Xfinity vs. Verizon

After Verizon announced a $12 per month price increase on my 2GB data 4G mobile phone service in June, I decided it was time to take a look at my other options. My goal is to have the same level of service with the same or lower cost. Unfortunately, Verizon no longer has a dedicated 4G plan and is trying to force their customers into their more expensive 5G Unlimited plans. I have the Verizon Small 2GB shared data plan. Two lines on that plan was $79 per month in June. I received an email from Verizon on June 28th stating "Due to rising operational costs, you'll see an increase of $12/mo. on your current plan, which will appear on your bill as a separate charge, no sooner than 8.2.22." The bill for July was $83 due to an increase in the surcharge fee.

Previous Surcharges

• Fed Universal Service Charge: $0.32
• Regulatory Charge: $0.16
• Administrative Charge: $1.95
• WI Universal Service Fund: $.024

New Surcharges

• Fed Universal Service Charge: $0.59
• Regulatory Charge: $0.16
• Admin & Telco Recovery Charge: $3.30
• WI Universal Service Fund: $.024

You can see an increase in the admin charge. Also, since my phone number has a 715-area code, I have to pay fees and taxes as if I was still living in Wisconsin. It doesn't look like the July bill includes the charge mentioned in the Verizon email. That would mean the cell phone bill will be increasing to $95. The lowest cost mobile plans available are the Unlimited 5G for $35 per line before taxes and fees and a $25 per month prepaid plan with 5GB of data. Verizon is good at adding fees. My current plan fee after discounts is $32.20, plus a $20 access fee for each line. Every time I upgrade to a newer phone, there is a $35 upgrade fee. Xfinity isn't much better when it comes to fees. I only use them for Internet service, and I own my modem and router. I have the Performance Select Internet Plan, with a max of 100 Mbps download speed and a 1229GB monthly data limit. This plan isn't very fast, but it allows us to stream movies without going over the monthly data limit. 

Xfinity/Comcast offers mobile plans to their Internet subscription customers, and they use Verizon's mobile network. An unlimited talk/text mobile plan for 2 lines with 3GB of shared data would cost $30 per month before taxes and fees. So, instead of spending $153 per month at separate companies, I could get mobile and Internet from Xfinity for $93 per month. Although, Xfinity does bill mobile service as a separate auto-pay charge and, if you move and have to cancel your Internet subscription, they add a $25 fee to each mobile line on your account. The other option would be to get both mobile and Internet service from Verizon. That would be $145 per month. Not much savings there unless you consider the customer support factor.

I have concerns about having both services with Xfinity because of their historically low customer approval ratings and annual price increases. The Xfinity mobile app is rated 3.8 out of 5 on the Google App store. There are many 1-star reviews from people complaining about the poor quality of the app and lack of customer support. The cost savings is why most people switch to Xfinity mobile. But it also depends on the value you place on good customer support. I have looked at Mint Mobile but didn't like the fact that you have to pay up 3 or more months in advance and they are not on Verizon's network. US Mobile was another strong contender, but their app also had poor reviews. Consumer Cellular has great customer service, but their plans are not as good as Xfinity. If you are a Xfinity Internet subscriber, consider using my affiliate link if you are thinking about switching to Xfinity Mobile.