The modem and router hire are now included in your monthly payment for up to 36 months, and Astound Broadband provides household web service in many large metros across the nation, including Austin, Chicago, Houston, New York, and Seattle. After three years, Astound may charge for modem and router, which may cost as much as$ 22 a month.

You can still use your own products instead of using Astound’s; see Astound’s guidelines for using your own products. It’s worth noting that Astound also offers” Enhanced Wi-Fi” in some regions, which gets you a fancier router for an additional$ 5 per month. In some areas, Enhanced Wi-Fi means that you get the&nbsp, Eero Pro 6&nbsp, grid network, which is excellent, but in others, it’s just&nbsp, the common Eero 6 network, which wasn’t nearly as strong a actor in our testing. &nbsp,

Customers can also rent the Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 Wi-Fi 6 gaming router for$ 13 per month, which&nbsp, isn’t a bad deal at all, given that it usually costs around$ 300.

This is significant because AT&amp, T used to charge$ 10 monthly for its equipment. Customers couldn’t use their own modem, so the company required the use of its combination modem-and-router gateway device. That meant that you couldn’t skip the$ 10 monthly additional fee. Customers no longer have to worry about that additional cost being tacked onto their monthly bill as AT&amp, T eliminated its equipment fee for all internet plans in 2022.

Renting a gateway that combines a modem and a router into one device costs$ 15 per month from Century Link. If you sign up for DSL with Century Link, that gateway will be one of three models: the Greenwave C4000, the Zyxel C4000LZ or the Zyxel C3000Z. If you have a fiber plan with Quantum Fiber, your equipment is included at no extra cost for an “initial period”, however long that may be. By using your own gateway or modem, you can avoid paying that$ 15 fee, but CenturyLink advises customers to use anything that isn’t listed on its list of approved devices.

You can also opt to buy CenturyLink equipment upfront, for$ 200 plus tax, an investment that would pay for itself after a year and one month of service.

According to the company’s website,” Century Link highly advises using one of our certified or recommended Wi-Fi modems ( gateways ), which have been tested and certified to work with our high-speed internet technology.” ” Retired and third-party devices are more likely to cause performance issues and may not connect to your internet service correctly”.

Remember, if you’re replacing Century Link’s gateway with a standard modem, then you’ll also need to find a good router to go with it.

Cox charges customers$ 15 per month to rent its Panoramic Wifi gateway, which combines a modem and router into a single device. DOCSIS 3.1 devices that support either Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6E, depending on the speed tier will be provided to all Cox plan subscribers. You can also purchase Panoramic Wi-Fi Pods if you want to extend your Wi-Fi coverage, but Cox doesn’t allow customers to rent the pods: you have to buy them upfront for$ 130 each, a cost we don’t recommend undertaking. For as little as$ 15 to$ 20, you can get a better-priced Wi-Fi extender.

Either way, you can skip that additional monthly equipment rental fee by using a modem and router, or gateway, of your own– just be sure to pick from the lengthy list of Cox-approved modems and gateways.

Frontier Fiber includes equipment rental fees with the monthly cost, which is already lower than most. The Eero Pro 7 Wi-Fi router is available for plans 500Mbps and faster from Frontier. The 200Mbps plan comes with the Eero Pro 6E, and all DSL plans come with the Eero Pro 6.

For an additional$ 10 a month, you can add Whole Home Wi-Fi with up to two mesh Wi-Fi extenders for better coverage.

Customers who pay no extra cost for Google Fiber receive a modem, a mesh router, and up to two additional extenders. If you subscribe to Google Fiber’s fastest plan, with download speeds of up to 8Gbps, then you’ll get a faster, multi-gig router to go with it, complete with support for Wi-Fi 6E.

Hughesnet provides satellite internet service to all 50 states. That’s the good news. The bad news is that satellite internet features fairly expensive equipment. Customers must rent Hughesnet’s equipment to the tune of$ 15 per month or$ 20 per month if opting for Hughesnet’s Fusion plan that combines satellite internet with low-latency fixed wireless internet. There are no substitutes for paying those monthly fees. The only alternative provided is to buy the equipment up front for$ 300 ($ 450 with the Fusion plan ).

That’s a tough pill to swallow. It’s not appealing to pay that much right away. Once you consider that Hughesnet requires a two-year contract ( and canceling early will activate an early termination fee ), you may find that the up-front cost will save you money if you foresee staying with Hughesnet beyond your initial term.

Kinetic is Windstream’s home internet service, and the equipment rental fees cost$ 11 a month. You will receive a combination modem-and-router gateway device after paying that fee, but you can skip the fee entirely if you use your own modem and router hardware. &nbsp,

According to the specific nature of the connection, the company has different customer hardware requirements ( for instance, some DSL subscribers use ADSL technology while others use VDSL). Be sure to ask Windstream for some guidance specific to your home’s connection before you make a purchase– the customer service number is 800-347-1991.

Mediacom is a midsize cable internet provider, and customers need to pay$ 15 per month to rent a cable modem/router gateway from the company. You can skip that fee by using your own, but it’ll need to be at least a DOCSIS 3.1 model plus a compatible router. The complete list of hardware&nbsp approved items can be found in ( PDF).

The WiFi360Pro, which comes with two Eero Wi-Fi units ( and Eero secure services ), is included for one year of service. It supports Wi-Fi 6 and up to 1Gbps. Mediacom also offers Eero Wi-Fi extenders for$ 5 a month.

