An internet connection is one of the biggest dilemmas in a student’s life. Whether you are at a café, at university, or just at home, you never know when your teacher might upload a task or an assignment, and you have to rush to complete and submit it for that extra grade. It’s truly exhausting.
Though, things get a little bit better if you have a great internet connection. Because then, you can at least coordinate with your friends and classmates and work through it together. Or you can use the internet and get some help from there.
This brings us to the topic we have to discuss for today: Internet for students, or more specifically, Wave Internet for students. Wave, now known as Astound Broadband powered by Wave, is an ISP that offers services in states along the West Coast. If you are currently living or studying there, surely you have heard about Wave Internet as well. It is a popular internet provider and has a good reputation for its high-speed internet, entertainment-filled TV, and quality phone service.
So, getting back to the topic at hand, it only makes sense for us to explore this option and see if Wave internet is the right option for a student.
Wave Internet Plans
To assess Wave Internet, we will first need to look at the internet plans and the basic details of the plan. So, here we have made a table containing information about these plans and their rates. We would also like to point out here that each plan has some specific terms and conditions that you must abide by to get the offer. Take a look at the plans in detail so you know what you are getting into if you choose to sign up with Wave.
| Internet Plans | Download Speed Range | Pricing Plan |
100 Mbps Plan | Speed up to 100 Mbps(Availability of offer is limited to select areas.) | $40/mo. Offer valid for 24 months only in select areas. Equipment is priced separately. |
500 Mbps Plan | Speed up to 500 Mbps(Availability of offer is limited to select areas.) | $39.95/mo. Offer valid for the first 12 months only in select areas. This offer excludes any additional fees and surcharges. Pay with Autopay or e-bill to get a $5 discount for 12 months. Equipment is priced separately. |
1 Gig Plan | Speed up to 940 Mbps(Availability of offer is limited to select areas.) | $49.95/mo. Offer valid for the first 12 months only in select areas. This offer excludes any additional fees and surcharges. Pay with Autopay or e-bill to get a $5 discount for 12 months. Equipment is priced separately. |
1.2 Gig Plan | Speed up to 1200 Mbps(Availability of offer is limited to select areas.) | $59.95/mo. Offer valid for the first 12 months only in select areas. This offer excludes any additional fees and surcharges. Pay with Autopay or e-bill to get a $5 discount for 12 months. Equipment is priced separately. |
What Should You Be Looking For In An Internet Plan As A Student?
As a student, there are some requirements you need to fulfill for an internet requirement. Maybe you need a high-speed internet connection and you don’t mind the data caps. Or you might be looking for one with a high-reliability rate, but you also need to keep your budget in mind. Similarly, there could be a thousand other possibilities for every other student.
What matters right now is what you are looking for and how you can identify which factors are important for you and which aren’t. To help you with that, we have added this section to talk about the different factors that you should judge the plans against. Let’s get right into it then!
Reliability
Reliability is a must for every plan! This is something that nobody can or should compromise on. Even if you have a plan with a low internet speed, you should have the confidence that if you were ever to face any issues, you can call your ISP and they will get it fixed right away.
Reliability doesn’t just stop at the plan, after all, rather it extends to customer service as well. This means that your internet connection should be mostly stable, and whenever it is falling behind, the customer service that follows should be just as helpful and efficient.
Oftentimes, students tend to sacrifice reliability for the sole reason of cost. One thing about this is that higher costs do not always mean higher reliability and similarly, lower costs don’t always mean lesser reliability. Honestly, reliability depends on the provider and you can get a good internet plan with good reliability at an affordable price too. Just be careful and aware of where to look!
Cost
Being a student means saving money wherever and however you can. Things can get tough at any time and you need to be ready to face the music at that time. You even have to think about the student loans and how you will ever be able to pay that back. Moreover, your day-to-day life is not exempted from spending either with all your groceries, stationery, clothes, books, rent, transportation, and more.
Internet plans can indeed be very costly, but that doesn’t mean you should settle for just any terrible mobile phone plan. A lot of ISPs have student discounts and offers that you can avail of. And you should! The key here is to do your research extensively and properly. If you can’t find the relevant information on the website, you should still place a call or visit and ask in person. Some plans and discounts are just not advertised as well as others.
Things can get easier if you have roommates or flatmates to divide your bill amongst. That way, you can get a bigger plan and not have to pay too much from your end. So, our advice would be to ask around and see if you and your roommates would want to try that option too. Since everyone needs an internet connection, they would most probably love the idea too!
Availability
Availability is of course something you cannot miss out on. You can’t subscribe or purchase an internet plan when it’s not available in your area. This much is pretty much obvious and maybe even the first thing most people check.
If we were to put in our two cents, things would be much easier for you if you were to check the availability first and then the internet plans and details for those ISPs. This would shorten the process and help you decide much more quickly.
Usually, area-wise availability is not really mentioned on the official websites or pages of the ISP. At best, you might get city-wise availability and that’s it. To know for sure if it is available in your area, you should check out websites that allow you to add your address or ZIP code and then let you know what’s available in your area. You can also just choose to call 1-844-343-1375 and ask away!
Speed
After reliability, cost, and availability, comes speed. Internet speed is another important factor for students since they need to submit assignments and reports, download material and media, and much more. They can’t afford to do all of these things with a poor internet connection. But, how much speed you need is the million-dollar question here. This is something you will have to figure out for yourself based on the activities you perform using the internet.
Of course, you can always seek the help of a more experienced person, like a customer service representative or even just a senior who was once in your position. To give you a fair idea, a basic plan with 10 Mbps is just enough for little schoolwork and browsing. However, if you are taking online classes or gaming, you need far more than that. And with more roommates sharing the connection, the more speed you will need.
Does Wave Tick All The Boxes?
So, does Wave qualify as a good internet connection for students? Based on the plans and important factors that we discussed above, let’s make a quick check. In terms of speed, Wave Internet offers a range of internet speeds making it easier for students with different requirements to find and get what they need.
As far as availability goes, Wave is available in many cities in California, Washington, and Oregon. To find out, particularly, if it is available in your area, just call us at 1-844-343-1375 and our customer agents will be more than happy to help you out!
In terms of cost, Wave Internet has some pretty reasonable deals that students can manage to pay off as well. Whether you do it alone or divide and purchase it as a group, you have plans that you can purchase and they perfectly fit all your needs.
Lastly, if you are wondering about reliability, the reviews and reputation of Wave internet speak for its quality. You can look into the reviews online and you will learn that Wave is one of the best options you will find on the West Coast.
The Verdict
So, what do you think? Is Wave the right plan for you? If you ask us, we believe that it is! While it may not be the best provider, it still stands to be one of the best. And since it is now under the Astound umbrella, you can be sure of new and improved technologies and operations from them.
But, one thing remains for sure, Wave is a wonderful ISP for students considering the factors and perks that come with it. If you want to subscribe to a plan, you know just what to do!
