Hidden Costs of Spectrum That you Should Know

Hidden Costs of Spectrum

When you hear all these words, they excite you don’t they? Have you found your dream bundle with solid features at a remarkably affordable price? Before subscribing, you deserve to know the hidden costs of Spectrum.

Like every other provider, they have miscellaneous charges too that are only revealed when you receive your first monthly bill. Don’t pain, here is all the information one must know about the standard rates and fees for Spectrum internet, Spectrum mobile and TV plans.

What Are Hidden Costs Of Spectrum for Internet and TV

How Much is Their Internet?

The table below shows the summary of hidden Internet costs:

Service Fee
Standard Installation $49.99 (one time)
WiFi activation $9.99   (one time)
In-Home Wi-Fi $5 per month
Equipment fee Included in the plan
Late payment fee $8.95

Price of Internet Plan

When you sign up for their Internet-only plan, the starting price offered is $49.99 per month. You get 100 Mbps, a free modem, an antivirus suite, and no data caps.

This price is for 12 months only. It’s the introductory price offered to attract new customers. Standard rates apply the first year.

If the standard price exceeds your budget, you may cancel the service at any time without extra cost.

Taxes and Surcharges

The good news is with a standalone Internet plan, the recurring fees are light. Your bill will only include state and federal taxes. The amount of tax charged varies from location to location.

Equipment Fee

Equipment is included in the Internet plan. You get a free modem with each Internet plan. You can also choose your own modem or router.

At the time of subscribing to an Internet plan such as Spectrum One, many customers prefer signing up for Charter Spectrum cable Home WiFi too which additionally costs $5 a month. It lets you connect multiple devices at home and share the Internet speed.

Installation Charges

You have two options when it comes to service installation:

Spectrum Installation Charges

  • Call Spectrum a professional for installation
  • Self-installation

In the first case, a technician will visit your place and handle the installation. You will be charged a one-time $49.99 fee. In the latter case, there is still some cost involved which is $9.99. It’s likely due to the shipping fee (for delivering the equipment to the customer’s address or the store for pickup).

Wait, you can skip the hidden costs of Spectrum equipment installation entirely by purchasing your own equipment.

Data Overage fee

Regardless of your Internet plan, there are no data caps at all. Customers are free to stream, play games, surf the web, and download to their heart’s content. So keep streaming because there is no data overage fee.

Late Payment Fee

This happens to the best of us. You forget to pay your Spectrum mobile phone bill and you realize that just a day after your due date. No need to fret, the provider offers a long grace period. It’s 30 days after your due date. After 30 days, you will be charged a late fee of $8.95.

What’s the Price of TV Plans?

Now let’s move on to Spectrum’s hidden costs for its TV plans. Here is a glimpse:

Service Fee
Professional Installation $49.99
Broadcast TV Surcharge $13.50 per month
Set-top box $7.99 per month
DVR service Fee $12.99 per month
DVR Equipment Rental $11.99 per month
Premium Channels (Cinemax, HBO, NFL RedZone, Showtime, etc.) $5.99 to 15.99 per month
Late Payment Fee $8.95

These are the introductory prices for the plans for the first 12 months. After a year, standard pricing applies. If a spike in your monthly bill seems expensive, go ahead and cancel the service any time without incurring additional cost.

Reading Suggestion:Spectrum TV Essentials

Broadcast TV Surcharge and Taxation

The broadcast TV surcharge fee was actually set by providers. It offsets rising prices from broadcast companies charging satellite and cable providers as consent to carry their broadcast signals. Hence, customers are charged a $13.50 fee in their monthly bill.

Source: https://www.spectrum.com/cable-tv

Equipment Fee

To start watching your favorite TV channels, you will need a set-top box also known as the HD Box. It costs $7.99 per month.

After this comes the DVR charges. There are two ways to pay your DVR fee. The first option is to pay a $12.99 DVR service fee for one DVR. The second option is to rent the DVR equipment for $11.99 per month. Apart from this, there are no hidden costs of Spectrum DVR service.

Adds-on

To upgrade your package, add premium channels, sports channels or international programming, you must pay an additional fee.

Each channel is priced differently starting from $5.99 to 15.99 per month.

Installation Fee

Just like in the case of the Internet, there are two TV installation options. For professional installation, a one-time fee of $49.99 is required. On the other hand, self-installation will cost you $9.99.

Late Payment Fee

As mentioned earlier, the provider doesn’t charge late service see right away. A grace period of 30 days is provided after missing the due date. Once the period is over, an $8.95 late payment fee is charged.