Speed and pricing are the most important factors when choosing The best internet provider for your home, but there’s something else you’ll want to consider as well: connection type. It’s easy to overlook or even not know what technology a service provider is using, but it can make a huge difference to speed, reliability, and availability.
Home Internet service uses either wired or wireless connections. Wired connection types include, as in a wire connected directly to your home Optical fiberAnd coaxial cable And copper (or DSL) Internet. satellite internetFixed wireless network is growing in popularity 5G home internet Rounding out potential wireless Internet options.
So what is the difference between them all? This guide will walk you through the different types of internet connections that may be available in your area, how they work and what restrictions you can expect from them. Connection types are listed in order from most to least recommended.
Fiber internet: the best, but with limited availability
Fiber optic internet refers to the connection that reaches your home through long, thin strands (fibers) of glass or plastic. ISPs send data along these fibers as optical signals, and the result is speed and reliability that surpasses other types of connection.
Optical fibers can provide download speeds as fast as possible 10 Gb (10,000 Mbps) or higher – Fast enough to download a two-hour movie in HD in under a minute – but you’ll likely find maximum download speeds of around 1,000Mbps from most fiber-optic providers. Download speedswhich is especially important when working and learning from home, is also significantly faster with fiber optic service and usually mirrors download speeds.
Pricing for ultra-fast plans can easily run you $100 or more per month, but most providers also offer slower speed tiers (if speeds are 100-1000Mbps slow) for $40-$90 per month. Other types of connection may offer slightly lower introductory rates, depending on the providers available in your area, but when you factor in the speeds you get for the price you pay, you’ll likely find the best value with fiber internet service.
Availability is the only real drawback to fiber. Laying enough fiber optic cables to connect entire cities and regions is Huge logistical challengeHowever, with so much competition and red tape to navigate, progress has been slow for any major service providers to expand coverage to underserved areas. Thus, fiber internet is only available to about 38% of American households and mainly in urban areas, According to the Federal Communications Commission.
Leading fiber internet providers
Cable internet provides a connection to your home via a copper coaxial cable – much like traditional cable television.
Taylor Martin/CNET
Cable Internet: Your Standard Connection
Cable Internet lacks the full speed and reliability capabilities of a fiber-optic service, but it is more widely accessible. Cable is one of the most popular types of Internet connections – it’s available to nearly 90% of American households – and you’ll find it often Included with TV packages. This makes sense, since cable internet uses the same coaxial connections as cable television.
Although it is not as fast as fiber internet, cable internet service is still one of the fastest types of connection. Most cable providers offer a variety of speed options, including a gigabit plan with download speeds of around 940Mbps. Upload speeds are a much different story, although few cable ISPs offer upload speeds above 50Mbps. Speed reliability can also be a concern for cable internet because the type of connection is prone to network congestion and slow speeds, especially during peak usage times.
Cable Internet pricing varies slightly between providers, but cable is, for the most part, one of the most affordable types of Internet connection. You can get a broadband connection from providers like Cox, Mediacom, and Xfinity starting at around $30 a month. Spectrum, another big name in cable internet, has a higher starting price of about $50 per month, but comes with maximum download speeds of 300Mbps.
Notable cable internet providers
This Netgear Nighthawk portable router takes an incoming 5G signal and broadcasts it as Wi-Fi that nearby devices can use to get online. If you connect it to a dedicated Wi-Fi router, the connection can cover a wider area.
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5G Home Internet: A Growing Wireless Alternative
Mobile Internet was largely designed for your phone, but as technology improves and speeds increase – especially with the advent of mobile phones Fifth generation network – Mobile connections are becoming more practical for using the Internet at home.
With this type of internet connection, a cellular carrier such as AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon It sends 5G signals in all directions. Cell phones pick up a lot of it, but for home internet, the router receives those signals and converts them into your home connection. It’s a great way to get broadband without having to run a line to your home or in some cases, dealing with companies that operate those lines – ISPs are notorious for their poor customer satisfaction rates.
If you live in a city or other area with a strong cellular infrastructure, you may be able to connect via 5G Service providers such as Verizon offer speeds of up to 1 Gbps. You’ll also find cellular internet plans that use LTE, the previous generation of technology, or a combination of LTE and 5G.
