CenturyLink Business Internet Review

Thu, Jan 26, 2023 6:51 AM

CenturyLink has been operating along for decades, extending its networking and technology offerings around the United States. The CenturyLink business internet provides some competitive internet packages to keep the business going smoothly.

Affordable plans and always-available tech support

CenturyLink DSL internet prices were compared to those of other business internet companies. CenturyLink has emerged as one of the most cost-effective solutions.

Despite the fact that some networks have a broader variety of plan speeds and costs, CenturyLink has a few solid plans at competitive prices. The most competitive package, Basic Internet 940, is less expensive than AT&T and Comcast's comparable speed plans.

Recommended CenturyLink plans

Pure Business Internet 40 Mbps    
Starting price (per month) $44.99*    

Pure Business Internet100 Mbps    
Starting price (per month) $74.99*     

Pure Business Internet 200 Mbps    
Starting price (per month) $74.99*    

Pure Business Internet 500 Mbps    
Starting price (per month) $104.99*     

Pure Business Gig Internet    
Starting price (per month)$154.99**

What do you need to know?

We wanted to give you a full image of CenturyLink's offerings as there is more to business internet than just DSL plans. Since the company's small-business internet plans are geared toward businesses with less than ten employees, we based our analysis there as well. CenturyLink classifies larger companies as medium and enterprise clients.

Now that we've shown you our favorite plans, let's get down to business—warts and all. CenturyLink has a few items to like and a few things to avoid.

Pros:

Affordable DSL plans
Symmetric fiber speeds
24/7 tech support

Cons:

Few upper-level DSL speeds
Sparse Fiber availability
no static IP available

PLANS AND PRICING

CenturyLink provides digital subscriber line (DSL) and fiber-optic business internet services. CenturyLink's small-business plans are broken down by internet rates and prices in the tables below (if available).

DSL INTERNET PLANS

CenturyLink also provides DSL plans with download speeds ranging from 10 to 940 Mbps, depending on where you're from.

Plan: Pure Business Internet 10 Mbps    
Starting price (per month): $44.99*    
Max. download speed: 10 Mbps  

Plan: Pure Business Internet 40 Mbps    
Starting price (per month): $44.99*    
Max. download speed: 40 Mbps  

Plan: Pure Business Internet 100 Mbps    
Starting price (per month): $74.99*    
Max. download speed: 100 Mbps    

Plan: Pure Business Internet 200 Mbps    
Starting price (per month): $74.99*    
Max. download speed: 200 Mbps   

Plan: Pure Business Internet 500 Mbps    
Starting price (per month): $104.99*    
Max. download speed: 500 Mbps    

Plan: Pure Business Gig Internet    
Starting price (per month): $154.99**    
Max. download speed: 940 Mbps  

Slower packages in the 10 to 40 Mbps range are suitable for very small businesses that do not need a lot of online computing capacity. These plans aren't too expensive on a monthly basis, so they're a good choice if you just need basic internet.

For most business plans, CenturyLink also provides free tech features such as two Microsoft Office 365 Business Necessities licenses and 20 GB of data backup. These benefits are ideal for new businesses in need of some basic techniques to help them grow.

Opt for CenturyLink's higher-tier plans if you need more speed, such as for uploading big files or video streaming.

For most business plans, CenturyLink also provides free tech features such as two Microsoft Office 365 Business Necessities licenses and 20 GB of data backup.

Sadly, upload rates for all of CenturyLink's Business Internet plans were unavailable. If you need to upload a lot of files or make videoconference calls, upload speeds are crucial because slow uploads will cause these services to go down.

Check about the plan's maximum upload speed when signing up for any CenturyLink Business Internet plan.

For most companies, something less than 1 Mbps is too slow. However, except if your operations need a lot of uploading capacity, you can probably get by with upload speeds of 1 to 10 Mbps.

FIBER INTERNET PLANS

CenturyLink has been developing a fiber-optic network, like many other major internet providers, to offer faster speeds than any DSL connection. Some aspects of CenturyLink's fiber service, such as pricing and precise availability, remain unknown for the time being.

To see if fiber is available in your region and request a quote from CenturyLink, use the links in the table below. But for the time being, here's what we do know, beginning with a strategy.

Plan: Fiber gigabit    
Max. download speed: 1 Gbps    
Max. upload speed: 1 Gbps    

Fiber is well-known for its capacity to deliver true gigabit internet—a thousand megabits per second. These blisteringly fast speeds are ideal for nonstop, complex online work.

CenturyLink fiber plans also offer symmetric speeds, which ensures that upload and download speeds are identical. This is a godsend for companies who need to access a large number of customers, upload large files, and run complex online point-of-sale systems with minimal latency.

BUNDLES AND PACKAGES

CenturyLink allows you to package your company's internet and phone services. Try one of these low-cost packages if you need to provide a phone system for your workers.
1. Phone bundle: Internet + voice
2. DSL internet download speeds from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps
3. Unlimited nationwide calls with voicemail
4. Prices starting at $64.99 per month

BUSINESS SUPPORT

CenturyLink's business internet plans and packages come with 24/7 technical support, which is a lifeline in the event of a major failure or issue. They also have a phone and chat facilities for your convenience.

REVIEWS AND RATINGS

What do industry experts and consumers have to tell about CenturyLink's service? The response falls somewhere between average and poor. Let's take a look at a few different factors.

American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI)

In 2020, ACSI rated customer satisfaction with CenturyLink at 63/100—up to four points from the previous year

Better Business Bureau (BBB):

The BBB, which uses customer complaints to form its ratings, currently lists CenturyLink with a C- rating.

These findings are a little depressing. However, if CenturyLink can boost its response time to customer concerns, the company's credibility will certainly improve.

EQUIPMENT

You'll need to buy or rent a modem from CenturyLink to get started. You can purchase the modem outright for $100 or lease it for $10 a month.

CONCLUSION

Small businesses that need low to medium speeds can find CenturyLink business internet plans to be a cost-effective alternative.

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