Charter Communications (CHTR Quick QuoteCHTR - Free Report) owned Spectrum, the #1 rural Internet provider in the nation, is making significant strides in expanding its Internet, Mobile, TV, and Voice services in Cleveland County, North Carolina and other rural communities.

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has invested approximately $5 billion in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) to build a fiber-optic network in unserved rural communities, with a focus on providing broadband access. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Spectrum's RDOF expansion aims to provide broadband access to 1.3 million customer locations across 24 states in the coming years.

Spectrum has won more than $700 million in state broadband expansion subsidies, which, combined with its investment, will connect an additional 300,000 homes and small businesses.

Spectrum Internet offers speeds up to 1 Gbps with no modem fees, data caps, or contracts. Spectrum Business Internet provides 1 Gbps download speeds with multiple speed options.

Spectrum's initiatives are aimed at bridging the digital divide in rural areas, providing high-speed Internet and a range of services to enhance connectivity for residents and businesses.

Spectrum is working on a network evolution that will provide gigabit upstream speeds and multiple gigabit download speeds across its entire 41-state service area.

Spectrum is participating in the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program, providing quality, high-speed Internet service at a low or no cost to eligible families in financial need.

Charter’s Spectrum Faces Tough Competition

Spectrum Mobile is the nation’s fastest-growing mobile provider, offering access to nationwide 5G at competitive prices, starting at $29.99 a month for Unlimited lines. Spectrum TV offers more than 270 HD channels and access to 85,000 On Demand movies and shows. The Spectrum TV App allows streaming across various platforms.

However, Spectrum faces intense competition from the likes of T-Mobile (TMUS Quick QuoteTMUS - Free Report) , Comcast (CMCSA Quick QuoteCMCSA - Free Report) and Verizon (VZ Quick QuoteVZ - Free Report) over desired Internet speed options for users.

Spectrum’s wired Internet service is definitely faster than T-Mobile’s. Users can get reliable Internet speeds from 300–1,000 Mbps. Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s speeds range from 72 to 245 Mbps. Both companies have respectable upload speeds, making them fine options for gamers and work-from-homers.

One of the biggest differences between Spectrum and Comcast’s Xfinity is that the former offers its Internet plans with no data caps and no contracts, making it a great choice for cord-cutters who plan on using a lot of data without being locked into a contract. Xfinity, on the other hand, has a 1.2 TB data cap on all of its home Internet plans.

While Spectrum and Xfinity both offer the same standard home Internet speeds between 300 Mbps and 1,000 Mbps, that marks the end of options for Spectrum’s service. Xfinity offers customers a huge range of Internet speeds from 50 Mbps for casual email checkers all the way to a 2,000 Mbps download and upload plan that is twice as fast as Spectrum’s highest speed offering.

Spectrum and Verizon offer Internet plans with download speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps. However, Verizon uses a 100% fiber optic network, while Spectrum uses coaxial cables. Fiber optic cables are technologically superior and can provide faster Internet speeds regardless of the number of users.