Best Internet Providers

DSL is a huge improvement over dial-up but, of course, it is far from optimal as well. Though the company does what they can, your speed on a DSL connection will range between 768 Kbps and 6 Mbps, that's just the limitations of the technology. It will be enough for work and just general browsing purposes but speeds like that simply won't cut it for competitive online gaming and streaming movies and TV series in full HD.

Fortunately, the company does offer a fiber connection as well. Now we're getting to the good part. With a fiber connection, you'll have unlimited Internet options in your arsenal. A single connection like that will be able to support an entire family, with people playing online, streaming full HD media, working, and doing anything in-between that at the same time.

Now, let's start with the plans. Sadly, that's not necessarily an area where AT&T excels as a company. As always, it all depends on where you live. But, for most people, your choices will be limited to just 3 available plans.

The first plan that the company offers isn't even an Internet plan. For $35/month, you'll get access to DIRECTV. Now, that's not a bad deal. DIRECTV gives you over 155 channels. That includes HBO, Starz, Showtime, as well as Cinemax for no extra charge. It also gives you access to the DIRECTV app. With it, you'll be able to enjoy your favorite content on the go.

The company's second plan is their biggest appeal. For 40 bucks a month, you get a 100 Mbps Internet connection. That is a great deal, especially considering that you get 1 terabyte of data per month at no extra fee, which is practically the same as unlimited data. Speed like that will let you download a full-length full HD movie in less than five minutes.

The third plan, for $75/month, offers a fiber connection and access to 180 channels. This is the best plan for gamers and people who prefer Blu-ray quality.

In addition to an Internet connection, the company provides a myriad of other services, including parental control features, Internet security, service-hosted email with 2 gigabytes of storage, and so much more.

For many people in the country, AT&T will be the best Internet provider. More often than not, you'll get an affordable and speedy connection. What they charge for a fiber optic network is laughable compared to so many other companies. Add to that all of the extra services and you can see why so many customers stick with AT&T.

The plans that Optimum offers are both the company's biggest strength and weakness. The weakness part stems from the lack of variety. As far as the Internet is concerned, you'll have the choice of only 3 plans and they do not necessarily differ that much. The good news is that all of these plans are excellent.

First, there's Optimum 200. True to the name, Optimum 200 offers a download rate of 200 Mbps and an upload speed of 35 Mbps. For 45 bucks a month, that is nothing short of excellent. With speed like that, you could have 3 devices streaming full HD content simultaneously, with the fourth device occupied with a demanding online shooter at the same time. You'll be watching HBO on your tablet, your roommate enjoying the latest iteration of Call of Duty, and another two stuck with the latest Showtime hit on their TV and none of you will be experiencing any lag at all.

The difference between this and the second plan are minimal. The only thing that Optimum 300 does differently from the Optimum 200 is increasing the download speed to 300 Mbps. With a connection like that, you could have another resident or two joining in on the action.

The third and last plan isn't that much different either. It will cost you 65 bucks a month. You'd think that's a steep price but not for a 400/40 Mbps download/upload speed. That's the speed that will be able to support any family, no matter how large or how into gaming or online streaming they are. In fact, that's the speed that will let you run a home business.

These speeds are impressive on their own. But keep in mind that most companies' speeds often fall below 50% of the advertised speeds. Optimum is one of the very few Internet providers that actually over-delivers on that front. According to independent tests, their customers average speeds that are 110% of the advertised.

Though the company doesn't offer a plan like that, you can always bundle one of their Internet plans with the Optimum television package. This way, you'll be able to save quite a bit of money, not to mention the 220 channels that their package gives you access to.

What we weren't impressed with, however, are the service fees. First, you have to pay an installation fee. Then, you have to sign a one-year contract. If you decide to cancel early, you'll have to pay an early termination fee as well.

Nevertheless, Optimum will prove the best internet provider for all sorts of customers. Sure, they don't offer a whole lot of extra services. They do offer, however, a reliable high-speed Internet connection at a modest price. If you have a large family or share an apartment with a roommate or two, you can definitely give this one a shot.

The second plan is called Cox Internet Essential 30. With this plan, you'll have to spend extra 10 bucks a month. But, for $40/month, it gives you 30 Mbps, three times the speed of the previous plan. As you'd imagine, that is a lot better. That's the speed that will allow a single individual to enjoy just about everything that the Internet has to offer short of quick Blu-ray movie download rate. If you live alone, this plan should be able to cover most of your needs.

The next plan goes by the name Cox Internet Preferred 100 and, as the name suggests, it is the preferred plan of the majority of the company's customers. That is the plan that covers every individual's needs, all while leaving enough to support a roommate or two. The download speed of 100 Mbps lets 2 people play demanding online games at the same time, while the third one is streaming Westworld on the couch next to them. All of that for $60 a month is not bad at all.

After Preferred, we have Cox Internet Ultimate. Again, in case the name isn't enough of a giveaway, this one will prove the ultimate plan for 9 out of 10 customers. This one will cost you 80 bucks a month. A little steep, sure, but not really that steep considering the 300 Mbps download speed. At this point, it really doesn't matter with how many people you're sharing your WiFi as 300 Mbps should be enough to satisfy all of them. As far as we're concerned, this is one of the best WiFi options for home on this list.

