Better Option for Gaming – Frontier Fiber or Spectrum?
Are you an online gamer torn between Spectrum and Frontier? The world of online gaming is vast, offering numerous types of games. The FCC proposes a minimum of 3 Mbps for a game console connected to the internet and 4 Mbps for multiplayer games. This is the minimum download speed for gaming, but we are not only playing games on the internet. We use our connections for other things as well. Moreover, we have to share our bandwidth with the family members. Therefore, the speed requirements are different for every person.
While Frontier and Spectrum offer incredibly fast speed tiers, the deciding factor for most gamers is their latency. Your connection should be responsive, especially when you are engaged in an online battle. The ideal latency for gamers is less than 40 ms, but competitive games require a rate below 20 ms. Since the latency highly depends on the internet type, avid gamers prefer fiber internet as its latency ranges between 11 to 14 ms. Hence, Frontier Fiber is the best option for gaming. Its multi-gigabit plans with an 8 ms latency rate are specifically built for professional gaming as they have lower lag than cable internet. On the other hand, Spectrum’s average latency rate is 29.13 ms. However, Spectrum is a suitable choice for playing casual games if you live in an area covered by Frontier’s DSL network.
Better Customer Service – Frontier or Spectrum?
The most practical way to analyze the service of any provider is to explore how satisfied their customers are. Customer satisfaction is often a sore spot for many internet providers, as they don’t usually pay attention to the concerns raised by their users. Based on the latest reports from ACSI and J.D. Power, we can gauge the quality of Frontier and Spectrum’s customer service.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index has recently released separate rankings for fiber and non-fiber internet providers. Unfortunately, Frontier’s score falls short of the industry average in both areas. It scored 74 in the fiber internet providers category, just below the satisfaction benchmark of 75. On the other hand, it scored 61 on the list of non-fiber internet providers, four points below the industry average. These results are not impressive, with Frontier ranking second to last in both categories, showing a need to address the most pressing concerns. However, one standout discovery is that Frontier Fiber’s score is six points higher than the overall industry average, indicating that customers are more satisfied with its fiber connection than its DSL service.
Spectrum also did not show positive results in the ACSI’s report, scoring two points less than the average non-fiber internet providers and four points less than the overall industry average.
The J.D. Power US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study for 2023 shows different results. While Spectrum’s scores are below average in all four regions, Frontier ranks higher in the South and West, with scores of 738 and 716, respectively. However, its poor rankings in the East and North Central regions show room for improvement.