Metronet is a 100 % fiber-optic internet provider in the Midwest that covers Indiana and 15 other states nationwide. Metronet doesn’t charge users for their access to its router like other fiber providers like AT&amp, T, and Google Fiber. It does charge$ 10 per month if you want to add Whole Home Wi-Fi, but that is optional, not a required cost.

Optimum offers both 100 % fiber hookups and hybrid fiber and cable connections. The company provides customers with its Altice Gateway, which serves as your home’s modem and router. Depending on your specific plan and whether your home’s cable or fiber connection is accurate, you can get exact numbers. &nbsp,

” Optimum internet customers using service delivered via our HFC network are able to use their own equipment”, an Altice spokesperson tells CNET. The Optimum-provided Gateway, which was created specifically for our fiber network, is currently only used to provide Optimum Fiber service.

Rise Broadband is a provider of fixed wireless home internet connections throughout much of the middle of the country, including many rural areas. The ISP covers the cost of the equipment rental fee in select regions ( including the modem and antenna that receive the over-the-air signal ), but many will have to pay$ 10 just for the receiver, then an additional$ 15 to rent a router. The receiver lease is optional, but the router rental is not. If you’re eligible for fiber internet, that equipment rental is optional.

Sparklight charges customers$ 14 per month for its cable modem. Sparklight charges an additional$ 10 per month for an additional access point. Sparklight also offers an” Ultimate Wi-Fi Bundle”, which includes your modem, two eero Wi-Fi devices and eero plus for$ 25 monthly.

Sparklight requires the use of a DOCSIS 3. 1&nbsp, cable modem device if you want to skip the monthly fee. If you choose to go that route to save on the added monthly fee, here’s a list of Sparklight recommended modems.

Spectrum includes a free modem with all of its home internet plans, but if you don’t have a router, you’ll need to rent one for$ 10 per month if you’re on the 500Mbps plan. Users of the 1-gig plan get equipment included in their monthly bills.

You’ll need to use your own router in order to avoid paying monthly fees. However, if your equipment malfunctions, it won’t be eligible for Spectrum technical support. You can also use your own modem, but be sure to use a Spectrum-supported model, &nbsp.

By offering faster speeds and lower latency than rivals Hughesnet and Viasat, Starlink, Elon Musk’s internet service, aims to defy the norm for satellite internet. What Starlink shares with those companies is a stark equipment fee. Instead of having you pay monthly for your equipment, Starlink requires you to pay it upfront. That means a payout of$ 349 to$ 599 for standard service.

Starry Internet offers fixed wireless internet in major cities like Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York City. Starry optimizes its technology for urban areas, and that customized equipment is included in the price. There’s no additional charge beyond your monthly rate.

You’ll need a 5G modem that can connect to T-Mobile’s 5G home internet service. Fortunately, T-Mobile takes care of that for you with a 5G modem/router gateway provided free of charge. It’s a gray cylinder, and it’s all you need after subscribing to get online.

If you have a router that you like, you can use it to turn on the Wi-Fi signal in your home instead of T-Mobile’s gateway. That might be worth doing if you’d like to set up a mesh network in your home, but with fast top speeds and support for Wi-Fi 6, T-Mobile’s gateway is probably enough for anyone beyond that.

Verizon offers three separate home internet services: Verizon Fios, Verizon 5G Home Internet and Verizon LTE ( 4G). Each service is a bit different, but one thing they all have in common is that your equipment rental is included in the price.

HughesNet’s rival charges the same monthly price for equipment as Viasat, but the cost is still inexcusable. You could get a slight discount on that monthly price by choosing to pay for the equipment with a one-time purchase of$ 250, but there are no significant savings to be had there unless you hold on to your Viasat service beyond the initial two-year contract.

Although WideOpenWest– or WOW, as the company prefers to brand itself– includes the modem fee in your monthly subscription, you can still purchase one that is WOW-approved. Separately, customers can pay$ 10 per month to rent an Eero 6 router. If you already have a good router, you can afford to pay less for it.

Ten dollars per month isn’t a bad price to try out a mesh system in your home, but that older version of Eero sells in a two-pack for$ 189, and you can often find it on sale. If you plan on using that router for longer than a year and a half or so, it’s probably better to buy one of your own.

Xfinity offers customers the option of renting the xFi Gateway, which combines a modem and a router into a single device, at$ 15 per month in select locations. In some cases, and with some plans, equipment is included at no extra cost. If you have a fee, you can skip the monthly charge by using your own modem and router.

Pretty much any router will work, but you must ensure the modem is a DOCSIS 3.1 model. A full list of supported modems can be found on the Xfinity website.

Additionally, Xfinity offers xFi Complete, an in-home W-iFi option for$ 15 to$ 25 extra a month, depending on where you live. The xFi Complete package includes a Wi-Fi Boost Pod for extended coverage throughout the home, a Wi-Fi Boost Pod for managing the security of your network through various controls, and unlimited data ( a nice benefit since Xfinity enforces data caps on most plans ).

For$ 15 per month, Ziply Fiber offers an optimized Wi-Fi 7 router for all fiber plans as well as Whole Home Wi-Fi. You can also skip that additional monthly fee by using your own router, but to paraphrase an FAQ on Ziply’s website, it recommends you use the Ziply Fiber router” for the best fiber internet experience”.