Quantum Fiber is affordable but not available in many places.
6 min readFormerly sold under the CenturyLink name, Lumen's Quantum Fiber is an affordable fiber option for internet seekers in the West, Midwest, and Florida. “The speed is fast and fairly reliable,” says Rob, a public telecom worker and Quantum Fiber customer in the Pacific Northwest. “I have not had any extended outages.”
But Quantum Fiber’s customer service is all over the place, and its limited service area makes it impractical for those who plan to move.
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Discover if you live in a Quantum Fiber service area.
Get to know Quantum Fiber: Plans and pricing
Quantum Fiber’s plans range from $45 per month for 200Mbps to $165 per month for 8,000Mbps. Mid-range options include 500Mbps for $50, 940Mbps (or 1 Gig) for $75, 2 Gigs for $95, and 3 Gigs for $100 per month. Keep in mind, prices may vary depending on your location.
Service | Price range | Download speed range | Details |
 | Starting at $45/mo. | 200-8000 Mbps | View Plans |
|---|
Like most fiber services, Quantum Fiber offers symmetrical speeds—aka matching download and upload speeds. (Most households don’t need high upload speeds—they’re only necessary if you often create large media files—but they can be a nice perk.)
Quantum Fiber also comes with a Price for Life guarantee, so when you sign up at a certain price point, it’s yours until either you cancel or Quantum discontinues your plan. And there are no contracts or data caps, so no running into hidden cancellation or overage fees. Oh, and right now, Quantum doesn’t charge for equipment or installation, either (although its website says that may change in the future).
“The speed is fast and fairly reliable.” -Quantum Fiber customer in the Pacific Northwest
Quantum Fiber vs. CenturyLink
Quantum Fiber and CenturyLink fiber are both owned by parent company Lumen, but they aren’t the same thing. However, Lumen is gradually trading CenturyLink fiber service in for Quantum.
“Going forward, all new fiber-enabled locations will be Quantum Fiber,” says Lumen spokesperson Courtney Morton. “The CenturyLink brand will continue to deliver high-quality internet and voice services over our reliable copper network.”
So do you get a good deal from Quantum Fiber? Yes, you do! Quantum offers market-based pricing, so Quantum's prices will depend on your location. And while we can't offer official prices for Quantum's internet packages, we can give example of prices sourced from specific locations. For example, in some areas, Quantum currently charges around $50 for 500Mbps, which is quite good. And Quantum Fiber’s fastest plan is comparable to a similar option from Google Fiber (the gold standard for fiber providers): 940Mbps for around $75 from Quantum versus 1,000Mbps for $70 from Google.
Around 500Mbps is the perfect speed for most residences, but Google Fiber doesn’t even offer a 500Mbps plan, while Quantum Fiber does. So in some cases, Quantum might be a better choice than Google.
Other Quantum plans
In certain areas, you can also get 1, 3, or 8Gbps plans—but they aren’t widely available at the moment, and you have to have ultra-modern Wi-Fi 7 equipment.
Which Quantum Fiber plan is right for you?
500Mbps is a great fit for most households, giving you plenty of speed. Quantum's 200Mbps plan works for smaller households, but since it’s only $5 cheaper, it’s probably worth going for the 500Mbps plan to avoid any slowdowns. While most don't need gigabit speeds, Quantum's 1Gig and 2Gig plans are excellent for those with higher bandwidth needs.
What makes this review legit?
Our fact-based research process centers on interviews with internet customers across the country, helping us understand how internet services hold up against diverse needs and challenges.
To put together this review, we spoke with several Quantum Fiber customers and a Lumen spokesperson, delved into Quantum Fiber service offerings, and looked at our proprietary speed data and several trustworthy customer surveys.
The rundown: Quantum Fiber by our criteria
For all our internet reviews, we give a rating based on three main criteria—speed and reliability, dollar value, and customer experience—which we then average to make an overall score.
Want to know how Quantum Fiber stacks up? See our full take below.
Also see how Quantum Fiber compares to Cox
Overall score: 4.0/5
Speed and reliability
4.0/5.0
Our proprietary speed test doesn’t include 2023 data for Quantum Fiber, so we’re unsure how the actual speeds compare with our top fast internet options. But Quantum Fiber customer Rob says the service is “fast and reliable.”
Similarly, Jake, who works for a local municipality in Orlando, likes his Quantum Fiber service because of the “fast speeds and low price.”
On the other hand, Quantum Fiber customer Joe, an at-home worker in the insurance industry in Bellevue, Florida, finds his internet unreliable. “Service has hiccups A LOT, which is problematic for people that work from home,” he vents. “Upload drops all the time, and multiple higher-tier employees have ignored and yet to explain why it happens.”
In summary, Quantum Fiber seems fast and reliable enough for most customers, but it may depend on your service area. Before you sign up, check with those who already have the service near your address.
Dollar value
4.3/5.0
Quantum Fiber offers excellent value for each dollar.
