Our picks
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Why we selected these suppliers
Kind by
Mixed protection areas make excessive availability
Finest 5G residence web protection
Finest fiber protection within the South, Midwest and CA
Finest cable web availability
Huge cable ISP with excessive availability within the East
Second broadest 5G protection nationwide
Respectable protection in Florida and west of the Mississippi
Nice protection within the Northeast and mid-Atlantic
Cable web protection for main metro areas
In 25 states, with fiber protection to fifteen of them
Cable and fiber web in NYC and elements of the South
Largest fastened wi-fi supplier with rural web in 16 states
Rural and suburban protection within the Midwest, South and Southwest
Cable web protection in choose main markets
Protection spans all through the Midwest and South
What’s the perfect web supplier in your space?
In the case of web suppliers, it’s possible you’ll not have multiple or two good choices. In truth, in keeping with the newest information from the Federal Communications Fee, greater than a 3rd of Individuals solely have entry to 1 don’t have any entry to an web supplier.
The best option to begin in search of a brand new web supplier is to search out out what ISPs serve your tackle. The place you reside determines which suppliers you will get, the applied sciences they use and the speeds they provide.
You might have entry to 1 or two web connection sorts, like fiber or cable, from numerous suppliers. Many areas have a minimum of one cable web supplier plus a DSL or fiber-optic ISP, whereas others could have 5G residence web choices from Verizon and T-Cellular’s widespread protection.
The most important cable web firms within the nation are Xfinity and Spectrum, whereas AT&T Fiber, Frontier Fiber and Verizon Fios make up the vast majority of fiber-optic availability. Except for the massive nationwide suppliers, there are tons of of native cable, fiber and wi-fi suppliers throughout the US.
High ISPs accessible within the nation
ISP availability is all the time altering, which is why the FCC updates supplier information twice a 12 months (see CNET’s breakdown of the FCC information). It is this information that we use to find out accessible web suppliers in your space and the applied sciences they use.
Normally, massive cities like Seattle or Chicago are the place you’ll discover the best fiber availability and quickest speeds, though cable web can ship gig obtain speeds and is accessible to roughly 21% of households. Rural areas are sometimes restricted to slower choices like DSL or satellite tv for pc, however 5G residence web — significantly from T-Cellular — or native fastened wi-fi web suppliers are a rising various to broadband service in rural areas.
Web suppliers by availability
- EarthLink: Accessible in 48 states, with 75% nationwide protection.
- T-Cellular Dwelling Web: Accessible in 49 states, with 60% nationwide protection.
- AT&T: Accessible in 21 states, with 49% nationwide protection.
- Xfinity: Accessible in 39 states, with 34% nationwide protection.
- Spectrum: Accessible in 41 states, with 29% nationwide protection.
- Verizon 5G Dwelling Web: Accessible in 50 states, with 22% nationwide protection.
- CenturyLink and Quantum Fiber: Accessible in 16 states, with 11% nationwide protection.
- Verizon Fios: Accessible in 9 states, with 9% nationwide protection.
- Cox: Accessible in 18 states, with 5% nationwide protection.
- Frontier: Accessible in 29 states, with 5% nationwide protection.
- Optimum: Accessible in 21 states, with 7% nationwide protection.
- Rise Broadband: Accessible in 16 states, with lower than 1% nationwide protection.
- Windstream: Accessible in 18 states, with 2% nationwide protection.
- Astound: Accessible in 12 states, with 2% nationwide protection.
- Mediacom: Accessible in 22 states, with 2% nationwide protection.
There is a good probability a number of of the 15 suppliers listed above can be found in your space. You will discover detailed details about every supplier’s availability and community under.
10 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $190 per thirty days
Our take – EarthLink has among the finest protection areas of any ISP. Roughly 200 million individuals are serviceable for EarthLink because of the supplier’s distinctive strategy to delivering service. As an alternative of working fiber, coaxial or DSL strains to properties, EarthLink makes use of the networks of different main suppliers, like AT&T, CenturyLink and Frontier, to supply web service. Because of this, EarthLink primarily boasts the provision of a number of suppliers mixed.
10 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $190 per thirty days
Fastened wi-fi
72 – 245 Mbps
$60 per thirty days
Our take – 5G wi-fi service is nice for our telephones, however T-Cellular is proving the expertise may also function a main residence web connection. Since launching its 5G community only a few years in the past, T-Cellular has shortly expanded its residence web service to cowl many US households throughout each state, excluding Alaska.
