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CenturyLink

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5.9

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: February 27th, 2024

While the company started as a small family business in the 1930s, CenturyLink has eventually become a household name in the ISP industry.

CenturyLink has a history of acquiring other companies to increase its nationwide reach. These expansion efforts led CenturyLink to become the third largest telecommunications company in the United States. It serves all 50 states with its extensive fiber-optic internet networks and DSL service.

CenturyLink offers Price for Life plans that don't have a contract and boast download speeds as high as 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps). Customers can choose plans that have a data cap of 300 GB or plans with unlimited data.

Recently, CenturyLink has expanded even further to offer entertainment like Century Prism and DirecTV service. If you're interested in purchasing phone or TV service in addition to internet, you can bundle services to save money. 

CenturyLink strives for great customer service to help each of its customers have a unique, positive experience.

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The Good

  • Fast Speed Available
  • Contract-Free Price for Life Plans
  • No Overage Charges
  • 24/7 Technical Support

Fast Speed Available

CenturyLink offers a wide range of internet speeds for its customers. These speeds are specific to an exact location and vary depending on the area, but they are typically among the higher speeds in the industry. In some areas, customers can have a download speed of up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) in major cities with fiber-optic availability. This top possible speed is one of the fastest internet speeds available on the market, especially compared to the available speeds from other broadband providers. 

Upload speeds range between 256 kbps and 5 Mbps. If you need a high-speed internet connection, check with CenturyLink customer service to see what is available in your zip code.

Contract-Free Price for Life Plans

Like most ISPs, CenturyLink offers packages based on speed. You can determine what works for you based on the devices you'll use and the number of people in your household.

If you sign up for internet service online, CenturyLink offers four plans that don't require a contract in most states. The rates for these plans won't rise if you keep the plan without making any changes (like an address change):

  • 20–140 Mbps — $50 per month
  • Fiber Internet 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) — $55 per month

You probably won’t need a contract, because CenturyLink can typically offer its packages on a month-to-month basis. You don't need to worry about pricing increases, an early termination fee, or rate changes. 

CenturyLink provides reliable internet for a home Wi-Fi network. The company also offers good internet security and backup services with its internet packages through Norton by Symantec. 

Making payments each month for internet is easy to do through an online CenturyLink user account.

No Overage Charges

You may have to watch out for CenturyLink's data caps; it's something that a few CenturyLink customers complain about.

CenturyLink sets limits for how much of the internet its customers can use in any given month, which is 1 TB. This is a generous amount of data, so most customers won't surpass it. Internet service providers do this to try to control the available speeds for all of their customers and make sure the system functions properly, but it can be a drawback if you use up a lot of data.

CenturyLink customers who exceed their data limits will not be required to pay an overage charge. If you eat up too much data, you'll receive a notice. CenturyLink might slow your service down.

24/7 Technical Support

The company offers 24/7 technical support, which is very convenient. If a customer is not satisfied with the services they receive from CenturyLink, they are protected with a thirty-day, money-back guarantee.

Be aware that some customers complain of poor customer support. Reviewers note that phone communication with CenturyLink takes a long time, and technician visits are sometimes missed and rescheduled. This is a frequent complaint in the ISP industry. Test out your commununication with a customer service rep through your preferred method of contact to get an idea of the average wait time and quality of response.

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The Bad

  • Variable Speed Availability
  • Variable Price for Life Availability
  • Additional Fees
  • Customer Complaints

Variable Speed Availability

Not all of CenturyLink’s plan options and speeds may be available in your area. Fiber is typically available in select urban locations.

It is easy to view plans that are available in your area on CenturyLink’s website. Rural areas are more likely to have access to DSL service and slower speeds.

Variable Price for Life Availability

The CenturyLink Price for Life guarantee isn't available in all 50 states. Check to see if CenturyLink allows a package with a Price for Life guarantee in your area.

Additional Fees

CenturyLink charges additional fees for the following:

  • Modem rental — $10 per month or ~$150 one-time purchase
  • Installation — $125

The modem one-time purchase cost varies but is no higher than $150. Be sure to ask what the cost would be to you if you purchased it one-time versus paying an extra $10 monthly rental fee.

Some areas may have an option for self-installation, which is free.

