CUTTING THE CORD - We installed fiber internet!

After years of rising prices, forced channel bundles, and frustrating customer service from Comcast / Xfinity, we finally decided we’d had enough. We were paying for channels we never watched, and a large portion of the bill was made up of fees and taxes. Meanwhile, Comcast has been losing customers and raising prices on the ones who remain.

When fiber internet finally became available in our neighborhood, we made the switch.

If you have the opportunity to switch to fiber — do it.

November 14 – Finally Ordering Fiber

We had wanted fiber internet for a long time. Surf had installed service throughout much of our town the year before, but they completely skipped all around our subdivision. Then one day, installers showed up and began running the main trunk line down our road.

When they reached the stop sign at the intersection, I called Surf and requested service.

It was a toss-up between 1 Gig and 2 Gig service. In the end, I chose 2 Gig because Surf was offering a lifetime price lock. If they ever discontinue that offer, I didn’t want to regret choosing the lower speed. My internal home network already runs at 2.5 Gig speeds, so 2 Gig service made perfect sense.

The goal was simple: replace overpriced, unreliable Comcast Xfinity service as soon as possible.

November 18 & 24 - Neighborhood Distribution Line Work

Over the next couple of weeks, installers were active all along our road. They worked in our yard on two different days. All underground utilities had been pre-marked. We had flags labeled “BrightSpeed” marking fiber placement areas along with flags for the gas and electric service.

Crews worked in unmarked white trucks throughout the neighborhood. At one point, they nearly hit a buried gas line in our yard. This was not the installers’ fault. I was told by a worker that the line had been marked incorrectly by USIC. Thankfully, they were careful and avoided damage. There were no serious issues.

When the digging was complete, the yard was restored properly. You can still see signs of activity and equipment tracks. By spring it should look like the installers were never there.

As of this writing, Surf has completed installation on our road only. The other 30+ homes in the subdivision are still waiting, but I assume they’ll continue expanding.

December 31, Hookup Day & Equipment

Hookup day went smoothly.

Our next-door neighbor has a fiber junction box at the front edge of his property. On installation day, the crew opened that box and ran a line to the side of our house.

Because the ground was frozen, the fiber line was temporarily left above ground until spring burial. There were no issues with the exposed line.

Inside the house, the installer was excellent — knowledgeable, professional, and spoke clear English. I requested that the fiber be routed to the same central location where our old cable modem had been installed. He accommodated that without hesitation.

Surf uses Adtran fiber modems. Adtran is a well-respected networking company in the IT industry, not generic equipment. The modem installed was a 2.5G unit, which fit perfectly with my network setup.

Once connected, my existing Wi-Fi network detected the connection immediately. The installer tested speeds on his handheld device, and I ran my own Speedtest by Ookla on my laptop and from my desktop (see below).

The results were outstanding:
We now have symmetrical download and upload speeds with a 4ms ping time.

Adtran 2.5G fiber modem


Speed Test by Ookla

Wi-Fi Equipment Choice

A couple of months before the install, I had already upgraded to a GL.iNet Flint 3 Wi-Fi 7 router. Because of that, I declined the Eero equipment Surf was offering.

Eero is owned by Amazon. Amazon is widely known for data collection through products like Alexa, Ring, and Blink. Many IT professionals prefer more control over their networking hardware, and I’m no exception.

The Flint 3 paired seamlessly with the new fiber connection.

First Week of Service

During the transition, I ran 24/7 internet monitoring software to log any outage. During the first week, there were several service interruptions. Installers were still working in the area, so it was understandable.

One evening, service was down for about four hours after 9pm. Another day, it was down for roughly an hour. We also had a pair short outages.

After that first week, there have been no recorded issues.

February 16 – Line Burial

At 7:40am one morning, a contractor arrived to bury the fiber line. I had worked late the night before, so the equipment noise woke me up.

Although they apparently knocked, they did not ring the video doorbell, and I received no notification. I went outside to speak with the worker.

What concerned me most was that the yard had NOT been marked with pink utility flags beforehand. Surf had previously said we would be notified so we could call someone to have that done. There are multiple utilities buried in that same area. Fortunately, nothing was hit, and the yard was left in good condition. The workers pulled up all the marker flags for all the homes on the road.

There were no incident but better communication would have prevented a possible mishap. At this point I'm assuming the installation is complete.

February 20 – Confusion

I looked outside. USIC had showed up and remarked the entire yard and the nextdoor neighbors yard. But why? The fiber installers had completed work and were no longer in the area. The main distribution line is buried and the lines to the homes are buried. There is nothing left. I think someone at USIC is confused.

Pricing: The Real Game Changer

This is where the real difference shows. Our new bill is $95 per month for 2 Gig fiber internet.

Previously, our Comcast Xfinity bill which included internet and TV, had climbed to just over $300. After adjustments, we got it down to $270 which was still far too high. A large portion of that total was fees and taxes.

By switching to Surf, our bill was reduced by $175 per month! We now use part of the savings for streaming services and we'll still come out ahead — with the bonus of twice the internet speed.

Currently, there are no additional fees or hidden taxes on the bill. That may change in the future — this is Illinois, after all — but for now, pricing is straightforward.

Final Thoughts

The switch to fiber has been a smart move.

Aside from minor communication issues and the short service interruptions during the first week, everything has gone well. After two months, the connection remains fast and reliable.

Surf Fiber Rating: 8/10
Points deducted for early outages, utility marking, and lack of notification for the line burial in the yard.

Comcast Xfinity Rating: 4/10
Speed was acceptable, but pricing, reliability, and customer service were disappointing.

If fiber is available in your area, it’s worth serious consideration. For us, cutting the cord has meant lower bills, faster speeds, and fewer headaches.