AT&T Fiber – Greatest fiber ISP total
- Costs: $55 – $250 monthly
- Speeds: 300 – 5,000Mbps
- Key Data: Limitless information, no contracts, tools included
Frontier Fiber – Greatest low-cost fiber plan
- Costs: $50 – $155 monthly
- Speeds: 500 – 5,000Mbps
- Key Data: Limitless information, no contracts, no tools payment
Verizon Fios – Greatest perks amongst fiber ISPs
- Costs: $50 – $120 monthly
- Speeds: 300 – 2,000Mbps
- Key Data: Limitless information, no contracts, free tools with gig service
Google Fiber – Greatest for gig web
- Costs: $70 – $100 monthly
- Speeds: 1,000 – 2,000Mbps
- Key Data: Limitless information, no contracts, tools included
Windstream Kinetic – Greatest rural fiber supplier
- Costs: $40 – $70 monthly
- Speeds: 100 – 1,000Mbps
- Key Data: Limitless information, no contracts
Ziply Fiber – Quickest fiber web supplier
- Costs: $40 – $300 monthly
- Speeds: 100 – 10,000Mbps
- Key Data: Limitless information, no contracts, quick rural web connection
What’s the finest fiber web total?
The expertise your web supplier makes use of makes a distinction. If that expertise is fiber-optic, you possibly can relaxation assured you are getting one of the best in pace and reliability. AT&T Fiber is an effective instance of a fiber connection’s potential and is CNET’s choose for finest fiber supplier total. AT&T Fiber has a broad fiber-optic community, a good collection of high-speed plans, competitive pricing, favorable service phrases and a leading customer satisfaction record.
AT&T Fiber is not the one choice for fiber web. You may discover my picks of one of the best fiber web suppliers beneath. Every of the best internet providers makes use of a fiber-to-the-home community, which all however ensures one of the best connection high quality, pace and reliability. Moreover, these suppliers stand out for his or her distinctive pricing, availability, customer satisfaction and different components. We replace this record periodically.
Greatest fiber web of 2024
300 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $250 monthly
Our take – AT&T has the best availability of any fiber supplier, extending service to greater than 16 million potential clients throughout 21 states. The supplier additionally boasts among the lowest pricing on fiber web service if you take note of its new multi-gig tiers.
300 – 5,000 Mbps
$55 – $250 monthly
500 – 5,000 Mbps
$50 – $155 monthly
Our take – Frontier Communications just lately expanded its fiber web protection to 19 states after which rolled out a brand new multi-gig service to the complete footprint abruptly, turning into the primary main ISP to take action.
500 – 5,000 Mbps
$50 – $155 monthly
300 – 2,000 Mbps
$50 – $120 monthly
Our take – Verizon Fios is an in depth second to AT&T by way of pace, pricing and repair phrases, however it lacks the identical breadth of protection. Though out there to just about the identical variety of potential clients as AT&T Fiber, Verizon Fios primarily serves the mid-Atlantic and Northeast areas.
300 – 2,000 Mbps
$50 – $120 monthly
1,000 – 2,000 Mbps
$70 – $100 monthly
Our take – Google Fiber continues to be round and resuming enlargement after a multiyear hiatus. The place out there, Google Fiber provides fiber web service beginning at $70 a month and a 2Gbps plan beginning at $100 a month. Each include tools included at no further value, no information caps and no contracts.
1,000 – 2,000 Mbps
$70 – $100 monthly
100 – 1,000 Mbps
$40 – $70 monthly
Our take – One drawback of fiber web is that it is usually solely out there in choose neighborhoods of bigger cities. When you’re residing within the suburbs or a rural space, then your finest probability to get fiber web is probably going Kinetic by Windstream. Roughly a 3rd of Windstream’s community — which spans rural and suburban areas throughout 18 states — is fiber optic.
100 – 1,000 Mbps
$40 – $70 monthly
100 – 10,000 Mbps
$40 – $300 monthly
Our take – Ziply Fiber just lately rolled out a ridiculously quick 50-gig plan throughout its total Northwest footprint in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, successfully making it the quickest web supplier nationwide.
100 – 10,000 Mbps
$40 – $300 monthly
Why go for fiber web?
Your web speeds, reliability and total expertise do not rely solely on the web supplier you select. The expertise it makes use of to run service to your own home makes a giant distinction as nicely.
If I may advocate any internet connection type above all the remaining, that’d be fiber. My fiber web speeds, upload and download, are quick and constant, even throughout peak utilization instances or inclement weather. The usual month-to-month price of fiber web providers, whereas not the cheapest service amongst internet providers in my area, continues to be an important worth contemplating the speeds I get.
What to contemplate when searching for fiber web
Fiber web is one of the best kind of service for many properties, however there’s extra to picking a supplier and plan than the connection kind. Listed below are some ideas to bear in mind when searching for fiber web service.
Availability. You will not discover fiber web to be out there in almost as many properties as cable, DSL, satellite tv for pc and even 5G web. The truth is, solely round 40% of US households are wired for fiber-optic web. Availability is scarce in suburban and rural areas and might range from one neighborhood to the following in most cities. It is attainable fiber web is simply not out there at your own home or the handle you are transferring to.
Speeds. Fiber web has the quickest add and obtain pace potential of any kind of web. Lots of the prime suppliers provide pace tiers as much as 2,000Mbps (2Gbps), 5Gbps and better. Whereas the blazing-fast speeds are tempting, they’re prone to be extra pace than your own home wants. Take a look at our guide to finding the right internet speed for assist deciding on a fiber plan that finest meets your wants.