If your plan with CenturyLink is based on a contract agreement, then you may be subject to an early termination fee if you end the contract early.

Customer Complaints

Customers complain about a variety of issues with CenturyLink, including poor customer service, connection issues, and connection speeds lower than their advertised plans. Be aware that most internet providers have similar complaints.

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The Bottom Line

In recent years, CenturyLink has become one of the biggest broadband ISPs in the country. Its broadband internet service is available in all 50 states. But be warned: each specific address has different high-speed availability.

One perk of CenturyLink is that the service is month-to-month without a contract. This gives customers more flexibility.

Before signing up for CenturyLink, be sure to pay attention to additional fees — setup and equipment — and the offerings available in your area. As with any internet service provider, read the terms and conditions before signing up for service.

Overall, CenturyLink provides quality service with affordable prices. Potential customers should consider CenturyLink when choosing an internet provider.

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Star Rating

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3.1

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811 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

17%

4 grade

17%

3 grade

18%

2 grade

11%

1 grade

38%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Smh22 Brainerd, MN

I had this for years when I lived downtown and it was acceptable at that time. I kept it until 2012. It worked as well as charter did but they required me to have a phone line. I had cut all cords and they provided said number with the line. I had 2 people playing Warcraft at the same time and another computer running Hulu on the tv without any issues. I don’t know how their speeds are now but there wasn’t any major lag issues back then. Canceling the service was actually the only issue. It turns out canceling any service from this place is the issue. When my uncle died I cancelled his phone service from them but they didn’t cancel all lines and continued billing him and taking money for a phone that didn’t even have a jack in the house and when I blocked them from the bank they continued to try to bill for a service long after it was cancelled at an even higher rate.

1 month ago

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Asadullah Plano, TX

Overall a good company. We were with them for a few months before we moved. Rates are quite high though. And they don’t keep track of their customers in rental properties. So they kept sending the previous renters bill to us.

5 months ago

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Moureen Meggers

Good price for the service, the internet was here and there not always working. Customers service was a great help in fixing the issue. Changed internet providers due to a move.

5 months ago

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AK Denver, CO

I have had Centurylink for Small Business for 2 years now. The service has been acceptable and the pricing reasonable. My one and only complaint is that when I signed up for service I was given discount pricing to sign up for 3 years of service. This was in April of 2019. At that time we had no COVID, or pandemic, or financial loss. Having a mandatory shut down of my business within 3 months of opening was catastrophic, and I have not been able to recover from that. As a result of the pandemic I must now permanently close my doors at the end of April 2021. The penalty for shutting off my Centurylink service early will be around $350. I am closing my business due to financial hardship...it will be difficult to come up with this payment. When I asked the service rep if Centurylink could waive or reduce this penalty (after all COVID was not my fault), she said, "No, we cannot do that, as Centurylink does not have any program or assistance available for this." So I will be forced to pay a huge penalty for something that I have no control over. The rep then tried to talk me into switching my home service to Centurylink. If this is the way that Centurylink treats their fellow business owners, then I have absolutely no interest in becoming a residential customer! Shame on you Centurylink.

2 years ago

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Mila Smith North Las Vegas, NV

WHEN it's working, it is fast. However, when you make appts with them they will move your appt around without authorization. I made an appt for next week bc I'm out of town. Three next day I get a text stating the tech will arrive today from 10-12. I spent 20 min on the phone with someone that had to transfer me to 'reschedule' the appt. Got hung up on. Called customer care & was interrupted by the person stating CenturyLink's favorite line "you don't need to be there bc they'll just do work outside." I told them I do need to be there bc they are replacing modem bc it is not compatible with my upgrade package. Got hung up on again. Called again... told this person everything that had happened and she took a snotty time with me and said there was never an appt today only next week. Then I asked, did someone cancel it? She then said, yes it was canceled so you only have the appt next week. Come on Century Link. Seriously, if you're going to set an appt with your customers, keep the appt as scheduled. AND figure out how to get people that know what they're doing

4 years ago

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Dustin Zucco Phoenix, AZ

I'm not to hype about their highspeed internet live in the middle of phoenix Arizona and I can only get up to 7mbps and they say it's highspeed and I can't get a better package its based on what your area has so thier internet is bad

10 months ago

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Nancy Spokane, WA

I pay for the fastest speed. I don’t get it though because the fiber optics aren’t available for my area yet. But if I downgrade to slower connection to save money. It’s way to slow and isn’t usable. I think I should be charged for the speed I’m actually getting instead of being basically forced to pay for something I’m not even getting.Makes sense to me.

