Miami is a expensive market for business internet. Not the most expensive. But close.
If your office is in Brickell or downtown, you have real options. Three or four carriers will bid on your building. If your office is in Doral, Kendall, or Homestead, the picture changes fast. Sometimes there is one fiber provider. Sometimes there is none.
Here is what to expect, and where the room to negotiate lives.
The carriers that matter
The main names in Miami are Comcast Business, AT&T Business, and Lightpath. Hotwire runs fiber in some condo towers and mixed-use buildings. Crown Castle Fiber shows up on higher floors in Brickell and the Miami Design District.
Comcast is the default. They lit most of the older commercial stock in the 90s and never left. Their coax product is cheap and their fiber product is priced like a premium service.
AT&T fiber is strong in Brickell, weaker in the suburbs. When they are in your building, they will fight for the deal.
Lightpath is the one most people forget to call. They are aggressive on price when a building already has their fiber lit. In several Brickell towers, they have come in 20 to 30 percent under Comcast for the same 500 Mbps circuit.
Why Miami runs high
A few reasons.
Real estate is one. Commercial rents in Brickell and downtown push carriers to charge more for building access. When Comcast pays a right of entry fee to a tower, that cost lands in your MRC.
Hurricane risk is another. Carriers price in the cost of hardening their network. South Florida takes more storm damage than most metros. You are paying for redundancy you may never see, but it is real.
The last one is thin competition outside the core. Once you get past the airport, fiber options drop off. In parts of Doral and Kendall, you may have Comcast and one alt-net. That is it. Carriers know it, and they price accordingly.
What fair looks like
For 500 Mbps commercial cable, expect $250 to $450 a month in the core. Suburban zones run higher, sometimes $500 or more for the same speed.
For 1 Gig dedicated fiber, the median in Miami sits around $1,180 a month on a three year term. We have seen quotes as low as $795 in Brickell towers with three carriers lit. We have seen $2,400 in single provider buildings out west.
For 10 Gig, the range is wide. Brickell fiber pulls in around $1,900 to $2,800 a month. Outside the core, when 10 Gig is even available, it runs $3,500 and up.
Where the negotiation happens
Three levers work in this market.
First, get a second quote. If Comcast is your incumbent, call Lightpath or AT&T. Even if you do not switch, the quote gives you a number to hand back to Comcast. They have room to move. They almost always do.
Second, watch your renewal window. Miami carriers auto-renew at higher rates more often than the national average. Put the date in your calendar the day you sign the contract. Start the renegotiation 90 days out.
Third, audit the line items. The Broadcast TV Surcharge is not a tax. The Network Enhancement Fee is not a tax. Static IP bundles almost always include IPs you are not using. On a typical Miami Comcast bill, we find $30 to $80 a month in fees that come off with a phone call.
The bottom line
Miami is not a hopeless market. It is a market where the price you get depends on whether you ask.
If you are in the core, you have leverage. Use it. If you are in the suburbs, the game is different, but the renewal window and line item audits still work.
Want us to look at your bill? Upload your bill and we will show you what fair looks like for your address.
Related reading
→ Miami city guide → Comcast Business provider page → Lightpath provider page → See a sample bill report