Best Internet Service By Area

Amazing internet needs the best internet service. Finding the right internet service provider (or ISP) is the first step to getting the internet options you want.

Are you wondering, “Who’s the best internet provider in my area?” If so, here’s what you have to take into account:

1. Service area. Where you’re accessing the internet can affect connection speed and your internet bill. For example, rural users mostly rely on satellite providers because they’re too far away from fiber optic cable installations.
2. Speed. Next, think about how much internet you need. For every device you connect, the internet connection will become weaker. Do you need a good upload speed to finish your work on time? Or are you streaming movies and cable TV across multiple devices? In either case, the internet provider you choose has a huge impact on what your connection can accomplish.
3. Pricing and bundling. Cheap internet can still provide fast speed, so take all options into account. Many providers also bundle other options, such as phone service and cable, with your internet bill. You can get a discount by bundling multiple offers. Watch for opportunities, but don’t hunt for bundles you don’t need.

 

Service, speed, and pricing. Keep those in mind as we go over the best providers.

 

Armstrong Cable

• Armstrong Cable’s residential customers can choose between five internet service packages. The lowest tier package, Zoom Express, offers speeds up to 4 Mbps and 200 GB data per month for nearly $35. Zoom IV, the company’s highest tier plan, offers download speeds up to 400 Mbps and 1 TB of data for nearly $150/month.
• Armstrong Wire offers Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) services providing businesses a reliable, symmetrical connection to the company’s advanced fiber-optic network.
• Businesses can choose between five packages when choosing Armstrong Cable’s internet services. The lowest tier is Zoom Professional and includes download speeds up to 100 Mbps. The $59.99/month service is best for light browsing, email, and small devices such as point-of-sale terminals. The highest tier, Zoom Professional V, runs $249.95/month and includes download speeds up to 500 Mbps. It’s best for hosting applications, e-commerce, video conferencing, graphics, and urgent delivery content.

AT&T

• Residential customers can choose between three high-speed plans from AT&T. The company offers:

-A plain plan with download speeds up to 50 Mbps which is best for streaming content on many devices.

-A medium plan with 75 Mbps download speeds.

-And a high plan (up to 100 Mbps) for multiple users and serious gamers.

• For rural customers, AT&T offers satellite internet through Exede. Although the satellite package doesn’t offer the other bells and whistles it offers with other packages, it does include spam and anti-virus filters and is a good option for people living in a rural area.
• Customers in some areas can enjoy connections up to 1000 Mbps with AT&T Fiber – that translates to downloading 25 songs in one second, a television show in under four seconds, or a 90 HD movie in under 34 seconds. That saves you a lot of time on buffering. AT&T has the largest fiber network based on publicly available data for the top fiber providers in the AT&T operating footprint.

Cable One

• Residential internet packages start with speeds up to 100 Mbps for $35/month at Cable One and are ideal for streaming video on multiple devices. The company offers mid-sized packages and maxes out with its Streamer and Gamer Plan, with speeds up to 200 Mbps and $75/month, making it perfect for the serious gamer.
• In 2016, Cable ONE launched its GigaONE service, a fiber optic service in seven markets across the country. The company continues to add new markets with GigaONE access. GigaONE’s internet speed allows customers to download an HD movie in 60 seconds or less, download 100 songs in four seconds, or download a small game in 29 seconds. Cable ONE also provides fiber optic internet for businesses.
• Cable ONE’s Business Internet solutions range from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps and start at $50/month. The smallest package delivers speeds more than 25 times faster than DSL. It’s ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that send large data files, host webinars, and process credit card payments quickly. The larger package uses fiber optics and is ideal for businesses that require symmetrical upload and download speeds and high fiber bandwidth capacity to support operations.

