but this is another piece of gear you could buy on your own instead of renting.
For new customers, WOW! offers free installation and a 30-day money-back guarantee on its internet service. WOW!’s packages are also contract-free.
The prices are right, and so are the speeds—WOW! is a sweet deal if you’re in an area to take advantage of it. WOW! is comparable to, and in some cases cheaper than, the cable internet competition. And unlike the others, WOW! doesn’t lock you into a multi-year contract—a big win.
Despite the oddness of a cable company not offering cable TV, we also see WOW!’s third-party outsourcing as a plus. It gives you more choices, and more choices are always good (in addition to WOW!’s four livestreaming TV suggestions, know that Hulu + Live TV and AT&T TV NOW are also available).
Where some internet providers place a monthly 1 TB data cap on their service usage, WOW! doesn’t. Would you notice a difference? You’d have to really work at it to break that 1 TB ceiling, like streaming over 400 movies on Prime Video in 30 days. Possible, but not probable.
WOW! internet service uses coaxial cables, most of which have delivered TV service since the ‘80s. It’s faster than telephone-line DSL (digital subscriber line) but slower than fiber-optic internet (though cable can sometimes match fiber’s download speeds).
WOW! covers nine midwestern and southeastern states, including these cities and areas:
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