3 years ago

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Jeremy Balls Kaysville, UT

They have some of the best pricing for internet and the quality is not that bad. But the speeds need to be improved. The highest internet speed I can receive is 20Mbps, what I actually got was more around 14Mbps. So if you need a keep priced internet they are fine, but if you use your internet a lot, this speed just won't do it for you. I never have had any issue with service or billing.

4 years ago

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Tanah Saratoga Springs, UT

We’ve had century link three different times in three different homes. Starting is always a hassle. We’ve had problems each time with billing and getting things straightened out. We’ve come to just expect to be on the phone multiple times over several days with customer service. Good news is, if we’re persistent then it always gets resolved eventually, and once we make it through that stage, things are fine and it’s mostly reliable internet for relatively low cost.

6 years ago

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Breanna Jones Salt Lake City, UT

Century Link has been reliable internet for me. After my 12-month promotional pricing ended my price increased almost double and I called and they gave me a new even better price. I feel like I never have problems with their service. Customer service is a pain to call. You have to go through so many automated voice menus to actually talk to a real person. That is my only complaint.

6 years ago

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Denetria Penfield Midvale, UT

Had this company's internet service when I was with my ex-husband in Texas when he was in the military. At the time they catered to a lot of military personnel especially in that area with deals. They didn't like to tell you about was that deal for military didn't last they sold you on thinking that you were getting a discount because you were a military not a discount for an weird number of months and then you got doubling or sometimes even tripling your price. By that time when you start actually saying something about it they would try to get you to invest in a different plan that is still originally higher than the one you had in the first place but trying to offer you a wonderful deal all over again and it was a cycle. The service itself was so so I give it a c+. I know there were times where we needed help and we couldn't even get anybody out there other than the excuse that they didn't have enough workers. There were days where we sat there waiting for them all day and never even heard anything or they never even came at all. I just think they're an average company

1 year ago

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Fred Frontino Mesa, AZ

I have my internet through CenturyLink and I am pretty disappointed in it. In my area there is not high speed available so I am stuck with it running very slow over old phone lines. There is nothing better available out here so I live with it.

2 years ago

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Ryan Larsen Logan, UT

We have had CenturyLink as our home internet service provider for the past three years. Their customer service has been good. We had an outage and they quickly came out and repaired the service. My only complaint is that I wish they had faster speeds for my area.

3 years ago

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Ellen Sue Schiffgen

It is expensive for us (retired and low income) so we can only afford the basics; too many commercial and religious channels. When we can get through to speak with someone, if they are overseas it is hard to get anything done satisfactory, but all have been extremely polite and professional.

3 years ago

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George

Connection i sometimes unreliable. when I have contacted them to discuss, their automated answering system is tedious. They then check their signal and tell me it is showing no problem yet There is and it takes some doing to gr them to send someone to fix the problem....

4 years ago

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Ronald Birch

They are responsive to my requests but are way too expensive. The value is not there. They could improve by lowering the cost. Also there is too much interference. That is there are far too many useless Chanel's that I have no interest in. Too much advertising too.

4 years ago

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Sheri Phoenix, AZ

i would say the service is bad but sometimes especially in the evening it freezes up. During the day I work from home and never really have any problems. But you ca definitely tell the difference in the evening. I could possibly pay more but I don't want too. My husband and daughter complain a lot though.

6 years ago

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Hannah Pleasant Grove, UT

Our experience with CenturyLink has been, in a word, "meh." They aren't absolutely terrible, but they aren't fabulous. Our internet is usually good enough to stream Netflix and YouTube, but there are random weeks where it is slow as molasses. When we call about it, they can't really give us a reason or any help, which is super frustrating.

6 years ago

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Pete Centerville, UT

We use CenturyLink at my office and almost twice a week the internet will go down for no reason at all. We have to reset the router and then wait about 15 minutes for it to start back up again. When that doesn't happen it's usually pretty good, that's my only complaint.

