Luke Pensworth
Reliable and fast Internet service has become a must have for the American household. Don’t believe us? Try telling your kids or spouse you’ve cancelled the WiFi and see what kind of reaction you receive. (We’d recommend taking cover.)
In rural areas or small towns, though, finding high speed Internet can be tough. Choices and competition often are limited. That’s where our Windstream Internet review can help.
We’ve tried the Windstream DSL service and have experienced the good and bad. We’ll discuss Windstream prices, plans, performance and help you determine if this service’s speeds will keep the family happy.
Overview
If you’ve never heard of Windstream Internet plans, don’t feel bad. The Windstream coverage map shows that it’s only available in 18 states. And its coverage is sporadic in those states.
Where it’s available, Windstream may deliver high speed fiber Internet, DSL Internet, landline phone service, and streaming TV for residential and business customers.
Fiber Internet is carried on a fiber optic cable, which must be installed separately from other cables that are common in cities. DSL Internet travels on the standard landline phone line. So Windstream fiber Internet is not available in as many locations as wind stream DSL Internet.
The states where you’ll find Windstream service are:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
Windstream Internet Prices and Plans
| Plans | Monthly price | Internet download speed | Additional Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinetic Internet 25 | $36 for first 12 months (reg. $45) | 25 Mbps | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 100 | $36 for first 12 months (reg. $45) | 50-100 Mbps | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 200 | $36 for first 12 months (reg. $45) | 200 Mbps | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 400 | $46 for first 12 months (reg. $55) | 300-400 Mbps | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 500 | $56 for first 12 months (reg. $65) | 500 Mbps | View plans |
| Kinetic Gig | $66 for first 12 months (reg. $75) | 1 Gbps (or 1,000 Mbps) | View plans |
Understand that some of these particular Windstream Internet plans may not be available in all areas that Windstream serves.
Additionally, Windstream Internet prices vary quite a bit from location to location. The prices in our table are the roughly average prices of the multiple locations we sampled. Your local prices may be higher or lower than what we have listed here.
You may find some hidden fees for activation and installation with Windstream, but these offers may not be the same in every location it serves.
Windstream has special offers running from time to time — say it with us — depending on your location. So check with the Windstream web site and enter your local address for the latest and most accurate information.
Windstream Internet Speed and Data
Depending on where you live, you could be eligible for any data speed from 25 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps with Windstream. Those are fast enough speeds for HD or 4K video streaming.
Urban customers who have fiber Internet will be able to hit the top end of the range. Rural customers limited to DSL will be at the lower end of the range.
Unlike Comcast Xfinity and some of the other top cable Internet services, Windstream Internet has no data caps.
Mbps, short for megabits per second, measures the speed of Internet downloads and uploads.
Windstream Internet Installation, Contract, and Equipment
You will not have to sign a contract to receive Windstream Internet. It is a month-to-month service. However, you can receive some Windstream free upgrade deals if you choose to pay for multiple months of service up front.
You can bring your own modem, but understand you’ll probably be on your own with installation and customer service if you do. Otherwise you can rent a Windstream modem, which will add roughly $10 per month to your bill.
Best Internet Service Providers
If you’d like to see how Windstream stacks up to other ISPs, we’ve ranked the best Internet service providers to help you compare them.
Windstream Internet Bundles
| Plans | Monthly price | Internet download speed | Phone | Additional details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinetic Internet 100 and Phone Bundle | $56 for first 12 months (reg. $65) | 50-100 Mbps | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 200 and Phone Bundle | $56 for first 12 months (reg. $65) | 200 Mbps | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 400 and Phone Bundle | $66 for first 12 months (reg. $75) | 300-400 Mbps | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 500 and Phone Bundle | $76 for first 12 months (reg. $85) | 500 Mbps | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Gig and Phone Bundle | $86 for first 12 months (reg. $95) | 1 Gbps (or 1,000 Mbps) | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 200, Phone, and Kinetic TV Select Bundle | $130 for first 12 months (reg. $140) | 200 Mbps | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 400, Phone, and Kinetic TV Select Bundle | $140 for first 12 months (reg. $150) | 300-400 Mbps | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Internet 500, Phone, and Kinetic TV Select Bundle | $150 for first 12 months (reg. $160) | 500 Mbps | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
| Kinetic Gig, Phone, and Kinetic TV Select Bundle | $160 for first 12 months (reg. $170) | 1 Gbps (or 1,000 Mbps) | Unlimited nationwide calling | View plans |
Before discussing the bundle options, we need to spell out a few disclaimers.
- Offerings and prices vary from location to location and even address to address.
- Locally, you may have additional bundle offers beyond those we’ve listed.
- We’ve selected the mid-range Kinetic TV pricing tier in our table.
Visit Windstream’s bundle page to enter your address and see what’s available at your address and at what price.
At one time, Windstream partnered with DISH Network for its bundled TV offering. Then it switched to a partnership with DIRECTV.
Now, though, it takes advantage of its high speed Kinetic Internet and delivers the streaming Kinetic TV service as part of the Internet/phone/TV bundle. The channel lineup for Kinetic TV service varies by location, but you often will find three tiers: Basic, Select, and Preferred.
Windstream Internet Customer Service
As with many ISPs, online user reviews don’t give the Windstream complaint department or customer service department high scores. People who leave user reviews often are upset about something, so user reviews will skew toward the negative.
Unfortunately for Windstream, there is independent verification that its customer service is about as useful as a cast iron parachute. The American Customer Satisfaction Index ranks Windstream’s customer service near the bottom of the list versus its peers.
Windstream is continuing to operate as usual, even though the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2019.
Windstream Internet Deals
Windstream’s primary Internet deal is it offers a reduced price per month to new customers for the first 12 months. This discount ranges from 12% to 25% of the monthly price, which is a nice bonus.
According to FCC testing, a recent Windstream speed test showed the company achieved roughly 86% to 100% of its advertised Internet data download speeds.
Recap
Our Windstream Internet review shows a service that has its pluses and minuses. In reality, the benefits you’ll receive with Windstream depend in large part on your location. Some addresses receive excellent, reliable, and fast service. Others have spotty results.
Because no contract is required, you can feel free to try Windstream’s service without any worry of an early termination penalty. Maybe you’ll be lucky and live in an area where Windstream’s service is excellent. If you don’t, though, you unfortunately can count on Windstream’s poor customer service to crank up your level of frustration.
Windstream Internet is made for those who:
- Want a new customer discount price.
- Live in a rural area, where DSL is one of the only options (or the only option).
- Can live with shaky customer service.
- Don’t mind the occasional Windstream Internet outage.