“It seems like a good deal,” says customer Rob, and he’s right. Rob signed up for the 940Mbps plan with CenturyLink, marketed at $75 per month, before being moved to Quantum Fiber. Not to sound like a broken record, but $75 for nearly a whole Gbps is a great price, especially since Quantum Fiber has no contracts or extra fees.
Customer experience
3.8/5.0
Every customer we spoke with has had one issue or another with Quantum Fiber customer service.
Quantum customer service is “terrible,” according to Jake, who adds that agents “just read off a script. Not much help at all.”
Joe in Florida calls Quantum Fiber's customer service “not the greatest since my only interactions with Quantum are with techs that don't ever get back to me.”
Customers also speak of installation snafus. “It took three trips from their technicians to get the install completed and working properly,” says Rob.
However, CableTV.com found in its 2024 internet customer satisfaction survey that Quantum Fiber customers were actually the happiest with their service (at 89% satisfaction).
This may be due to unhappy customers switching to other ISPs, leaving behind only the content ones. Or most Quantum customers may simply be happier than the ones we spoke with.
How long it took to get a real human on the phone: I couldn’t reach a customer service agent. The phone bot stopped my progress at 0:44 when I couldn't produce a Quantum Fiber account number.
How the chat service is: It’s so-so—it offers a truncated list of options to get started, severely limiting what I could communicate.
Overall quality
4.0/5.0
Quantum Fiber can be fast and reliable (though it isn’t always). It’s priced well, but the customer service leaves something to be desired.
Quantum Fiber add-ons and perks
360 WiFi mesh network
Sign up when you enroll in Quantum Fiber
Refer & Earn Program
Earn up to $100 cash and a $10 charity donation with each referral to Quantum Fiber.
Connected Voice VoIP system
Sign up for $40 to $50 a month when you enroll in Quantum Fiber.
DIRECTV
Sign up for $69.99 to $114.99 a month when you enroll in Quantum Fiber.
What do customers think of Quantum Fiber?
Most customers like Quantum Fiber just fine but aren't impressed with parts of the customer service.
Rob calls Quantum Fiber a "no-frills fiber internet service." His opinion isn't just based on using the service—he also crosses paths with Quantum in his job as a public telecom worker in the Pacific Northwest. "I work in the field and deal professionally with CenturyLink and Lumen."
Jake in Orlando's feelings are more mixed. He says his service offers "great fast speeds," but he's frustrated that his Wi-Fi 7 equipment (read: some of the latest and greatest internet hardware) isn't compatible with the Quantum Fiber app.
“They over promise and under deliver.” —Joe
The biggest complaint we heard about Quantum Fiber? Installation. We even live-followed a new customer named D.P.’s installation process in Denver, with disappointing results.
“Quantum is 30 minutes late from the appointment window,” D.P. told Reviews.org on installation day. Then, two hours later: “Window was 8:00 am–11:00 am; it’s now 1:20 pm.”
The Quantum Fiber technician was not only late, they didn't even phone ahead to let D.P. know. Due to the hassle, D.P. canceled the service instead of rescheduling the installation.
Need to contact Quantum Fiber customer service or tech support?
Here’s how to reach ’em:
Quantum also encourages contact through its social media accounts.
Where is Quantum Fiber available?
Quantum Fiber is available in parts of the Midwest and West—and, for some reason, in Florida.
See if you live in a Quantum Fiber service area.
Quantum Fiber vs. the competition
As a fiber provider, Quantum Fiber smokes the non-fiber competition. It also holds its own against other fiber internet providers, even Google Fiber.
Quantum's biggest pitfall compared to its competition is that it's not widely available. You can get Quantum Fiber in only a small portion of the United States. So if you need to move, you can kiss your Quantum service goodbye.
Another option in the Midwest is Nextlink Internet.
Compare internet providers and prices
Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change. Data verified as of the article's publication date.
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Price after $5/mo Autopay & Paperless bill discount (w/in 2 bills). Plus taxes $ fees. Limited availability. May not be available in your area.
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Plus taxes and fees. Upload/download speed and device streaming claims are based on maximum wired speeds. Actual Internet speeds are not guaranteed and may vary based on factors such as hardware and software limitations, latency, packet loss, etc.
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Limited time offer; subject to change; valid to qualified residential customers who have not subscribed to any services within the previous 30 days and who have no outstanding obligation to Charter.
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w/ Auto Pay. Regulatory fees included in monthly price for qualified accounts. See full terms.
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Plus hardware, shipping & handling fees, and tax. Fully refundable. Depending on location, some orders may take 6 months or more to fulfill.
FAQs
No, Quantum Fiber and CenturyLink aren’t the same, though both are owned by Lumen. Lumen is gradually replacing CenturyLink’s fiber service with Quantum Fiber.
Quantum Fiber has several pros, including affordable pricing, symmetrical speeds, and a Price for Life guarantee. It also doesn’t currently charge extra for installation or equipment. However, many customers have had poor experiences with Quantum’s customer service, citing difficulty reaching agents and unhelpful support overall.
Quantum Fiber offers symmetrical speeds ranging from 200Mbps to 8,000Mbps, meaning each package provides the same download and upload speeds.
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