6 years ago

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Jenn Albuquerque, NM

I feel like as far as internet goes, it was okay. It was fairly decent for the amount. However, if more than 3 devices were connected to the wifi at one time, the speed would really slow down. I chose the speeds the salesperson recommended to me.

9 months ago

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Harold Herbert Tucson, AZ

I have a mixed review of CenturyLink (my current provider). I get good reception with very little downtime. However, there are times my service slows down... uploading becomes very slow, movies take very long to start, and even You Tube hesitates between pages. Customer service has been out twice and the service became more responsive for a few weeks, then it slows down again. I am told that the apartment complex in which I live has bad wiring that causes my service to slow down. Apparently, they fix it but the fix does not last. I do not know what else to do.

1 year ago

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Cam Hall Richmond, VA

I had CenturyLink in a few of my residences out in rural or outer urban areas due to lack of options, and they truly acted as if they were the only option in town. They had options for lower speeds than I'd expect at the time, the pricing was higher than competitors better options, and their support was more limited (if I lost internet it was always for at least 6 hours, usually 12). It's definitely better than dial up or DSL, but that's the best I can say.

1 year ago

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Pam Sims Hayden, ID

My experience with CenturyLink is ancient. It was probably 12-15 years ago. For me, it was a nightmare. I had it for myself and my grandchildren. The billing was always (every month I had to call) messed up. Between dates and costs, they couldn’t keep it straight. And it would be disconnected ( service address mix-up?) every time. I’d pay a reconnect fee, later to be refunded. It was a nightmare.

1 year ago

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Jennifer Dunlap Kingston, WA

My phone services at CenturyLink are great but my internet services are terrible. I am supposed to be high speed internet, but the internet is so slow that I can't even stream netflix let alone download things quickly. I live in a rural community and where my house is located does impact it some, but it goes out quite often, sometimes for a few days and it is very frustrating.

2 years ago

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Austin Tempe, AZ

I have had ups and downs with CenturyLink. They are slow to get service started usually from my experience, other providers can typically turn on same day. However I also had some connection and speed issues with CenturyLink. I will say it is heavily dependent on the area you live in. Be sure to ask around and see what your neighbors, family, and friends use in your area.

2 years ago

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Mike D Lynchburg, VA

Century Link took over the Embarq company we had been using. While with Embarq we had very few problems. When Century Link took over we had issue after issue. It took me 3 months to have them come out. When they finally did they learned a local radio station was “ washing out” their signal and they had to install a “ booster box”. Even after, the service was mediocre.

2 years ago Edited July 20, 2022

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Rischelle Mikkelson American Fork, UT

Centurylink was mediocre when we had it. They simply don’t have the speed we need for our business and family usage. Also, the internet would slow down significantly each night when we needed it most for homework. However, when I call to cancel, their customer service was great. They didn’t make me feel guilty or pressure me into staying. I think they understood that their speeds were slow. I know they have made efforts to improve their speed, but they still seem to be two steps beind the competition.

5 years ago

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Christopher Haueter Salt Lake City, UT

Century link has definitely been one of the better internet providers that I have experienced. They aren't the best though. Luckily you can find them anywhere and the prices are about as good as any other place.

6 years ago

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MDDerma Phoenix, AZ

Internet is supposed to be 75 wpm but when I try to get assistance there's only a computer can't ever talk to anyone, and I only get 9 wpm. But when the bill is due they have no problem cutting you off.

10 months ago

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Dkn West Valley City, UT

Overall I'm happy that they decided to go with a fixed cost plan. It was irritating to have to contact them yearly to renew a contract and try to get them to find similar discounts as the year before. The internet speed is just ok and they have glitches every so often which is really irritating.

1 year ago Edited November 23, 2022

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DealStar South Jordan, UT

There is a lot of down time with this provider. This is also NOT a good choice when you have a family, or a business; it simply cannot keep up with today's needs. Because I am in a condo development, I have to use CenturyLink. It's a constant struggle.