Fastened wi-fi
72 – 245 Mbps
$60 per thirty days
300 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $250 per thirty days
Our take – AT&T web could also be accessible close to you when you dwell in or are shifting to the South or Midwest, in addition to elements of California, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Nevada.
300 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $250 per thirty days
150 – 2,000 Mbps
$19 – $95 per thirty days
Our take – Xfinity is the biggest cable web supplier within the US, extending broadband service to greater than a 3rd of all households. Xfinity could also be accessible in your space when you dwell within the mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest or alongside the West Coast, however random pockets of serviceability will be present in a lot of the South in addition to elements of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
150 – 2,000 Mbps
$19 – $95 per thirty days
500 – 1,000 Mbps
$50 – $80 per thirty days
Our take – The probabilities of your family being serviceable for this supplier are very doubtless. Spectrum is the second-largest cable supplier within the US behind Xfinity, protecting almost a 3rd of the inhabitants throughout 41 states. Though the 2 suppliers cowl almost 63% of US households mixed, there may be little to no overlap in serviceability as Spectrum primarily operates in areas the place Xfinity doesn’t.
500 – 1,000 Mbps
$50 – $80 per thirty days
Fastened wi-fi
85 – 1,000 Mbps
$50 – $70 per thirty days
Our take – Verizon’s 5G protection comes at an in depth second to T-Cellular’s. Nonetheless, Verizon’s dedication to increasing its providers throughout the nation is nothing wanting extraordinary. For instance, in keeping with T-Cellular’s newest quarterly report, its Dwelling Web buyer base grew to simply over 6.4 million. Verizon’s 5G newest quarterly report places its buyer base at greater than 12 million on the finish of the fourth quarter of 2024.
Fastened wi-fi
85 – 1,000 Mbps
$50 – $70 per thirty days
10 – 140 Mbps
$55 per thirty days
Our take – Lumen Applied sciences (CenturyLink, Quantum Fiber) had the biggest protection space of almost any supplier, excluding satellite tv for pc, earlier than promoting a piece of networks within the East to ISP newcomer Brightspeed. Nonetheless, Lumen Applied sciences has a reasonably large presence, significantly within the western half of the US, because of its DSL (CenturyLink) and fiber (Quantum Fiber) networks.
10 – 140 Mbps
$55 per thirty days
300 – 2,000 Mbps
$50 – $120 per thirty days
Our take – Verizon Fios covers a lot of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Though service is barely accessible in 9 states, Verizon nonetheless covers a formidable variety of US households, thanks largely to the supplier’s in depth fiber protection in cities equivalent to Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Verizon additionally provides fastened wi-fi service in choose areas throughout the US, however the supplier’s main service areas are reserved for the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
300 – 2,000 Mbps
$50 – $120 per thirty days
Principally cable, some fiber
100 – 2,000 Mbps
$50 – $110 per thirty days
Our take – Cox Communications is the third largest cable supplier within the US, however availability general is way decrease than Xfinity and Spectrum, protecting lower than 5% of residents throughout 18 states. Cox is most certainly to be accessible in your space when you dwell in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Oklahoma Metropolis, Phoenix, San Diego or wherever within the state of Rhode Island.
Principally cable, some fiber
100 – 2,000 Mbps
$50 – $110 per thirty days
500 – 5,000 Mbps
$50 – $155 per thirty days
Our take – Frontier Communications misplaced a piece of its community after promoting fiber and DSL strains within the Pacific Northwest to Ziply Fiber in 2020, however the supplier continues to be one of many largest fiber and DSL suppliers, protecting round a tenth of US residents throughout 29 states. Frontier serviceability is biggest within the Midwest, however there’s additionally probability Frontier is accessible in your space when you dwell in California, Connecticut, upstate New York or West Virginia.
500 – 5,000 Mbps
$50 – $155 per thirty days
300 – 8,000 Mbps
$40 – $280 per thirty days
Our take – Optimum protection spans the higher New York Metropolis space and numerous elements of states throughout the US, together with Arkansas, Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.
300 – 8,000 Mbps
$40 – $280 per thirty days
Fastened wi-fi
$45 – $65 per thirty days
Our take – Rise Broadband finest serves rural areas as it’s the nation’s largest fastened wi-fi supplier excluding T-Cellular Dwelling Web and Verizon 5G Dwelling Web. Fastened wi-fi web would not require a cable or cellphone line to your house, making it perfect for rural web service. Consequently, rural areas are the place you are most certainly to search out Rise Broadband, particularly these within the central US or rural elements of Idaho, Nevada and Texas.