The last plan will be an overkill for most people. Cox Gigablast, with a download speed of 1000 Mbps and a $120 monthly fee, is a plan that will allow you to run a sizable home business. It will let you download a Blu-ray movie in a couple of minutes. We aren't going to elaborate any further since, if you're willing to splurge on a plan like that, you probably know what you're doing and hardly need our advice. But let's just say that this plan makes Cox Communications one of the fastest internet providers in the country.

The plans and their cost define an ISP. But what separates a good ISP from a bad ISP is often all of the extra services that the former offers. In the case of Cox Communications, the list is pretty substantial.

You don't have a real data cap (like most cable Internet providers, they won't allow you to download more than 1 terabyte per month without paying an extra fee but nobody downloads that much in a month, trust us). They give you a free copy of McAfee Security, a powerful piece of software that protects your devices from malware. Just like most of their competition, the company includes TV, phone, and home security plans and will offer you a respectable discount for bundling these services together.

To rephrase the point we made earlier in this review, Cox Communications is the type of company that offers something suitable for just about any potential customer. Strictly as an Internet provider, the company does not disappoint. It offers a great variety of different plans and access to more than 500,000 WiFi hotspots nationwide.

Now, on the bright side, the company doesn't charge you any data overage fees. The moment you reach your plan's monthly data limit, their system will automatically switch you to 2G for the remainder of the billing cycle. Sure, with 2G, you'll barely be able to google a Wikipedia article, so we would recommend being careful with your downloads.

Alright, so we have figured out that the company uses their existing LTE network but how exactly do they deliver Internet to your home? Well, pretty simple, really. You sign up for a two-year data plan and, for 100 bucks, the company gives you a 4G LTE router. Made by Netgear, the router is capable of supporting up to 30 WiFi users at a time, making it a pretty solid solution for small businesses. There's a pretty cost-effective Shared Connect plan that will let you add an extra client to the network for just 20 bucks a month too. The router is lightweight and compact, so you can easily move it around the office.

Now, you might be thinking what is even the point to an Internet connection like that if so many companies out there offer better speeds and no data cap at the same price? Well, again, as we've said earlier, what we're dealing with here is only a viable option if you do not have a cable network alternative. And, the problem is, many people in rural areas fall under this category. For rural Americans, there's no alternative.

Some have dial-up and DSL as an option. But, first of all, the former in the current year is hardly a viable option at all. It won't even let you view YouTube videos in 360p. You'll barely be able to browse naked text without any images. DSL, on the other hand, can be a little faster. But it still falls behind 4G LTE as the latter ranges between 7 and 20 Mbps, while DSL caps at 6 Mbps and usually meanders somewhere between 2 to 3 Mbps. Not to mention the fact that it is seldom available in rural areas as well.

Long story short, we wouldn't recommend US Cellular to anyone who has an affordable and available cable or fiber optic alternative. This is an Internet provider for people who live in rural areas first and foremost, the kind of areas where you really don't have any other option except for maybe dial-up.

Having said that, we wouldn't recommend knocking satellite Internet until you try it. An average connection like that gives you around 20 Mbps. Dish Network promises 25 Mbps and, more often than not, they don't just meet the advertised numbers but outright exceed them. That's not bad at all. 25 Mbps will allow you to enjoy online games and will even enable you to stream full HD content, though you might encounter hiccups with QHD. For work, you'll be able to comfortably share a 25 Mbps with 2 to 3 people.

Now, another point that we have to make clear is that Dish Network themselves do not provide satellite Internet directly. Instead, they partner with HughesNet and Viasat. Now, a collaboration like that has plenty of upsides but a downside or two as well. By far the biggest upside is the coverage area. The two companies combined are able to cover 50 states, something that you can't say about any other Internet service provider short of the Big Four.

Now, just about every other aspect of this collaboration is a bit of a double-edged sword. For instance, if you go with HughesNet, you get to benefit from far higher speeds. While the speed stays the same, their plans range from $50 to $125 a month for 10 to 50 gigabytes of data.

Viasat won't give you the same speeds. In fact, it won't even give you anything similar to that. More often than not, their satellite Internet caps somewhere at 8-10 Mbps. But, as far as the data plans are concerned, Viasat tramples HughesNet. For the same 125 bucks, you will receive 150 gigabytes of data. Though the difference is less impressive, every other plan of Viasat's offers more data than its HughesNet counterpart.

One of the best things about this satellite internet provider is the way they treat customers. Their customer service, in general, is excellent. They're one of the very few companies that J.D. Power awarded the highest overall customer satisfaction score.

Satellite Internet requires professional installation. Fortunately, the company gives you a 75-minute window in which a technician will arrive at your home. On top of that, you can track the estimated arrival time on their website.

To sum it all up, if Dish Network aren't the best, they're certainly one of the better satellite TV and Internet packages in the business. The prices are fair. The connection that they offer, as far as satellite Internet is concerned, is fast and reliable. Plus, it doesn't limit your data as much as most of their competition.