1 year ago

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Danny Beamer Esmont, VA

Century link offers phone service and internet service in our area. They are the only internet provider we have unless we use cell phone service providers. Their internet is maxed out at 10 mbps download and that i sonly when noon else is using it. If there are three people using the internet then it drops down to 3mbps

2 years ago

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take7 Sandy, UT

They're great when they work and bad when they're not! Customer service can be very hard to deal with. They take forever to "diagnose" your need when you call in and then even worse to fix it after that. Most times the service was too slow to bother. Luckily we don't have it in our area so we use xfinity.

4 years ago

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CarenM Saratoga Springs, UT

We have been personal and business customers of Century Link for years. Overall their service is good, but one thing that is frustrating is that their marketing dept calls all the time to obtain our business, but we already have their service and they don't take us off the call list. Other than that, no problems.

4 years ago

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kayshel Herriman, UT

I have used Century Link for a few years, but when I moved to Utah, the only speed available was pretty slow. I switched to xfinity and for almost the same price got a lot better service. Century Link told me they couldn't give me any faster service

4 years ago

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Adrianne murray Brigham City, UT

Honestly this is the only internet we can get where we live. And we are always coming. I wish I could say something nice about it but it usually doesn’t run more than two TVs at a time. With all the smart technology now kind of seems like a waste to even say we have it

4 years ago

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Tony Gibson American Fork, UT

We didn't care for CenturyLink in our area for internet service. It was slow without options to be faster and went down too much for us. I had to switch away. I am sure they are better in some areas than others, but it didn't work very well for us.

4 years ago

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Ad Pleasant Grove, UT

I do not like Century Link. I use the internet a lot in the evenings and on weekends and I feel like the internet service is so poor during those times. Their customer service department is saying that their service is the best, but it is not so.

4 years ago

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Randy Scoville Pleasant Grove, UT

We have Century Link as our current provider. We are at the end of a road, so the internet speed is very slow and unreliable. the upload and download speed is so much slower than what we pay for. However, there isn't much that can be done, so we just deal with it. I wish they would offer us better service.

4 years ago

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Sage Robertson Cedar City, UT

We use Century Link currently as our internet provider. I wouldn't say it's the best, but it's not the worst. I feel that their customer service lacks, and the quality is only sub par. I also have had issues with billing, and the customer service didn't seem to care.

4 years ago

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Janessa Herriman, UT

Only have their internet because of where we live. Customer service is always a joke and not very helpful. The internet seems to go out way more than it should. However, they are better than Xfinity, so at least there's that.

4 years ago

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Christy Suguturaga Orem, UT

The internet service we had was good but the lock in plans that we were talked into were overpriced and we felt tricked with every customer service phone call. Always trying to push something on us like it was a better deal only it was just more money. We ended up switching to get out of the pressure.

5 years ago

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Micah Bradshaw Salem, UT

Had CenturyLink for many years. It was fine for basic internet activities, but the connection speed that was in our area wouldn't keep up with basic gaming. Ended up switching to a different company after calling and they couldn't do anything for us.

5 years ago

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Evelyn Chidester Riverton, UT

I have been with Century Link for along time. They have great first time signing up rates. The phone service has always been reliable. I experienced very few interenet problems and service people came out promptly and tried to fix it when I did

5 years ago

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Hannah Thompson South Jordan, UT

Century link is a solid provider but several times it has failed. It also can be difficult to find the network if you don’t rename it because there are often times many century links to choose from (which is good so many people have it)

5 years ago

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ally blackhurst Pleasant Grove, UT

I have had Century Link for a few years now and overall I’m pretty happy with it. Sometimes the wifi is awesome but other times the service struggles. For the majority of the time though it works great and it reaches my house when a lot of other providers didn’t.

5 years ago

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Heather Vernal, UT

We have stayed with century link through the years because of the unbeatable price, but it’s defibitely not the best internet service out there. You get what you pay for. Customer service is not very convenient are helpful.

5 years ago

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peggy cherry Kings Mountain, NC

I really do want them for myself but my mom does not want to change. Whenever I try to stay connected to the internet it would disconnect or lag.

8 months ago Edited July 17, 2023

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Thawkes2017 AL

This was the only company available a few years ago in my area. I had dialup and it was so slow. I hope they have upgraded and offer better service now.

1 year ago Edited November 15, 2022

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Ruth Youngtown, AZ

The price is reasonable. However, the service drops significantly during certain times of the day. It would be great if the speed remained the same throughout the day.

4 years ago