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I get it. You're burnt out after being on the hunt for great discounts on the newest phones, best TVs, hottest toys or the glitzy doodad you saw on TikTok -- the savings are all here and it's not even Black Friday yet!
With so many offers fighting for your attention, it'd be easy to miss the fact that you could also get great deals from your area's internet service providers. Those ISPs probably aren't top of your mind, but they should be, because Black Friday season is a sneaky-good time to score a deal on home internet service. And hey, how can you expect to take advantage of all the great smart home devices you just bought if your internet connection is lousy?
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When I chatted with EarthLink CEO Glenn Goad for a deep dive on how to negotiate with your ISP, he passed along several insights. Most important? Be prepared.
"It's a great time for promotions, offers and incentives," Goad said, pointing out how the arrival of new competitors like Starlink and the emergence of Verizon and T-Mobile's 5G home internet products have forced ISPs to go big to win customers and scramble to keep hold of existing ones.
"But," he added, it's "also a time where you may not get the hand-holding or the time you want to research."
That's where CNET can help. ISP deals might not be on your radar, but they are on ours. Whether you currently have a data cap you want to shed or are looking for a plan with a little more download speed, we may point you to a deal that makes better sense.
One little disclaimer. We say it all the time with our ISP reviews, but it bears repeating: There may be a provider out there with a seemingly perfect plan for your household but said ISP is not available at your address. It can be frustrating. But with the expansion of satellite internet service and 5G home internet options, your choices may slowly but surely begin to expand.
Here's our list of Black Friday and Cyber Monday broadband deals.
Black Friday broadband deals
- Promotion start date: Monday, Nov. 14
- Promotion end date: Sunday, Dec. 4
Astound Broadband, a national cable internet provider, features a Black Friday/Cyber Season deal in which new customers can receive up to three months of free internet service.
Additionally, Astound will also feature regional offers, including Gig service for $40 per month (Astound/RCN -- including Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and more), two years of gig service for $50 a month and free HBO Max for a year (Astound/Grande and Astound/enTouch, which covers cities like Austin, Dallas, Houston and more) and a two-year price lock (Astound/Wave -- which includes Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and others).
For specifics on offers in your area, visit www.astound.com/special-offers/cyber-deals.
- Promotion start date: Sunday, Nov. 13
- Promotion end date: Thursday, Jan. 5
AT&T has lined up several promotions for the holidays. First, existing postpaid wireless customers who sign up for a 300Mbps plan or above can get a $200 reward card.
Second, online customers who purchase an AT&T Fiber plan can qualify for either an Amazon Smart Home Accessory Package -- which includes an Echo Show 8, Blink Outdoor Camera, Blink Video Doorbell and 2 Amazon Smart Plugs -- or a reward card up to $150.
Third, new customers who sign up for an AT&T Fiber plan at a participating retail store or via call center can get free the first two months of service via bill credits. (Note: This offer is valid only in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Sacramento, San Francisco, Waco and West Palm Beach.)
Finally, new customers in all other US markets who sign up for AT&T Fiber in a participating retail store or via call center will qualify for a Google Holiday Smart Home Bundle worth $224.
- Promotion start date: Wednesday, Nov. 23
- Promotion end date: Friday, Dec. 2
Satellite internet provider HughesNet will run a Black Friday promotion featuring a $100 Prepaid Card for all new HughesNet residential customers. To be eligible, customers must lease or purchase HughesNet equipment between Nov. 23 and Dec. 2 and remain active for a minimum of 31 days. New subscribers will receive the gift card via rebate submission, which must be received by March 2, 2023.
- Promotion start date: Monday, Nov. 7
- Promotion end date: Sunday, Dec. 4
National cable and fiber provider Optimum is offering a special Black Friday deal. New subscribers to its 300Mbps and 500Mbps plans will receive $100 Visa Prepaid Cards. Customers that sign up for the 1 Gig, 2 Gig or 5 Gig tiers will earn $300 Visa gift cards.
Additionally, all new customers at 300Mbps and above will get a 12-month Service Protection added to their plans and Showtime will be included for free for 12 months.
- Promotion start date: Thursday, Nov. 17
- Promotion end date: Unknown
T-Mobile's 5G home internet product already announced a new promo earlier in November, which gives new customers a $100 prepaid debit card if they keep the service for at least 60 days. That means you get two months free.
For Black Friday and Cyber Monday, T-Mobile is adding an offer for new customers. You'll get $10 off each month when you have or add a qualifying T-Mobile voice line. You can also stack this deal with the $100 gift card.
- Promotion start date: Thursday, Nov. 17 (for Verizon Fios), Wednesday, Nov. 23 (for Verizon 5G Home Internet)
- Promotion end date: Wednesday, Jan. 4
Verizon offers several holiday deals for new home internet customers with its Verizon Fios fiber internet service and Verizon 5G Home Internet product. First, new customers -- anyone who has not been a Verizon subscriber within the last 180 days -- will get a 10-year price guarantee.
Additionally, Verizon 5G Home Plus and Fios 1 Gig (or above) customers get a $200 Doordash or Grubhub gift card.
Finally, Fios 1 Gig (or above) customers get their choice of an Amazon Echo Show 10 or a $150 Verizon gift card.
- Promotion start date: Tuesday, Nov. 1
- Promotion end date: Wednesday, Nov. 30
Satellite internet provider Viasat offers a $300 Visa prepaid card to new customers who order the Silver 45GB or Gold 65GB plans or any other plan with 150GB or 300GB of high-speed data.
Additionally, customers who purchase select plans will also get up to $300 off the regular monthly price.
- Promotion start date: Monday, Nov. 7
- Promotion end date: Wednesday, Dec. 7
Cable ISP WideOpenWest is offering discounts on various speed tiers ranging from $10-$15 off per month. New customers can also earn a Visa Rewards Card for up to $300.
To get specific details on the deals offered in each market (across the nine states WOW covers), you can visit wowway.com or contact WOW at 866-376-7003.
- Promotion start date: Tuesday, Nov. 1
- Promotion end date: Wednesday, Nov. 30
Ziply Fiber will not be doing a traditional Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion, but instead will donate $5 for every new installation to community toy drives in each of its markets in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
Black Friday internet deals FAQs
Is Black Friday really the best time to get broadband?
It could be. While many sales experts agree that May to October -- moving season -- is the prime window to find great sales and incentives on internet service, some ISPs are hopping on the holidays to extend special promos and offers beyond their recurring monthly deals.
What makes for a good internet deal?
That will differ for each household, but one good way to determine value is to look at the cost per megabit per second. For example, you might jump at a 100Mbps plan for $20 per month and skip the 500Mbps plan for $40 per month. That's $20 a month more!
However, when you look at the cost per Mbps, it's 20 cents per Mbps for the 100 plan and just 8 cents per Mbps for the 500 plan. Suppose you have several users in your household and multiple smart devices throughout the home. In that case, you'll notice the performance difference in having the 500Mbps plan versus settling for the 100Mbps option.
Lastly, don't sleep on the value of promotional perks. If a plan offers you free HBO Max, that's a savings of $15 a month or $180 a year if you were already subscribed. As more and more of us cut the cord on cable and lean on streaming services, that's an excellent value.
Are there internet promotions I should avoid during Black Friday?
We would suggest staying away from services that require you to enter into a term agreement. To sign one means you often have to pay a stiff penalty if you decide to end service before the end of the contract. Thankfully, more and more ISPs are giving up the idea of long-term contracts. But if a holiday deal requires that you sign a long-term agreement, make sure you have no other options -- or already know and like the provider -- before signing on the dotted line.