SubscribeSome Altice-Optimum customers in New York and New Jersey are enjoying a free speed upgrade to 400 Mbps, double the speed of the 200 Mbps they used to get.
Max Sharfstein reports his speeds suddenly increased late last week after his modem rebooted. Other customers report similar speed upgrades.
“I was on a promotion for 200 Mbps service but now I am getting 400 Mbps performance, based on speedtest results,” Sharfstein told Stop the Cap! “It’s quite a boost from the 100 Mbps I was originally paying for before Altice started giving out promotional credits to hold onto customers.”
Sharfstein’s bill shows his 200 Mbps tier has been replaced with the 400 Mbps tier, without any action on his part. His current promotion ends in September.
“I’m not sure what I will have then,” Sharfstein admits.
The Optimum website shows the cable operator selling 20, 100, 200, and 400 Mbps tiers. Customers can check with Optimum customer service to see if they qualify for any free speed upgrades.
With a recent rate hike now taking effect, most customers will pay $64.95 for 100 Mbps service starting in June. The company runs free or discounted speed upgrade promotions from time to time, mostly as a customer retention tool and a way to better compete against Verizon FiOS.
If customers balk about the price, Optimum also sells a basic 20 Mbps tier for around $29.99 a month with a $10 modem rental fee (waived if you bring your own modem.) Existing customers report getting downgraded to this tier can be difficult, with representatives claiming it is not available, despite the fact it is as of now. New customers should have no trouble signing up for the $29.99 plan, however.
If you are an Optimum customer, let us know if you see a speed upgrade in your area in the comments.
I was grandfathered in a 25 Mbps plan. Modem rebooted today and apparently now I have their 100 Mbps plan. And my bill says my Internet costs are going up next month. What a coincidence. “Free” upgrade indeed.
How good is that?
Here in the UK, although we’re supposed to enjoy the benefits of an open market it’s rare for companies to go out on a wing like this, in order to reward existing customers.
Ultimately, it’s a great move for business to ‘upgrade’ faithful clients. It’s the backbone of any successful venture.
Yup, I got a free upgrade from 20mb to 100mb, a few months ago. There doesn’t seem to be an additional fee, we also got some free extra channels. Not sure if it’s because we’ve used Optimum for so many years now and are rewarding us or if it was some sort of upgrade on their part like hardware wise.