Fastest High Speed Internet | 2022 ISP Guide

Fast internet helps you perform online activities without the worry of freezing or buffering frames and connectivity issues. However, the fastest plan for you will depend on the providers available in your neighborhood. To find the fastest plan available for residential customers in your area, you can check various internet service plans and the reported average internet speeds.

Factors influencing the speed of the plan you select may include the type of internet, the price for the plan, and the amount of data available to you. In this guide, we help you narrow down your choices. Keep reading to see where plans from Xfinity, Mediacom, and Frontier place in our rating of the Fastest High-Speed Internet Service Providers of 2022.

According to the FCC, about 60% of the U.S. can pick between two or more high-speed providers for DSL internet, cable internet, or fiber internet. If you include broadband satellite internet service, this increases to 91% of Americans.

Still, the fastest plans, which use fiber optic technology, might not be available in your ZIP code. The FCC says about a third of the U.S. population has access to a fiber internet provider. That translates to 46.5 million, according to the Fiber Broadband Association, though the good news is that this number is growing every year.

The providers in our Fastest High-Speed ISPs rating offer coverage across the U.S, though it isn’t always the company’s fiber service. Xfinity operates in 39 states and Washington, D.C.; Cox operates in 13 states; Frontier operates in 25. AT&T Internet provides service in California, the Southeast, and Midwest. Verizon has coverage in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Basic Service = 3 to 8mpbs. Medium Service = 12 to 25 Mbps. Advanced Service = More than 25 Mbps. *Mbps (Megabits per second) is the standard measure of broadband speed. It refers to the speed with which information packets are downloaded from, or uploaded to, the internet. *Speed usage data from FCC website.

You can classify your internet speed needs by your online activities and the number of devices you have connected at once. Basic service has average internet speeds of 3 to 8 Mbps, medium service has speeds of 12 to 25 Mbps, and advanced service has speeds above 25 Mbps.

If you only use the internet for email, browsing, light video streaming, voice calls, and internet radio, the basic internet service is adequate for you. This speed is sufficient for having one or two devices connected at once. However, if you intend to connect three or four devices for these functions, consider the medium service.

If you are the only user and are using a single device at a time, you can still perform other functions such as telecommuting, streaming HD videos, videoconferencing, and light online gaming. However, if you are going to use two or three devices for these activities, you should consider medium service internet.

Keep in mind that the more devices you use, the more users you add, and the more high-demand applications you run, the further your household moves into the high-use range. That equates to advanced level internet service and several companies in our Fastest High-Speed ISPs rating offer a plan for that.

According to the FCC, high-speed internet refers to internet with speeds above 25 Mbps. To find the average cost of high-speed internet, you should check the internet plans available in your area and their average download speeds. Below are the Internet Service Providers discussed in this guide and the cost of each provider’s high-speed internet plans.

Xfinity’s Gigabit Pro fiber internet plan starts at $299 per month. While this is the costliest plan in our ratings, it is also the fastest as it offers upload and download speeds up to 2 Gbps. The plan is a 12-month contract plan, and it has a data cap of 1.2 TB. For new users, the installation fee varies, and if you cancel your plan early, there are varying termination fees.

Another high-speed internet plan is Mediacom’s 1 Gig cable internet plan. It is a no-contract plan and new customers can pay $79.99 per month for their first year while other customers pay a monthly fee of $139.99. The plan has download speeds up to 1 Gbps and upload speeds up to 50 Mbps. There is a data cap of 6,000 GB and new subscribers pay an installation fee of $99.

AT&T Internet has the Internet 1000 plan for users looking to get low-cost high-speed internet. At $60 per month, it is the most affordable plan in our rating of the Fastest High-Speed ISPs. It offers download speeds up to 940 Mbp, upload speeds up to 940 Mbps, and doesn’t have a data cap. Installation can be free but there are termination fees if you enter a one- or two-year contract with AT&T and then break the contract early.

Verizon’s Gigabit Connection plan starts at $79.99. The plan has download speeds up to 940 Mbps and upload speeds up to 880 Mbps. There’s no contract required and no data cap. However, if you’re a new customer, installation fees start at $99.

Frontier’s FiberOptic 1Gig Service plan starts at $79.99 per month. It includes 940 Mbps download speeds and up to 880 Mbps upload speeds. There’s no contract and no data cap on this plan. It’s suitable for families with 10 to 15 devices online at once, people who work from home, or those who run a business from home. Frontier’s installation fee starts at $75.

You should buy equipment for high-speed internet service if you want to save money in the long run or you want to choose from a greater selection of equipment. It can be faster and easier to switch internet providers when you already have the necessary equipment. But depending on your high-speed internet connection, buying equipment may not be an option as some devices, like a satellite dish antenna and modems for satellite internet service, must be rented from the provider. Another disadvantage: If the equipment you own breaks or is outdated, you’re on the hook to buy a replacement.

You should rent equipment for high-speed internet service if you like convenience. The internet company typically provides the most up-to-date, compatible devices, offers technical support, and will replace a device that breaks. Renting equipment also is required for satellite internet. Renting, however, costs more over time and monthly rental fees may increase. You’ll also be charged if you do not return rented equipment after terminating service.

