Fidium Fiber Internet Review | Plans, Price, Perks, Coverage (2024)

• Vanessa Merrell
• May 15, 2023
• Review

It is said that people are happiest when they are perfectly in tune with the world. A natural calm prevails when they can establish a balance between their inner world and the world outside. The alignment of mind, body, and soul creates harmony leading to what is known as the state of ‘Fidium’.

Standing true to its name, Fidium Fiber is on a mission to spread smiles. It offers a no-fluff, fiber-optic internet service in megacities and rural communities to build upon the idea that despite our differences, we can live together in harmony.

Continue reading as we delve further into Fidium Fiber’s business philosophy and understand how this new kid on the block is surpassing its competitors to give its customers exactly what they want.

Fidium Fiber Review

Fidum Fiber is a new internet service provider that offers fiber-rich broadband connections in 8 states across the country. The fiber-exclusive internet plans start at $35 per month and you can get up to 2,000 Mbps of equal upload and download speeds with unlimited data and contract-free service.

Fidium Fiber is a subsidiary of Consolidated Communications. Consolidated Communications is an American telecommunications company that was founded in 1894 in Mattoon, Illinois. The company continues to serve its 4.4 million residential and business customers throughout its 23-state coverage area. Its broadband vertical includes services like DSL, cable, and fiber internet. You can bundle your internet plan with a VoIP and TV streaming service to experience the best triple-play connectivity.

In November 2021, Consolidated Communications decided to differentiate its gigabit fiber internet service from its basic residential broadband connections. As a result, a new brand by the name of Fidium Fiber was born. Its blazing-fast symmetrical speeds were first introduced in some areas of Northern New England. In a short span of fewer than two years, it has not only expanded its service to more than 384 cities and towns, but it has also added a 2 Gig internet plan to cater to the needs of avid streamers, pro gamers, and hybrid workers. Currently, Fidium Fiber boasts over 50,000 route miles of fiber footprint and customers can expect hassle-free service on every broadband plan.

Fidium Fiber Internet Plans

Fidium Fiber offers 4 tiers of internet speeds at varying monthly rates. For a starting price of $35 per month, you can get up to 2,000 Mbps of upload and download speeds. Their introductory rates are some of the cheapest in the broadband market. Its 1-year price lock guarantee allows customers to save up to $300 in the first year of service. All the plans come with unlimited data, free equipment, free expert installation, 99.99 percent network reliability, and contract-free service.

Fidium Fiber Internet Service

From affordable plans to multi-gigabit speeds, Fidium Fiber has a lot to offer to its customers. In this section, we will take a closer look at their internet plans to help you decide if this provider has what it takes to be your primary home internet provider.

Internet Speeds

You can get lightning-fast, symmetrical speeds of up to 2,000 Mbps on your Fidium Fiber internet plan. Equal upload and download speeds make your two-way online communication swift and effective. At the moment, fiber-optic internet is the only broadband technology that can deliver the same speeds on both, upstream and downstream channels. An upload speed as fast as 2000 Mbps means that in a few seconds, you can upload large files and send them to the recipient. Similarly, a faster upload speed ensures smooth video calling and lag-free gameplay, because now the data signals are taking the same amount of time to leave your device and reach the ISP servers as they do while traveling from the ISP data centers to your connected device.

Fidium Fiber’s speed range of 50 to 2000 Mbps caters to families of all sizes. Whether you are looking for basic connectivity or need ultrafast internet for data-intensive tasks, like sharing large audio-video files, their 4-speed tiers have got you covered.

You can expect a latency between 20 and 50 milliseconds (ms) on your Fidium Fiber internet plans. Usually, a latency that is under 60 ms is ideal for glitch-free gameplay. So, Fidium Fiber’s low latency is suitable for competitive gaming, especially if you subscribe to its 1-Gig and 2-Gig plans.

Price

Fidium Fiber is one of the most affordable fiber internet providers in the country. The superfast fiber internet service starts at just $35 per month and you can enjoy these low rates for 12 months. In the second year, the price increases by $10, $20, or $25 (depending on your internet plan), but you are still eligible for a $5 discount through your AutoPay and paperless billing subscriptions. Even after the second-year price hikes, the price is comparatively cheaper than what its competitors are charging for the same speeds and perks.

Data Caps

All the Fidium Fiber internet plans include unlimited data. The zero data caps policy gives subscribers the flexibility to enjoy non-stop downloading, streaming, browsing, surfing, sharing, and gaming. Every single activity that you perform online consumes data. An average American internet user consumes between 15 and 30 GB of data per day. Having a data cap will limit your online activities, and in worst-case scenarios, you be charged extra for additional data consumed within the same billing cycle. Thankfully, Fidium Fiber does not impose data caps on its subscribers so you can continue enjoying unlimited internet access, without worrying about service halts or data overage charges.

Contracts

You are not required to sign an annual term agreement upon enrolment to a Fidium Fiber internet plan. So, let’s say that you are not happy with the service, or have to move to another city or town where Fidium Fiber coverage is unavailable, you can do so without paying a hefty early termination fine for abrupt service cancellation. A no-contract policy will also give you the flexibility to change your plan if you decide to upgrade or downgrade your internet speeds.

Network Reliability

Fidium Fiber Internet promises maximum speed and network reliability. Their state-of-the-art fiber-optic cable infrastructure minimizes data loss during long-distance transmissions. As a result, the upload and download speeds remain consistent. It also guarantees 99.9 percent network uptime. Internet outages are rare and even if the service is disrupted due to a major technical fault, necessary measures are taken to restore the connection as soon as possible. Occurrences of traffic congestion are also rare because the bandwidth capacity on both upstream and downstream channels is up to 2000 Mbps. So, even during peak hours, you can expect to receive maximum available speeds.