Value. When you’re searching for low-cost web, fiber will not be the best choice. It is true that fiber web plans are sometimes one of the best worth, however chances are you’ll discover cheaper choices from cable or 5G suppliers.
Just a few fiber suppliers provide plans with beginning costs as little as $30 monthly, however you are extra prone to pay at the very least $50 monthly for fiber web. Cable web suppliers together with Cox, Mediacom, Xfinity and others have lower-priced plans in lots of areas. In case you are a T-Cellular Magenta Max or Verizon wi-fi buyer, you would get 5G house web for the discounted worth of $25 to $35 monthly.
Bundles. Few fiber suppliers provide a TV service, that means chances are you’ll not have the ability to bundle internet and TV along with the identical supplier if you happen to select a fiber web service. Within the days of streaming and cord-cutting, that will not be a deal-breaker for you, however it’s one thing to bear in mind when searching for each providers.
How we consider fiber web suppliers
Testing an web supplier the identical means CNET exams different services and products is, at finest, impractical. As an alternative, we depend on intensive analysis of every supplier to develop our critiques and proposals.
When evaluating fiber web suppliers, availability, speeds and total worth are on the heart of our evaluations. We additionally look at added charges, information caps, contract necessities, buyer satisfaction experiences and different components that might have an effect on your high quality of service or buyer expertise.
We seek advice from the Federal Communications Fee at FCC.gov for ISP availability information and the kind of community a supplier makes use of. We then analysis a supplier’s speeds, pricing and repair phrases by means of a wide range of channels such because the supplier’s web site and our personal historic information. When attainable, we contact the supplier instantly to substantiate pricing and pace particulars.
Lastly, to develop a extra well-rounded perspective of the supplier, we take into account buyer satisfaction experiences from the American Buyer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Energy, in addition to buyer critiques and complaints from sources such because the Higher Enterprise Bureau, downdetector.com and even Reddit.
Earlier than writing our critiques and compiling finest lists, we analysis something and every thing the everyday shopper would need to know previous to signing up for house web service. Learn our piece on how we review internet providers to be taught extra about our assessment course of.
Fiber web honorable mentions
- EarthLink: EarthLink makes use of the fiber networks put in by different suppliers or municipal fiber-optic networks, which suggests out there speeds and repair high quality can range broadly from one area to the following. In choose areas, EarthLink provides fiber service with speeds of as much as 1 gigabit for round $100 a month.
- Optimum: Optimum is primarily a cable web supplier, however it does have a rising fiber community, significantly within the higher NYC area. Roughly 2.7 million households can be found for fiber service within the space.
- Xfinity: Comcast Xfinity’s fiber service can be considerably restricted in availability and provides a powerful max pace of as much as 6,000Mbps. The catch? The plan comes with an equally jaw-dropping worth of $300 a month.
Greatest fiber web suppliers recap
If fiber web service is offered in your space, it is most likely value getting, particularly if any of the suppliers listed above is an choice. AT&T is best to advocate because of its excessive availability, low prices and favorable service phrases, however Verizon Fios is an in depth second with low pricing, excessive buyer satisfaction and plenty of perks for signing up. Google Fiber, Frontier Fiber, Windstream, CenturyLink and Ziply Fiber spherical out the record of ideally suited choices whereas suppliers like EarthLink, Optimum and others are value a glance, too, if out there in your space.
Fiber web FAQs
Fiber-optic web sends web alerts by way of skinny glass wires both straight to the house, aka FTTH, or to a node simply outdoors the house, aka FTTN. The expertise permits greater bandwidth and quicker information transmission than every other connection kind and has the distinctive functionality of delivering symmetrical or near-symmetrical obtain and add speeds. Fiber web makes use of a special kind of modem than DSL or the DOCSIS tools used for cable. The truth is, fiber technically would not use a modem in any respect, however an optical network terminal that performs the identical perform.
What’s the quickest fiber web?
Ziply Fiber has the quickest pace tier of any main fiber web supplier with most speeds of fifty,000Mbps, or 50Gbps. Many different fiber suppliers prime out at 5Gbps, 2Gbps or 1Gbps.
Is fiber web definitely worth the cash?
Beginning costs for fiber web plans usually vary from $30 to $50 a month, with gigabit service starting from $60 to $80 a month. Whereas there are cheaper plans out there with cable or 5G web service in choose areas, fiber service is prone to include higher pace and connection high quality for the value.
Is fiber one of the best web connection kind?
Sure. Fiber-optic web provides speeds and reliability that different web connection sorts merely can’t, and you will get it for across the identical month-to-month worth as cable web or DSL service. The one downside is availability: Fiber-optic service is barely out there to about 36% of US residents, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Will 5G exchange fiber-optic web?
Unlikely. Whereas the potential of 5G house web is promising, it would not at the moment provide the pace or reliability that comes with a fiber-optic connection. That stated, the wi-fi supply technique and quickly increasing availability make 5G house web a viable various to fiber web in areas the place fiber connections are usually not but out there.
When will fiber be out there close to me?
If fiber hasn’t reached your handle but, I am sorry to say you may simply need to be affected person, as suppliers are actively increasing their fiber networks throughout the US. You are extra prone to see fiber come to your neighborhood if you happen to stay in a metropolis or densely populated space, however suppliers like Windstream and CenturyLink present that fiber entry in suburban and rural areas can be obtainable.