Comcast Xfinity Internet

• Residents can choose from two high speed internet packages from Xfinity. The low-end $29.99/month package provides download speeds up to 10 Mbps, good for one or two devices and everyday browsing. The high-end $79.99/month package provides download speeds up to 250 Mbps and is for up to eight devices with speeds for heavy use.
• Xfinity from Comcast offers fiber optic internet in 39 states. Customers can choose from varying plans up to 250 Mbps depending on how many devices are used simultaneously in a household.
• Xfinity offers business internet through Comcast Business. The Stater Internet package serves one or two employees and is ideal for basic business needs, email, communication, and web browsing. It’s nearly $70/month for 16 Mbps download speed. The largest plan serves more than 10 employees at download speeds of 150 Mbps. At $249.95/month, it’s ideal for high-growth businesses, significant online activity, and frequent file sharing, hosting websites, and running backup servers.

Comporium

• Residential customers can access high speed internet packages for an introductory rate of $34.95/month and access download speeds ranging from 15 to 500 Mbps. Zipstream is the premier high speed internet package at Comporium and offers 1 Gbps download speeds for $89.94/month.
• Comporium’s business internet service package costs $299.99/month and offers 1 Gbps download and upload speeds. It comes with a wi-fi configuration modem, Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security, and online data backup.

Earthlink

• Earthlink offers residents high-speed cable internet, DSL internet, and satellite internet. Powered by Spectrum, Earthlink’s cable internet offers speeds from 60 Mbps up to 100 Mbps at nearly $45/month. The DSL offerings start at nearly $15/month, and features speeds up to 15 Mbps. The company partners with HughesNet for its satellite customers offering speeds up to 25 Mbps.
• Earthlink’s business internet is now offered through Windstream. The company offers DSL to businesses starting at $80/month.
• Earthlink offers satellite internet in most rural areas of the United States and cable and DSL in every state (and Washington, DC) in the continental United States.

Frontier Communications

• For standard residences, Frontier Communications offers broadband internet packages starting at nearly $20/month with speeds of 6 Mbps. For residences that use multiple devices simultaneously, customers may want to purchase the nearly $40/month package and get internet speeds up to 24 Mbps.
• Frontier Communications offers satellite internet in three packages ranging from 10/1 Mbps to 15/2 Mbps between $40/month and $100/month in a rural area.
• Frontier Communications offers 30/30Mbps fiber optic internet access for $24.99/month through their FiOS service. Subscribers receive free installation and activation on new services. The company boasts a highly reliable connection with a 99.9-percent uptime and fast speeds up to 150 Mbps in some areas.
• For small businesses, Frontier Communications offers speeds up to 40 Mbps (currently $139.99/month) and free installation with a minimum of a 2-year agreement. This package is good for multiple employees and online based-businesses. It supports video conferencing and is ideal for point-of-sale business applications. On the other end of the spectrum, for about $50/month, you can get 7 Mbps of speed which is best for frequent email use and file transfers.
• Medium and Enterprise businesses can benefit from Frontier’s Ethernet programs.

o Frontier’s Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) solution is a reliable, cost-effective Ethernet-based solution that supports your business’ increasing bandwidth needs. ELINE features point-to-point connectivity at virtually any symmetrical data rate as fast as 10Gbps. Scalable and unmatched by other technologies, ELINE can be quickly tailored to effectively meet the future needs of your growing business. It lets you choose from traditional copper or fiber optic lines (in certain markets), span metro areas, and can be configured to data centers connecting multiple locations with the same effectiveness of point-to-point connectivity.

o Frontier’s Ethernet Local Area Network (E-LAN) option is available over copper or fiber (in certain markets). It supports high standards to keep customer data secure, and can easily provide Internet connectivity for more locations added to the LAN or WAN. Perfect for growing companies, E-LAN includes new locations immediately without reconfiguring the rest of the system.

Mediacom Cable

• Residential customers can choose between five packages. The lowest tier, Internet 60, boasts download speeds up to 60 Mbps and 400 GB of monthly data. It’s ideal for streaming music, downloading files, and surfing the web using two to four devices at a time. Mediacom Cable’s highest tier offers download speeds up to 1,000 Mbps and 6,000 GB of data, and everyone in your home will have a satisfactory speed when their devices are utilizing this plan.
• Mediacom’s coast-to-coast fiber optic network Gigabit+ brings fast internet service speeds to towns in rural America. Fiber optic internet services are available in.