Installation

Fidium Fiber offers free expert installation to its customers. First, you must place an order for your internet subscription. Once your enrollment is confirmed, their customer representative will ask you for a suitable time to install and activate your fiber internet connection. This is done to confirm your availability on the day and time of professional installation. A technician will be sent to your home with the necessary equipment and the same-day installation is usually completed within 2 hours, given that your place of residence is fiber-ready.

Equipment

The price of your Fidium Fiber equipment rental is included in the monthly fee. It provides a cutting-edge WiFi 6 gateway to its customers. The built-in capabilities of a WiFi 6 gateway support the superfast multigigabit internet speeds and its enhancement feature ensures that every corner of your house gets blazing-fast uncompromised speeds for multi-device wireless connectivity. Apart from the WiFi 6 modem-router gateway, customers are also given two WiFi extenders for full-home wireless coverage. The WiFi 6 gateway and extenders can be controlled with the Fidium Attune™ WiFi App. You can use the app to connect and disconnect devices to the network. The password management feature on the App will allow you to secure your connection from freeloaders and hackers.

Bundling Options

Fidium Fiber’s internet plan can be bundled with its fiber home phone and TV streaming services. Their voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) is a modern-day home phone service. It allows you to make unlimited calls within the country and to Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for just $15 per month. The service includes more than 12 advanced calling features such as call forwarding, call waiting, readable voice mails, and call blocking.

Fidium Fiber has partnered with popular streaming services, like DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV, Fubo TV, and Philo, to offer endless on-screen entertainment to its customers. You can bundle your high-speed fiber internet plan with live TV streaming service for as low as $25 per month.

Customer Service

Fidium Fiber’s customer service ranks below the industry average. Their customer satisfaction rating is 2.3 out of 5 stars. It is a new brand and is still in the process of expanding into new markets. It is testing out its multi-gigabit internet speeds in areas where there is limited fiber-optic internet infrastructure. The construction and maintenance of fiber internet networks require time and money. So, when customers complain about the delays in internet installation and service activation, they forget that many areas don’t even have ‘fiber boxes’ or optical network terminal (ONT) boxes mounted on the poles. Their technicians first evaluate the fiber-readiness of your street before bringing a fiber-optic internet cable into your home.

Moreover, the delicate nature of fiber-optic cables means that they are prone to damage because of high winds, heavy snow, and rainfall. Therefore, network outages are inevitable but Fidium Fiber does its best to restore the connection soonest possible.

Fidium Fiber Internet Coverage

High-speed and reliable fiber-optic internet services are available in 120 markets and 384 cities and towns across 8 states of the USA.

The following are the 8 states where Fidium Fiber offers internet coverage.

Fidium Fiber vs Competitors

Fidium Fiber is a relatively new internet service provider. Under the wings of Consolidated Communications, Fidium has established a strong presence in the 8 states where it offers fiber-optic internet coverage. It is competing against some of the nation’s best, oldest, and most popular fiber internet providers to deliver value-added broadband service at the cheapest monthly rates. Let’s look at the following side-by-side comparisons to better understand how this provider is competing with other prominent fiber internet providers in terms of plans, prices, and perks.

Fidium Fiber vs AT&T Fiber

AT&T Fiber is America’s No.1 internet service provider. It has the widest fiber broadband coverage within the mainland USA. AT&T Fiber internet plans are available in over 18.5 million access locations and more than 6.3 million Americans across 21 states are enjoying AT&T Fiber’s ultrafast fiber internet service. Although AT&T Fiber internet plans are $20 more expensive than Fidum Fiber, you get faster upload/ download speeds, better benefits, and unmatched customer service.

Fidium Fiber vs Frontier Fiber

Frontier Fiber was the first internet service provider in the country to offer network-wide multigigabit speeds. It can deliver blazing-fast symmetrical speeds up to 5,000 Mbps in 15 states for a starting price of $49.99 per month. Fidium Fiber internet plans are $15 cheaper than Frontier Fiber, but cannot match its hyperfast speed, wider coverage area, and customer service excellence.

Fidium Fiber vs Kinetic Fiber

Kinetic Fiber by Windstream Holdings is one of the top 10 internet service providers in the USA. Both these providers offer multi-gigabit internet speeds up to 2 Gigs. However, Fidium Fiber’s monthly internet plans are around $70 cheaper than Kinetic Fiber. Fidium Fiber has better prices and perks, but it cannot match the availability and customer satisfaction score of Kinetic Fiber.

Fidium Fiber vs Metronet

Metronet is a regional internet service provider. It primarily offers fiber-rich broadband connections in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and southeastern regions. Both, Metronet and Fidium Fiber are small fiber internet companies. They offer scaled-down coverage, affordable plans, and symmetrical speeds up to 2 Gigs. Both of these providers may share similar internet speeds, prices, and perks, but Fidium Fiber will have to work harder to improve its customer service and match the satisfaction level offered by Metronet.

Final Word

Fidium Fiber by Consolidated Communications is a fiber-rich internet service provider that offers multigigabit speeds of up to 2 Gigs in 8 states. Internet plans start at $35 per month. You get symmetrical upload and download speeds, unlimited data, free equipment, free installation, a $5 monthly discount on the AutoPay and paperless billing subscription, and contract-free service. Fidium Fiber has everything going in its favor except for its customer ratings. It has to improve its customer service to match the popularity of AT&T Fiber, Frontier Fiber, Kinetic Fiber, and Metronet Internet.