If you used to pay CenturyLink for business internet, you may now pay Brightspeed. Same wires. New name.
Brightspeed took over old CenturyLink copper and fiber in about 20 states back in 2022. Since then, they have poured money into new fiber. That is the part worth watching. Because the wire in your building decides what you actually get.
Copper or fiber decides everything
Here is the split. In some Brightspeed buildings, all you can get is old copper DSL. Slow. Unreliable. In others, they have run new fiber right to the door.
The difference is huge. Copper DSL tops out in the low single digit Mbps for upload. Fiber gives you the same speed up as down. That matters if your team does video calls or sends big files all day.
So the first question is simple. Is your address on fiber yet? Do not trust the sales rep. Ask for the exact product name on the quote. If it says DSL, keep looking.
What the fiber plans look like
Brightspeed fiber for business usually starts around 500 Mbps and runs up to 2 Gig or higher in lit buildings. Prices move a lot by market and by building.
For 500 Mbps in most fiber cities, retail sits in a wide band. Our market data shows 500 Mbps business fiber running from roughly $400 to $900 a month depending on the carrier and the city. Brightspeed tends to price near the low end when they want to win a building. That is your opening.
One thing to know. Their standard fiber is not always true dedicated internet. It can be a shared product with a fast burst. If you need a hard SLA and matching upload, ask for their dedicated internet product by name. It costs more. But you get a real uptime guarantee.
Reliability, honestly
The old CenturyLink copper had a bad reputation. Outages. Slow repairs. Some of that carried over during the handoff.
The new fiber is a different story. Fiber runs cleaner than copper. Fewer weather issues. Faster to fix. If your building is on new Brightspeed fiber, reliability should be solid.
But get the SLA in writing. Ask what the credit is when they miss. Ask how fast they promise to fix an outage. A number on paper beats a promise on a call.
Where the money hides
Brightspeed bills have the same traps every carrier bill has. Watch these three.
Static IP charges. If you have a block of IPs and use half of them, you are paying for the rest. We saw a client with 4 static IPs using 2. That is a letter, not a phone call.
Install and equipment fees. Ask what is one time and what is monthly. Some carriers bury a router rental in the monthly rate. You can often buy your own.
Contract length. Brightspeed pushes 3 year terms to lock the rate. That can be fine. But the renewal window is where they get you. The time to negotiate is usually 90 days before your end date. Miss it and you may roll into a higher rate.
How to buy it right
If Brightspeed fiber is lit in your building, you have leverage most people never use. Get their quote. Then get one competing fiber quote for the same address. Then call Brightspeed back with the lower number.
Carriers have room to move on a lit building. They already paid to run the fiber. An empty circuit earns them nothing. Use that.
Put your renewal date in your calendar the day you sign. Most people do not. That one habit saves more money than any negotiation trick.
Want to know if your current Brightspeed or CenturyLink bill is fair? Upload it. We will show you what the same service costs down the street.