Mediacom’s business customers can choose between six internet plans. The lowest level plan starts at nearly $70/month and includes download speeds up to 10 Mbps. The plan on the highest tier comes with download speeds up to 1 Gbps and costs nearly $350/month.

Northland Cable

• Residential customers can access the internet with download speeds up to 100 Mbps. Its smallest package is available with an introductory rate of $30/month.
• Many customers with Northland Cable have fiber optic access through Northland Fiber Direct. For around $50/month, they can surf, stream, download, and game faster with speeds of 100 Mbps.

RCN

• For an introductory rate of nearly $30/month for the first year, customers can take advantage of 25 Mbps download speeds – ideal for two devices that are emailing, shopping, and watching short videos. RCN’s highest-tier plan offers download speeds up to 1000 Mbps. It can easily host ten devices, video conferencing, and streaming HD videos and costs customers taking advantage of the introductory rate of nearly $70/month.
• RCN offers business solutions ranging from 25 Mbps to 330 Mbps. Smaller packages are meant for one or two devices and generally work for home-based businesses. The largest available package works for 10 to 14 devices and supports consistent video streaming and conferencing, e-commerce, and frequent cloud-based application access.

Rise Broadband

• Residential customers can take advantage of this high speed internet provider in 16 states.
• Rise Broadband offers an LTE option similar to satellite internet service in a rural area. Customers can access up to 50 Mbps in rural areas in Illinois, Texas, Nebraska, Idaho, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
• Business plans are available for Rise Broadband’s small business and enterprise customers via Ethernet. Ethernet over Fixed Wireless internet harnesses the performance of wireless internet service providers while eliminating the risks. Each installation is custom-built according to the unique signal-path conditions at your location down to the smallest detail, even weather.
• Internet services are available in the following suburban and a rural area.

Shentel

• Shentel prides itself on bringing high speed broadband internet and advanced technology to small and rural markets.
• Shentel customers in the mid-Atlantic region can experience fiber optic internet speeds up to 100 gigabits per second.
• Small and medium-sized businesses can partner with Shentel for internet services.

Sprint

• Sprint offers FastConnect, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service to residences that allows you to get the most out of your current phone line. Sprint FastConnect offers you an instant connection to the internet and the flexibility of surfing the net and being on the phone at the same time, eliminating the need for a second phone line.
• Businesses can utilize Sprint’s DSL options.

Time Warner Spectrum

• Residential customers can experience download speeds starting at 60 Mbps with an introductory rate of nearly $45/month. They’ll get free online protection with Security Suite and a free internet modem.
• Time Warner Spectrum provides high speed internet services for businesses starting at nearly $40/month. Download speeds start at 60 Mpbs, and the largest package offers speeds up to 300 Mbps. All services include web hosting, a domain name, email accounts, an internet security solution from F-Secure, cloud backup, and a modem.

Verizon

• Residences looking for High Speed Internet (DSL) can choose from plans with .5-1 Mbps download speeds up to 7.1-15 Mbps download speeds. When bundled with phone services, the cost of Verizon’s DSL plans range from $24.99 to $34.99/month.
• Similar to satellite internet, Verizon offers internet service wherever there is a 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) signal for residences in a rural area.
• Customers experience speeds up to five times faster than cable with Verizon Fios. Most customers can get internet access with speeds up to 500 Mbps, and speeds of up to 750 Mbps are available in some parts of the country.

Customers can also choose to bundle their internet with phone and telephone options for Fios. You can download apps to watch shows and set your DVR, a 30-day worry-free guarantee allowing you to try out the service to see if it’s a good fit, 24/7 tech support, and gain points on Verizon’s rewards program and trade them in for gift cards, vouchers, and other items from your favorite stores.

• Businesses can enroll in Verizon’s small business plans. They start at $39.99/month for download speeds up to 1 Mbps which is ideal for a single-person business with light internet use. The most heavy-duty plan starts at $94.99/month with download speeds of 10-15 Mbps – best for businesses with multiple employees, online-based businesses, and businesses that utilize e-commerce.
• Verizon Internet services are available throughout most of the United States.

