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Xfinity and AT&T are the nation's two largest cable and DSL internet providers, respectively. Their extensive coverage areas and speed options make them attractive options for households in many parts of America.
However, these monopolies have a history of anti-competitive conduct. That's why policymakers should do everything possible to limit their influence over the internet market.
AT&T’s Larger Coverage Area
AT&T (T) and Xfinity (Comcast) are renowned for their fast internet services. While they do differ slightly in certain aspects, both companies provide superior speeds as well as exceptional customer support.
AT&T boasts a vast coverage area, enabling it to provide high-speed fiber internet to many more people than Xfinity does. According to the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T provides its fiber internet services to approximately 13% of residential customers while Xfinity only serves less than 1%.
In order to compete with AT&T, other firms would need to invest in substantial new capacity. This would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and, consequently, the prices for competing firms' new services must be significantly higher than AT&T's.
AT&T could potentially face pricing increases to attract business from an expanding firm, which could push consumers away. Alternatively, AT&T could hold prices below the variable costs associated with competing facilities for a period of time.
However, this could take a considerable amount of time and require extensive court proceedings to resolve. In the meantime, an expanding company may find it challenging to recoup its investment in new capacity through price reductions.
Though it was theoretically possible for the expanding firm to reduce prices to the point of competing with AT&T, such a feat seemed unlikely due to AT&T's dominant market share.
AT&T could potentially force a competitor to close its facilities by maintaining prices at or below their variable costs. This is an extremely risky scenario as it would create an exodus of customers away from AT&T, giving the competition even greater market share than before.
AT&T’s Unlimited Home Internet Data Allowance
AT&T's Unlimited Home Internet Data Allowance
AT&T's unlimited data plan is a huge advantage to customers. It eliminates data limits and overages, so you can stream videos, download movies or games at maximum speed your router supports without worrying about slowing down your connection or accruing expensive monthly bills.
It's also an excellent value, as 350 GB provides enough data to watch almost 4,000 hours of social media feeds or stream 500 episodes of the Great British Baking Show - potentially taking up a considerable chunk of your monthly usage if you have children or use many online video services. We suggest checking your data plan's specific allowance beforehand so that you don't run out before switching plans.
Xfinity, on the other hand, has a 1.2 TB data cap on all of its home internet plans. While that may seem like an excessive amount of storage space for some households with multiple devices, this could become an issue if your usage exceeds this amount.
Even if you don't exceed your data cap, be sure to read any agreements carefully for additional fees associated with exceeding it. AT&T does not typically charge data overages but they can still charge you for every 50 GB of additional data used beyond what has been allocated to you.
Additionally, AT&T also provides low-income customers with free internet service through the government program Access from AT&T. This is an excellent option for rural Americans who require affordable broadband but it isn't available everywhere. If you qualify, AT&T can provide internet at $30 a month plus installation and in-home Wi-Fi(r), all with no annual contract or deposit required.
AT&T’s Bundling Options
If you're on a budget, AT&T bundles with internet service and TV can help save you money. They come in various sizes and options from basic to premium plans so that there's one that meets your requirements.
AT&T bundles typically include high-speed internet and DIRECTV Stream, but can also be combined with home phone or voice service depending on your individual needs. Bundled services simplify life by combining multiple services into one bill.
AT&T boasts one of the nation's largest selections of telecom service, making it easy to customize a bundle package tailored to your exact requirements. Bundled packages can save you up to 40% on monthly bills!
Another way to maximize the value of your AT&T internet and TV bundle is by selecting a triple-play package that includes all three services. The best triple-play deals can reduce your total bill by up to 60%.
Some AT&T telecommunications bundles even include an add-on that reduces your long-distance charges by $0.05/minute, so you can stay connected to family and friends around the world. To find out more about these offers as well as other AT&T offers, be sure to visit our promotions page.
In addition to these savings, you may also have the option to upgrade your home internet to fiber connection for faster download and upload speeds. Or add a DIRECTV Stream account to your bundle for unlimited movie streaming, sports viewing, and more - no cable box necessary!
Xfinity’s Faster Speeds
Xfinity Internet is one of the fastest internet providers in America, boasting cable plans with speeds up to 1,200 Mbps and fiber plans reaching 2,000 Mbps - often faster than other competing options.
In addition to faster speeds, Xfinity also offers reliable internet service - something that sets it apart from its rivals. SpeedTest has ranked Xfinity the number-one provider and it boasts impressive customer satisfaction ratings from American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power as well.
No matter if you need internet for your business or just want to play video games at home, Xfinity has an internet plan that meets all of your requirements. Its 75 Mbps and 200 Mbps plans are budget friendly for those on a tight budget; while Superfast and Blast plans offer more bandwidth for heavy users.
However, the fastest speeds may not always be available in your area. So it's essential to shop around and compare rates from various companies. We suggest using our price calculator to locate the best deal near you.
Comcast has enhanced the speed of its Xfinity broadband service, doubling download rates on one lower tier and increasing it by 33% on two others. This change is designed to benefit customers with more data-intensive devices such as 4K television sets and video doorbells.
These faster speeds are available immediately and will eventually reach more than 20 million homes across America. They're divided into five Xfinity tiers, from Performance Starter/Connect to Extreme Pro/Gigabit (formerly Ultrafast).
Many households will find Xfinity internet speeds sufficient for getting online. However, if you're downloading large files, streaming HD videos, or running a Plex server, be mindful of your data usage. Xfinity currently has a monthly cap of 1.2TB on cable plans; if not mindful, you could run into issues.
Xfinity’s Limitations
Xfinity has several restrictions, such as a data cap that limits customers to 1.2 terabytes (TB) of data per month before charging for overages. While these are less stringent than AT&T and other ISPs' caps, it can still cause issues for heavy streamers and gamers.
When it comes to downloading and upload speeds, Xfinity's hybrid fiber-coaxial cable network offers faster downloads than other ISPs; however, upload speeds tend to be much slower. This is one of the primary reasons Xfinity's internet service isn't as swiftly as competitors such as Verizon Fios and T-Mobile Home Internet.
Another problem with Xfinity's plans is their complexity; speeds and price options vary significantly across regions. This makes it hard to comprehend exactly what you're paying for, making it challenging to locate a plan that meets your requirements.
Comcast also has a data cap, which could present issues for heavy streamers and gamers. The cap is scaled from 1 to 10, with one being very little data usage and 10 being an enormous data hog.
Xfinity's cap on unlimited mobile hotspot data after 20GB is another issue, as the company restricts video streaming to 3G speeds - meaning you won't be able to stream high-quality content while you're out and about. This restriction poses particular problems for those using devices connected to either Xfinity or Charter networks who already consume a significant amount of data.