Sometimes there is no option between renting and buying. For example, you are required to rent the equipment for satellite internet.

Self-installing high-speed internet equipment is best for people who have some technical experience and are comfortable connecting devices. This option can save you money when your household needs only basic cable and DSL equipment and the installation is straightforward. Self-installing also saves time, as you don’t have to wait for a technician to show up.

Hiring a professional to install high-speed internet equipment is best for subscribers who aren’t familiar with technology and want an expert to set up the system. It is required to install an optical network terminal (ONT) for fiber internet and a dish antenna and modem for satellite internet. Professional installation is also recommended for complex jobs. These may involve multiple pieces of equipment, or when a home isn’t properly wired, has connection issues, or hasn’t had internet service in more than a year.

In addition to the companies in our rating of the Best Internet Service Providers, here are some others to consider:

The following describes our 360 approach to researching and analyzing internet service providers to guide prospective consumers.

1. We researched the companies and products people care most about.

U.S. News analyzed and compared a variety of publicly available data, including internet search data, to determine which internet service providers consumers are most interested in. We found 25 companies that stood out for further evaluation using the volume of searches and consumer research. After conducting a thorough analysis, we were able to condense the initial list to the 12 overall Best Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Taking a step further, out of the top 12 ISPs, we determined which is best by connection type, the best for gaming using latency (provided by the Federal Communications Commission) as a parameter, the best for rural areas, the best prepaid plans, and the cheapest in terms of the lowest regular rate. Fastest ISPs was also another sub-category to consider, but without the proper speed testing platform, this could not be captured appropriately. 360 Reviews instead offered consumers the fastest publicized ISP plans provided by our overall Best Internet Service Providers. With the companies determined, we researched their most important features to create a general layout of what consumers should know to assist with their purchasing decisions.

We compared the various plans, along with the monthly costs and associated fees that each company provided relative to its customers’ needs. The plans highlighted features such as connection type, download/upload speed, and data caps. We also considered the latency, consistency, and packet loss data provided by the Federal Communications Commission in regards to connection type and ISPs for gaming. With these factors in mind, we created a thorough set of guides that provides a 360 overview of what consumers should consider.

2. We created objective 360 Overall Ratings based on an analysis of third-party reviews.

Our scoring methodology is based on a composite analysis of the ratings and reviews published by credible third-party professional and consumer review sources. The ratings are not based on the personal opinions, tests, or experiences of U.S. News. To calculate the ratings:

(a) We compiled two types of third-party ratings and reviews:

Professional Ratings and Reviews: Many independent evaluating sources have published their assessments of internet service providers and products online. We consider several of these third-party reviews to be reputable and well-researched. However, professional reviewers often make recommendations that contradict one another. Rather than relying on a single source, U.S. News believes consumers benefit most when these opinions and recommendations are considered and analyzed collectively with an objective, consensus-based methodology.

Consumer Ratings and Reviews: U.S. News also reviewed published consumer ratings and reviews of internet service providers. Sources with a sufficient number of quality consumer ratings and reviews were included in our scoring model.

Please note that not all professional and consumer rating sources met our criteria for objectivity. Therefore, some sources were excluded from our model.

(b) We standardized the inputs to create a common scale.

The third-party review source data were collected in a variety of forms, including ratings, recommendations, and accolades. Before including each third-party data point in our scoring equation, we standardized it so that it could be compared accurately with data points from other review sources. We used the scoring methodology described below to convert these systems to a comparable scale.

The 360 scoring process first converted each third-party rating into a common 0 to 5 scale. To balance the distribution of scores within each source’s scale, we used a standard deviation (or Z-Score) calculation to determine how each company that a source rated was scored in comparison to the source’s mean score. We then used the Z-Score to create a standardized U.S. News score using the method outlined below:

Calculating the Z-Score: The Z-Score represents a data point’s relation to the mean measurement of the data set. The Z-Score is negative when the data point is below the mean and positive when it’s above the mean; a Z-Score of 0 means it’s equal to the mean. To determine the Z-Score for each third-party rating of a company, we calculated the mean of the ratings across all companies evaluated by that third-party source. We then subtracted the mean from the company’s rating and divided it by the standard deviation to produce the Z-Score.

Calculating the T-Score: We used a T-Score calculation to convert the Z-Score to a 0-100 scale by multiplying the Z-Score by 10. To ensure that the mean was equal across all data points, we added our desired scoring mean (between 0 and 10) to the T-Score to create an adjusted T-Score.

Calculating the common-scale rating: We divided the adjusted T-Score, which is on a 100-point scale, by 20 to convert the third-party rating to a common 0-5 point system.

(c) We calculated the 360 Overall Score based on a weighted average model.

We assigned “source weights” to each source used in the consensus scoring model based on our assessment of how much the source is trusted and recognized by consumers and how much its published review process indicates that it is both comprehensive and editorially independent. The source weights are assigned on a 1-5 scale. Any source with an assigned weight less than 2 was excluded from the consensus scoring model.

Finally, we combined the converted third-party data points using a weighted average formula based on source weight. This formula calculated the consensus score for each product, which we call the 360 Overall Rating.