Viaero

• Viaero offers four tiers of internet services to residents. The least expensive plan is $30/month, and high speed data buckets that peak at 25 GB between 7 AM and midnight (it’s unlimited after midnight until 7 AM). The largest high speed internet package is 250 GB and costs $150 a month. All of the tiers follow the same hours.
• Business quotes are available by request.

Vivint

• Vivint’s residential customers can access fiber optic intent services with speeds up to 100 Mbps for around $60/month. The company also allows customers to sign up for a fixed price-meaning the monthly premium won’t get up when your original sign-on promotional period has ended.
• Small businesses can also take advantage of Vivint’s high speed fiber optic internet services in Texas and Utah.

Vyve Broadband

• Vyve offers residents six tiers of internet services. Vyve 25 is on the low end of the spectrum and includes download speeds of 25 Mbps for $25/month. It’s best for web surfing, uploading and sharing photos, checking email, and downloading music. Vyve Gig is on the opposite end of the spectrum and provides customers with download speeds up to 1 Gbps for $249.99/month. It’s ideal for gaming, downloading, and streaming on many devices.
• Vyve offers business-class internet to small and medium-sized businesses with Static IP availability.
• Vyve is only available in Oklahoma.

Wave Broadband

• Residential customers in three states can utilize Wave Broadband’s high speed internet in three packages. The smallest package is best for one or two users, offers download speeds up to 10 Mbps and 100 GB of data. The largest package offers speeds up to 250 Mbps and 500 GB of data.
• Business customers that use Wave Broadband experience up to 100 Gbps fiber optic internet speeds.
• Small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of Wave’s four high-speed commercial internet packages. Small office networks and individual power users get download speeds up to 15 Mbps (with unlimited data) for $49.95/month. High-demand office networks will benefit from the company’s largest package, with download speeds clocking in at 250 Mbps (unlimited data) for $124.95/month.

WildBlue

• WildBlue, also called Exede Internet, offers three residential internet packages between $49 and $99/month. Customers get download speeds up to 12 Mbps and upload speeds up to 3 Mbps. For an additional $10/month, they can receive download speeds up to 25 Mbps with the company’s Boost 25 plan. The standard installation comes free for users of this rural-friendly plan.
• Businesses can take advantage of four packages ranging from nearly $100 to $500/month. The smallest package is for 20 GB of data, and the largest is $200 GB of data, but you can purchase additional data for all of the packages offered. Users enjoy download speeds up to 15 MBPS and upload speeds up to 4 Mbps. The equipment lease fee is included.
• Wildblue/Exede Internet’s 15 Mbps service is available in locations from coast to coast. In other areas, the company offers a 5 Mbps satellite service.

Windstream

• Windstream offers two high speed plans for residential customers. The Standard Internet package offers download speeds up to 15 Mbps which is ideal for checking email, web surfing, shopping, and sharing on social media. The Enhanced Internet option delivers download speeds up to 25 Mbps and is good for HD streaming, online gaming, and video conferencing.
• Available in select markets, Windstream’s One GIG uses fiber optic lines and runs them directly into their customers’ homes.
• Businesses can choose from two tiers as well. Business Class Internet serves high volume internet usage and offers download speeds from 10 Mbps ($50/month) to 100 Mbps ($110/month). Dedicated Internet is for businesses with high volume internet usage and increased security needs and is a private, non-shared solution and symmetrical upload and download speeds. Quotes for Dedicated Internet are available by request.

Zito Media

• Zito Media’s residential customers can choose from two internet service packages. Super Internet offers 50 Mbps download speeds for nearly $40/month. Customers can also choose the faster fiber optic internet plan.
• New customers with Zito Media can sign up for fiber optic internet services for around $50/month for 100 Mbps of speed. Multi-tasking customers who use many devices simultaneously may choose a higher speed plan up to 200 Mbps.