Why Cell Phone Service From Your Cable Company May Make Sense
The plans from Altice, Spectrum, and Xfinity offer flexibility and savings
Like many people, Lisa White was frustrated with the high cost of cell phone service. So four years ago, she abandoned AT&T for a cell phone plan offered by Xfinity, her cable and internet provider.
For White, who works at a regional bank in California, it was a smart decision.
“I saw an ad for no-additional-cost cellular," says the Nevada City resident. "The plan does charge for data, but since I don't use much at all, I decided to try it. Basically, I now get my cellular service for free, instead of the $100 a month I was paying for AT&T.”
In recent years, more than five million people have rejected cell phone plans from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon in favor of those offered by Altice, Spectrum, and Xfinity.
The main reason is lower monthly fees. At all three cable companies, one phone line with unlimited data costs $45 a month. At T-Mobile, the cheapest of the big carrier options, it's $65 a month.
At Xfinity, a four-line plan with unlimited data costs $120 a month. At AT&T, it's $180.
Altice
Altice offers unlimited talk, text, and data plans and by-the-gig plans using T-Mobile’s network. To enroll, you must also have an account with one its two brands (Optimum or Suddenlink). Without an account, Altice Mobile service costs an additional $10 a month. You have to agree to automatic monthly payments, too.
The unlimited data plan costs $45 a month per phone. So a family of four would pay $180.
A by-the-gig plan will run you $14 a month for 1GB of data and $22 a month for 3GB. And Altice lets you mix and match the levels of service for up to five lines, so you can save extra here by choosing a 1 or 3GB plan for family members who don't need a big pool of data.
Once a line has gone through the allotted data, you can even purchase more. But when the data cap is reached—including a 20GB ceiling on each unlimited line—Altice reserves the right to slow speeds from 4G LTE (and 5G where available) to a pokey 2G.
You should also note that international talk and text from the U.S. and talk, text, and data use abroad are not included in Altice's plans. But tethering—using your phone as a WiFi hotspot to connect other devices—is available at 2G speeds and video streaming at SD quality.
Spectrum
Spectrum, which is owned by Charter Communications, offers unlimited plans and by-the-gig plans using Verizon's cellular network. To enroll, you must have an internet account with the company. Payments will be charged automatically to a credit or debit card.
The service offers two unlimited talk, text, and data plans. The first one costs $45 a month per phone (and Spectrum actually includes taxes and government fees in its advertised prices).
When you reach 20GB of data on one line, the company reserves the right to slow speeds for downloads to 1Mbps and for uploads to 512Kbps, which puts them somewhere between 2G and 3G.
The unlimited-plus plan costs $55 a month per phone. With that one, you don't get throttled until you reach a whopping 30GB of data on a line.
Here again, you can mix and match the levels of service to suit the needs of those in your family (up to a maximum of 10 lines). For those who nibble data, you can pay $14 a month for 1GB and $14 more for each additional GB.
After you use 5GB of data, your speeds may be reduced to 2G for the rest of the bill cycle. If you routinely use that much data, you probably want one of the unlimited options.
With each plan, you get free calls to Mexico and Canada (up to 33.3 hours a month) and free international texting to over 200 countries. Video is delivered at DVD quality.
Xfinity
Xfinity, which is owned by Comcast, offers an unlimited plan and by-the-gig plans using Verizon's network. To enroll, you must have an internet account with the company. Autopay is required, too.
The unlimited plan costs $45 a month for one phone. As you add more lines, the rate decreases to $40 (as in $80 for two lines), $33.33 ($100 for three), $30 ($120 for four), and ultimately $24 ($240 for 10).
When you reach 20GB of data on one line, the company reserves the right to slow speeds, noting only that it will leave them high enough for you to "watch video and stream music."
For an extra $20 a line, you can also purchase Xfinity's HD Pass, which keeps your speeds from getting throttled during peak-traffic times.
The by-the-gig plans cost $15 a month for 1GB, $30 a month for 3GB, and $60 a month for 10GB. If you exceed those allotments, you’ll be charged $15 for each additional GB and partial GB.
Xfinity offers the same plan flexibilty as Altice and Spectrum, so feel free to choose different data allotments for each phone.
For $10 a month per line, you get unlimited calls to Mexico and Canada. International call and text roaming is available in 200 countries for additional charges.
When you create a mobile hotspot on a by-the-gig plan, your data will flow at 4G speeds. While tethering on the unlimited plan, it flows at 3G speeds.
Correction: A previous version of this article said Altice USA was part of a France-based conglomerate. Altice USA was spun off as a separate company in 2018. This article was first published on May 11, 2021.