Overview

In today’s fast-paced digital world with staying up to date with the latest shows, online gaming and working from home, it’s essential to find the fastest high-speed internet provider around. Not only is it about seamless connection; it’s about successfully supporting your smart home technology by connecting multiple devices and ensuring everything runs smoothly. Investing in a reliable high-speed connection means investing in your accessibility to better productivity, entertainment, and overall security. 

Choosing The Fastest High-Speed Internet

Before making any decision on a new internet provider, it’s crucial to assess a few key factors. Analyzing your current overall internet usage, and comparing plans, pricing and data caps per provider, are crucial in finding the right plan with the speed and dependability you need. 

If dependability is what you need, then dependability is what you should expect. The reputation of an internet provider’s customer support is essential to consider before choosing your next plan. In the off chance users are faced with connectivity issues, reliable and timely support can make all the difference in influencing a customer’s overall experience. By scanning through trusted reviews from real customers, you can get an idea on what to expect from each provider. 

Testing current speeds offered and reading reviews from real-life customers additionally play a large role in influencing your decision.

What Internet Providers Are Available Near You?

Majority of high-speed internet providers run on cable or a variation of fiber hybrid structures. Approximately, 99% of Americans have access to one high-speed internet provider, while 97% have access to two or more. Out of these statistics, over 50% of the nation has access to fiber high-speed internet, and an estimated 85% through cable or hybrid.

With that in mind, individuals with a higher internet usage must also consider the coverage available in their area. Opting for those higher speeds might lead users to compare the benefits of bundled offers that also include TV and phone services.

Testing & Choosing Internet Speed

There are many internet providers and online resources that offer tools to test the current speed you’re working with. By measuring download and upload speeds and overall connection performance, these tools help users understand if their current plan meets their needs or if they’re due for an upgrade.

Testing your internet speed is simple by following these steps:

1. Choose an authentic speed test website: Ookla’s speed test
   1. Android
   2. iOS
2. Directly connect to your modem: For the most accurate results, users can connect their devices to the modem using an Ethernet cable. 
3. Close other devices and applications: Verify that no other devices or applications are connected to the internet during the test.
4. Run the test: Follow the instructions provided from the speed test site. The test will measure the variables mentioned above, then ping.
5. Compare Results: Compare your speed results with the speeds you were guaranteed by your provider. Large discrepancies in speed could require troubleshooting, renegotiating with your current provider, or changing providers.

How Can Users Measure The Internet Speed They Need?

Deciding on a favorable internet speed depends on your particular needs:

1. Basic Browsing: 1-5 Mbps
2. Streaming Video (Standard): 3-5 Mbps
3. Streaming VIdeo (HD): 5-10 Mbps
4. Streaming Video (4K): 25 Mbps (or higher)
5. Online Gaming: 3-6 Mbps for casual gaming (lower latency is more critical for smoother gameplay)
6. Remote Work/Video Conferencing: 10-25 Mbps
7. Multiple Devices: Add the requirements of all users and devices in your household to find the appropriate bandwidth.

Top Internet Providers

AT&T

• Voice, TV, Fiber and DSL internet
• Competitive pricing plans and bundles
• Plans with speeds from 300 Mbps to 5 Gig
• Cancellation Fee covered in full when you switch over
• Internet Speed Test

Brightspeed

• Plans starting at $49.00/mo.
• Unlimited Data
• Voice, Fiber and DSL internet
  • Limited fiber internet availability
• No annual contract
• Internet Speed Test
• Best Plan Available (Internet DSL):
  • $50.00/mo.
  • 40 Mbps
  • No data cap
• Best Speed Plan (Fiber 1 Gig)
  • $75.00/mo.
  • 940 Mbps
  • No data cap

CenturyLink

• Plans starting at $50.00/mo.
• Home Phone, TV, Fiber, and  DSL Internet 
• Recognized for their no-contract structure
• Download speeds up to 940 Mbps
• Unlimited Data 

Comcast (also known as Xfinity)

• Plans starting at $30.00/mo.
• TV, Internet and Mobile
• No annual contracts or data caps
• Plans with speeds from 100 Mbps to 2000 Mbps
• WiFi Pass
  • Access to millions of hotspots for $10 for each 30-day pass

Comcast Cellular

• 5G Cellular and millions of WiFi hotspots
• One-time line setup fee of $25/line applies 
• Reduced speeds after 20GB of usage per line

Cox

• Voice, TV, fiber, and DSL internet
• Prepay plans available 
• Internet Plans Available
  • Download speeds from 100 Mbps to 2 Gig

Earthlink

• Fiber and DSL internet available
• Plans wit speeds from 100 Mbps to 5 Gig
• No payment increases for 12 months
• Most Popular Plan:
  • 300 Mbps
  • Connect up to 12 devices 
  • HD Streaming 
  • Optimal for remote work, online learning and multiplayer gaming experiences
• Internet Speed Test

Frontier

• Five fiber internet plans with speeds from 200 Mbps to 5 Gigs per second
• Significant speed jumps from plan to plan and competitive pricing
• Digital Home Phone:
  • $25/mo (+ taxes and fees)
  • Unlimited nationwide & long distance calling
  • Caller ID and Voicemail
• Free Internet Speed Test

HughesNet

• No harsh data caps
• Recommended for:
  • Users in rural areas
  • Users who don’t require a lot of speed
  • Connection for 5 devices or less
• Not recommended for:
  • Online gamers
  • Users who stream for a long amount of time
  • Remote work or online learning

Mediacom

• Mobile, cable internet, TV and tech support + protection 
• Plan speeds from 200 Mbps to 2 Gig