Fastened wi-fi
$45 – $65 per thirty days
100 – 1,000 Mbps
$40 – $70 per thirty days
Our take – One other champion of rural areas, Windstream’s web service, Kinetic, is accessible in 18 states however solely about 2% of US households. Kinetic web could also be accessible in your space when you dwell in a rural or suburban space within the South or Midwest, however Kinetic protection does attain as far west as New Mexico. Iowa, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas have the best Kinetic serviceability, however you may additionally discover Kinetic web close to you in elements of Arkansas, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, amongst different states.
100 – 1,000 Mbps
$40 – $70 per thirty days
100 – 1,500 Mbps
$20 – $80 per thirty days
Our take – You might have identified Astound by one other identify (RCN, Grande Communications or Wave Broadband), however the supplier is well-established in some main markets, together with Boston, Chicago, New York Metropolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
100 – 1,500 Mbps
$20 – $80 per thirty days
100 – 1,000 Mbps
$25 – $80 per thirty days
Our take – Mediacom covers random areas all through a lot of the Midwest, however you may discover service in elements of the South alongside the Gulf Coast and in southern Georgia, in addition to elements of jap North Carolina and alongside the southern Delaware/Maryland border. All in all, Mediacom is accessible to simply over 2% of US residents with protection spanning 22 states.
100 – 1,000 Mbps
$25 – $80 per thirty days
High web suppliers in contrast
The plans proven under function every supplier’s least expensive accessible tier. The utmost velocity is the highest marketed velocity for that given plan, but it surely may not be accessible in your space. Total, the perfect choice for you — and essentially the most cost-effective plan — is likely to be a distinct tier that offers a quicker velocity at the next worth however a greater worth. To extra totally perceive this value-based strategy, try CNET’s information to inspecting the fee per Mbps.
Present extra (14 gadgets)
Supply: CNET evaluation of supplier information.
What web suppliers are in your metropolis?
What web suppliers serve your metropolis? We offer an in-depth take a look at the perfect web suppliers in cities throughout the US, from New York to San Francisco. Click on any of the hyperlinks under to study extra about accessible web choices within the space.
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Austin, Texas
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Brooklyn, New York
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Chicago, Illinois
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dallas, Texas
- Denver, Colorado
- Detroit, Michigan
- Houston, Texas
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Los Angeles, California
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Oklahoma Metropolis, Oklahoma
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New York, New York
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Portland, Oregon
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Diego, California
- San Francisco, California
- Seattle, Washington
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Washington D.C.
We did not overlook about native web suppliers
Round fifteen or so web suppliers make up the vast majority of web serviceability, however there are actually 1000’s of smaller ISPs that function in hyperlocal markets. Suppliers equivalent to Armstrong, Ziply Fiber and WideOpenWest (amongst many others) do an awesome job of serving their native communities — there are just too many to record right here.
Broadband and high-speed web availability
In line with the FCC, 99.97% of US residents have entry to a broadband web connection, which it defines as one that may present obtain speeds of as much as 100 megabits per second and add speeds of 20Mbps.
Nonetheless, this quantity would not mirror the broadband divide. This means that the FCC numbers are excessive, and satellite tv for pc web could possibly be an element. Once you take away satellite tv for pc expertise from the record, broadband availability drops to 89%, with lower than a 3rd of US residents having three or extra ISPs of their space. As you go up in velocity from 25 to 100, 250 and 1,000Mbps, availability drops to 46%: It is evident that high-speed choices are sorely restricted.
Web availability by expertise
The accessible web tech sort could make a giant distinction in accessible speeds and efficiency. Fiber web is the popular choice, because it comes with symmetrical add and obtain velocity and superior reliability, however availability continues to be comparatively low. Until you reside in or close to a big metropolis, it is unlikely you may discover fiber web close to you.
Cable web is one other widespread alternative for high-speed web in lots of areas. It boasts a lot greater availability than fiber web however doesn’t supply quick add speeds or the identical constant reliability. DSL and stuck wi-fi web are wonderful rural web choices, however they can not examine to the speeds or reliability of fiber or cable connections.
For an extra breakdown on the varied sorts of web, try our information to web connection sorts.
Web connection sort availability
| Connection sort | Nationwide availability | 25Mbps or greater protection | 100Mbps or greater protection | 250Mbps or greater protection | 1,000Mbps or greater protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cable | 83% | 83% | 83% | 80% | 18% |
| DSL | 44% | 21% | 4% | 1% | 0% |
| Fiber | 42% | 43% | 43% | 42% | 33% |
| Fastened wi-fi | 80% | 64% | 41% | 10% | 1% |
Present extra (0 merchandise)
How to decide on the perfect web in your space
Discovering the perfect web supplier in your space begins with discovering what’s accessible. Once more, the search software additional up the web page offers you an thought of what suppliers serve your space, the speeds they provide and the way a lot it prices.
