ConnectNYC vs Astound · verified 7 Aug 2026
What Astound’s $30 leaves open.
Astound advertised $30 for the first 12 months on its New York offer page when we checked — with bank-account AutoPay and paperless e-bill required. It did not show an upload figure or the post-promotion dollar rate beside the plan. A separate fee-disclosure page listed two company-retained fees. Here is the dated record.
Source: astound.com/new-york/internet/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Source: astound.com/support/billing/taxes/new-york/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Check it yourself
What the pages we checked actually showed.
Read as of 7 Aug 2026. These are observations from the cited New York offer and fee-disclosure pages, not claims about every page Astound publishes.
1. The upload figure is not on the offer card
On the New York offer page we checked, Astound labeled the cable plan card “Mbps Download” and did not show an upload figure beside it.
Source: astound.com/new-york/internet/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Ours is on every plan: 150/50, 300/100, 600/200. Upload is the half that carries your video call and your file out the door — and on cable it is the half that narrows.
2. The price in month thirteen
The 12-month offer says “Regular rates apply after promotion ends.” The offer page we checked did not show that regular rate as a dollar figure beside the promotion.
Source: astound.com/new-york/internet/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Ours is the same number in month thirteen as month one — $89, $119, $149 — and that is in the subscriber agreement, not a banner.
3. Two fees, amounts not stated
The New York fee-disclosure page we checked lists a “Network Access and Maintenance Fee” and a “Municipal Construction Surcharge” among charges the company assesses and retains. The New York offer page did not state their dollar amounts beside the advertised price.
Source: astound.com/support/billing/taxes/new-york/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
We add nothing to the monthly plan price. Taxes are included. Apartment installation is $150 once.
4. What the $30 actually requires
The full advertised discount required automated bank-account payment and paperless e-bill enrollment when checked. The offer terms end the discount if AutoPay or e-bill is canceled.
Source: astound.com/new-york/internet/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Our price has no AutoPay, paperless-billing, or bundled-phone condition. It stays fixed while service remains active on that plan.
Same tier, side by side
300 against 300.
Their cable product at the 300 Mbps tier against our Plus plan, from each company’s own advertising on 7 Aug 2026. Their pricing is set per address — confirm yours with them.
| At 300 Mbps | ConnectNYC Plus | Astound 300 Mbps cable |
|---|---|---|
| Upload speed | 100 Mbps, published | Not published in their cable advertising |
| Price in month 13 | $119 — same as month one | “Regular rates apply” — amount not published |
| Monthly fees added on | No taxes or fees added to the monthly plan price | Two company fees; amounts not published |
| Conditions on the price | None | Bank-account AutoPay for the full discount |
| Typical latency | About 10 ms, published | On their label for your address |
| Speed commitment | The NYC Speed Guarantee in writing, on download and upload | None advertised |
| Advertised monthly price | $119 | $30 with bank-account AutoPay, first 12 months |
| Getting started | $150 install in an apartment | Check the address-specific order for the current installation charge and any eligibility-based discount |
| Contract, termination, data caps | None, none, none | None, none, none |
| Who owns the network | We do — end to end, and we answer for it | Astound Broadband, operating in New York as RCN Telecom Services of New York, LP |
Source: astound.com/new-york/internet/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Source: astound.com/support/billing/taxes/new-york/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Where they win
Their $30 year is cheaper than ours.
The 300 Mbps offer was $30 with bank-account AutoPay and e-bill for the first 12 months when checked, against our $119 300/100 plan. If the monthly number during that window is the whole decision, theirs is smaller. Confirm the current offer at your address.
Source: astound.com/new-york/internet/ — checked 7 Aug 2026.
Our footprint is narrow. We serve W 57th to W 110th Street, Central Park West to the Hudson. Outside that published zone, ConnectNYC is not an option today.
Inside those blocks the trade is simple. Pay us more per month. Get a published upload figure, no fees on the monthly bill, and a price that stays fixed while you stay on the plan. Check every one of those before you sign.
The short version
One price. Both numbers. No fees on the monthly bill.
Download, upload, and latency are on our Broadband Facts labels before you buy. No AutoPay condition, no bundle, no promotional end date, and no fee at the bottom of the bill.
And we operate the whole path — the IP space, the transport, the radios, the cabling in your hallway. When something breaks, the company that bills you is the company that fixes it, with nobody to hand it off to. How the network is built →
Weighing someone else? The same dated side-by-sides: vs Spectrum, vs Optimum, vs T-Mobile 5G, vs Starlink.
Both numbers, before you buy.
Check my area.
The Astound offer page we checked on 7 Aug 2026 did not show an upload number. Ours is on the Broadband Facts label. Start with your address.
The checker answers for the area, W 57th to 110th St; one apartment is enough to ask. A person checks the exact building, then replies by email with the result. If a survey is the next step, we can offer one as soon as the next day.