Quantum Fiber vs Spectrum
These two overlap in 90 metro areas and 609 towns and cities, so for a lot of people this is a real choice rather than a hypothetical one. The first question is not which is better. It is which of them can reach you.
Quantum Fiber is CenturyLink's consumer internet brand, so if you are comparing CenturyLink this is the same network.
Quantum Fiber vs Spectrum at a glance
| Measure | Quantum Fiber | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Fiber | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 3,157,734 | 33,900,003 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Where Quantum Fiber is available | Where Spectrum is available |
We do not publish speeds or prices here. Both providers change them constantly and by market, and a stale number is worse than no number. Coverage is the part that is federally reported and verifiable.
Where you can get both
Metro areas where both Quantum Fiber and Spectrum report service, ranked by how well covered the less available of the two is because that is what decides whether you genuinely get a choice.
These percentages count each operator's whole reported network. 24.2% of what Quantum Fiber files with the FCC is fiber. The FCC publishes that split nationally and never per metro, so a high number here means the operator reaches the metro, not that it reaches it on that technology.
| Metro area | Quantum Fiber | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Junction, CO Metro Area | 85% | 86% |
| Medford, OR Metro Area | 82% | 89% |
| Walla Walla, WA Metro Area | 81% | 84% |
| Butte-Silver Bow, MT Micro Area | 80% | 84% |
| Astoria, OR Micro Area | 80% | 89% |
| Cheyenne, WY Metro Area | 82% | 79% |
| Missoula, MT Metro Area | 75% | 80% |
| Billings, MT Metro Area | 76% | 75% |
| Casper, WY Metro Area | 74% | 82% |
| Laramie, WY Micro Area | 74% | 75% |
| Yakima, WA Metro Area | 74% | 80% |
| Great Falls, MT Metro Area | 75% | 73% |
| Cañon City, CO Micro Area | 73% | 72% |
| Helena, MT Micro Area | 72% | 71% |
| Grand Island, NE Metro Area | 76% | 71% |
| Yuma, AZ Metro Area | 69% | 87% |
| Grants Pass, OR Metro Area | 68% | 86% |
| Kalispell, MT Micro Area | 85% | 68% |
| Bozeman, MT Micro Area | 72% | 67% |
| Scottsbluff, NE Micro Area | 77% | 67% |
| Winona, MN Micro Area | 71% | 67% |
| Homosassa Springs, FL Metro Area | 66% | 94% |
| Hood River, OR Micro Area | 83% | 66% |
| Owatonna, MN Micro Area | 72% | 65% |
| Sheridan, WY Micro Area | 74% | 65% |
Showing 25 of 90 metro areas where both operate.
Where only one of them reaches
Quantum Fiber reports service in 18 states and Spectrum in 42, and they share 14 of them. Overlap is the exception, not the rule, so if you are outside the table above this is the part that answers your question.
122 metro areas have Quantum Fiber and not Spectrum
- Los Alamos, NM Micro Area 95% covered
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area 92% covered
- Salt Lake City, UT Metro Area 89% covered
- Colorado Springs, CO Metro Area 88% covered
- Boulder, CO Metro Area 88% covered
- Rock Springs, WY Micro Area 87% covered
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metro Area 87% covered
- St. George, UT Metro Area 85% covered
423 metro areas have Spectrum and not Quantum Fiber
- Kill Devil Hills, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Akron, OH Metro Area 96% covered
- Jacksonville, NC Metro Area 96% covered
- Morehead City, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area 96% covered
- Kapaa, HI Micro Area 96% covered
- Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area 95% covered
- Racine, WI Metro Area 95% covered
States where only Quantum Fiber reports service: Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah. States where only Spectrum reports service: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and 16 more.
Showing the eight best covered of each. Ranked by reported coverage within the metro, from the same FCC filing as the table above. Providers self report and overstate, so read these as a ceiling on where a company will sell to you, not a promise about your street.
Which should you pick?
Honestly, in most of the places above only one of them will actually reach your building, and that settles it. Where both do reach you, the useful question is the technology rather than the brand.
That is the case here: Quantum Fiber is mainly fiber and Spectrum is mainly cable. The practical difference is upload speed and consistency rather than headline download speed, we explain what that means here.
See which one reaches your address →
What we will not do is tell you one is better because it pays us more. See the affiliate disclosure for how that works.