When you’ve narrowed down the accessible web suppliers in your space, evaluate the plans and repair phrases. Search for a plan that provides the speeds you want for the bottom worth, but additionally be conscious of potential information caps and overage charges, contract necessities, tools rental charges and different elements that may have an effect on your service and month-to-month fee.
For extra tips about how to decide on the correct web supplier and plan, see our information to choosing the right residence web service.
How we chosen the highest ISPs in your space
CNET takes under consideration all the things the typical buyer ought to know when figuring out the perfect web service suppliers. Connection sort, speeds, pricing, service phrases, buyer satisfaction and different attributes are all the time essential, however broadband availability is the first consideration when specializing in the ISPs which may be in your space.
We supply the newest FCC information to find out supplier availability and the applied sciences they use. It’s not excellent, but it surely does assist us to determine the highest web suppliers when it comes to availability and the place to search out them.
Take a look at our web page on how we evaluate web suppliers for extra info.
Web in my space FAQs
Why aren’t there extra web choices close to me?
The price of increasing to and working in a brand new space, particularly one already serviced by a competing ISP, is the principle issue that stops suppliers from providing service in additional areas. Because of this, it is common for households to have availability to only one supplier of a selected service sort.
For instance, though cable web is accessible to 82% of households, solely 7% have entry to multiple cable web supplier. A number of supplier choices are much more restricted with fiber-optic service. Roughly 43% of households are eligible for fiber web, however lower than 3% have multiple choice.
When will new web suppliers come to my space?
It is troublesome to say if the biggest cable and fiber suppliers will proceed increasing into new service areas, however smaller suppliers — and people with doubtlessly industry-disrupting applied sciences — may lead the broadband enlargement efforts in coming years.
5G residence web, from suppliers together with T-Cellular and Verizon, is off to a promising begin, delivering high-speed broadband to underserved areas and creating much-needed competitors in others. Satellite tv for pc web — from SpaceX’s Starlink, in addition to Amazon’s upcoming Mission Kuiper — can also be set to enhance broadband choices in rural and suburban areas in coming years.
That is thrilling information for rural areas, however what about extra choices in metro areas, the place residents usually have the selection between a cable or fiber supplier? Suppliers like Starry Web, which makes use of a hard and fast wi-fi community, already supply inexpensive, high-speed options to the standard established suppliers.
Briefly, I would not look to the large suppliers and established applied sciences to convey new web choices to your space anytime quickly. The exception right here could possibly be fiber web, which has nearly doubled its availability within the final 5 years. Fiber availability has solely elevated by 1 to 2% per 12 months since 2018, indicating that fiber enlargement is slowing.
Why is the web in my space so sluggish?
A number of elements can contribute to sluggish web speeds, but when the web in your space — not simply your house — is sluggish, it is doubtless because of the expertise. Satellite tv for pc and DSL web, frequent web choices in rural areas, are slower than most different connection sorts, usually maxing out at 25 to 100Mbps.
When you’ve got cable or fiber web service and your connection is constantly sluggish, it could possibly be the results of utilizing Wi-Fi, which might considerably cut back your precise, examined speeds in comparison with the speeds the supplier is sending to your house. Resetting your router or upgrading to a brand new router may enhance your Wi-Fi speeds. You might also contemplate upgrading your plan to a quicker velocity if accessible. Take a look at our information on increase your Wi-Fi speeds at residence.
What are the perfect web offers or reductions for brand spanking new prospects?
New prospects will usually get the bottom introductory pricing, however different perks together with present playing cards and free set up can also be accessible. Verizon Fios has arguably the perfect bonus provides of any supplier, though new prospects can usually rating a present card with AT&T, Frontier Fiber, WideOpenWest and different suppliers.
For a take a look at the newest provides from high ISPs, try our rundown of the perfect web offers.
How do I arrange my new web service and the way lengthy does it take?
Most web suppliers supply skilled set up at no additional cost. Your set up skilled will deal with establishing your tools and working any wanted cables. Set up occasions can range, however a routine set up ought to take an hour or two. When preliminary or in depth wiring is required, set up can take as much as 4 hours and even longer to finish.
Choose suppliers supply self-installation, permitting you to arrange your tools in your time and at your comfort. Set up directions needs to be included along with your tools, however the course of is often little greater than plugging in your router. Self-installation could take half-hour or much less to finish. Name your supplier’s technical assist line for help if wanted.