When you’re shopping for mobile internet for home use, you’ll likely only have one or two flat-rate plans to choose from for whatever speeds are available at your address. T-Mobile offers one 5G plan ($50 per month for download speeds from 72 to 245 Mbps), while Verizon offers two ($50 or $70 per month for download speeds from 85 to 300 Mbps or 300 to 1,000 Mbps. second, respectively).
Notable cellular internet providers
Fixed Wireless Internet: Also wireless, but with some strings attached
Another wireless Internet option, but one that may come with more steps and equipment while offering slower speeds and less data, is fixed wireless. Similar to 5G, fixed wireless service providers send internet signals over the air. But unlike 5G, you’ll need a receiver installed in direct line-of-sight to the nearest tower to receive those signals. Nearby hills, trees, buildings or other obstructions, can distort or completely block your connection.
Fixed wireless Internet speeds often range from 5 to 50 Mbps. There are many variables that can affect the quality of the incoming signal, including distance from a local tower, so your available speeds may vary. No matter what speeds you can get, expect a flat rate or around $50 per month. The plans usually come with a monthly data cap of 200-300GB, depending on the provider.
Although fixed wireless has traditionally been a rural Internet option, the type of connection is expanding rapidly in metro areas thanks to providers such as Google Fiber and Starry Internet. Instead of sending services to individual residences, these providers send Internet signals to entire buildings, such as an apartment complex, and then run the service to individual units via an Ethernet cable. These providers are able to offer much faster speeds than the traditional gigabit fixed wireless service available in select areas.
Notable Fixed Wireless Internet Providers
DSL Internet: suitable for rural areas
DSL (that’s “digital subscriber line”) is a fixed connection that’s more common in areas without access to cable or fiber-optic Internet. With DSL, your Internet connection is run through copper telephone lines. It’s similar to dial-up service in this respect, but DSL is much faster than dial-up and won’t tie down your phone line.
DSL internet is best for those in rural communities who are looking for a fairly reliable and affordable internet connection. While it lags behind in speeds compared to almost every other type of internet – only approx 42% of those eligible for DSL service can get broadband speeds, which is defined by a minimum of 25 Mbps downloads and uploads a minimum of 3 Mbps – can be a cheaper and sometimes faster alternative to satellite internet. Because DSL uses existing phone lines to provide service, availability is high and service providers can keep prices relatively low.
Notable DSL Internet Providers
With satellite internet, your connection comes from radio-equipped satellites in Earth’s orbit. You will need a dish to receive the signal.
Eric Mack/CNET
Satellite Internet: Often a last resort
Satellite Internet is the most widespread type of Internet because it does not rely on terrestrial infrastructure such as cables, cell towers, or line-of-sight antenna connections. Instead, you’ll use a composite dish to connect to geostationary satellites that orbit miles in the sky. If you have a clear view of the southern sky, there is a very good chance that there is a satellite provider willing to install a dish and serve you for a price.
On average, today’s satellite internet providers offer speeds typically ranging from 12 to 100 Mbps. In most cases, this makes it a suitable option for small households who want to stream video, surf the Internet, and update their social media.
New satellite providers – namely Elon Musk’s Starlink networkwho started Service expansion In specific areas in the past few years and Amazon Kuiper Project – We are promising to spur those speeds using low-Earth orbit satellites closer to Earth. This means that the signal does not need to travel very far, which also results in reduced latency or lag.
Increased competition in the satellite internet industry may help reduce costs for the consumer. Currently, satellite internet is the most expensive type of internet connection, by far. Starting prices for satellite internet are about $60 per month, but that’s about the slow speeds – 25 Mbps max – and the low data allowances. If you want faster speeds or more data, satellite internet can run as fast as $150 to $200 per month.
Leading satellite internet service providers
Find the right internet service for you
So what type of internet connection is right for you? It depends on several factors. The first thing to think about is your typical usage, and How much speed do you really need. If you plan on just browsing the web and checking email, you can get away with a slower connection, but smaller households with users streaming videos, playing games online, or uploading files for work or school will ideally want to hit the download speeds of 25 Mbps. second at least.
Obviously, costs are another major factor. some service providers Group their various services to offer you a discountHowever, be aware that promotional rates may not last for the life of your service contract. In this case, you’ll pay more for the same service during the second year, for example.
In the end, the biggest factor is probably beyond your control and that is your location. Some parts of the United States have plenty of options for getting online, while others have none at all.
Whatever options are available to you, understanding the different techniques at play will help you know what to expect before you sign up.
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