What is the best internet provider in College Station?
College Station's largest cable internet provider, Optimum, is CNET's top pick for the best internet service provider for most households. Optimum serves many College Station addresses and offers some of the cheapest and fastest plans in the area.
T-Mobile Home Internet and Frontier Fiber are other options for home broadband, but it will depend on what's available at your location. Nextlink may also be accessible at select homes, but its prices are more expensive than T-Mobile's fixed wireless service.
Are you shopping for the most affordable plans or the fastest speeds in College Station? We've also found those. Optimum's 300 megabits per second plan, which costs only $40 per month, is the cheapest. For lightning-fast connectivity, check out Frontier Fiber's $155-per-month service, which offers symmetrical download and upload speeds up to 5 gigabits.
Best internet in College Station, Texas
College Station internet providers compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment costs | Data cap | Contract | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Communications Read full review | DSL/Fiber | $45-$155 | 500-5,000Mbps | None | None | None | 6.3 |
| Nextlink | Fixed wireless | $60-$80 | 50-300Mbps | None | None | 2 years | N/A |
| Optimum Read full review | Cable | $40-$80 | 300-940Mbps | None | None | None | 6.2 |
| Rise Broadband Read full review | Fixed wireless | $45-$55 | 25-50Mbp | $10 modem; $5-$15 router (optional) | None | None, but required for some promotions | 6.2 |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | Fixed wireless | $60 ($40 for eligible Go5G Plus and Magenta Max mobile customers) | 72-245Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Other available internet providers in College Station
- Arrive Internet: This fiber and fixed wireless ISP offers coverage in College Station, Bryan and Wicker, with prices starting at $70 per month. You'll have to input your address to see what plans and prices are available, but Arrive's website boasts that the company's service doesn't have data caps or contracts.
- Nextlink: Nextlink is a fixed wireless provider that serves roughly 74% of College Station residents. Although its coverage is wide, its high prices and slow speeds make it a last-resort option for home broadband.
- Pavlov Media: Another fiber provider in College Station, Pavlov Media has a network that's scattered across the city -- meaning you'll have to check Pavlov's website to see if your home is serviceable.
- Rise Broadband: If Optimum, T-Mobile and Frontier don't serve your location, Rise Broadband is a good alternative. Prices start at $45 for 50Mbps, but watch out for monthly equipment fees and required commitments.
Cheap internet options in College Station
The average starting cost for home internet in College Station is $50 per month, but a few providers offer service cheaper than that -- including Optimum, Frontier Fiber and Rise Broadband.
While Frontier's 500Mbps service has the best cost per Mbps (9 cents per Mbps for a fiber connection), Optimum's plan may be more widely available. Optimum offers 300Mbps for $40, which equals 13 cents per Mbps. Optimum and Frontier Fiber plans have unlimited data and equipment for no extra charge.
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What's the cheapest internet plan in College Station?
| Provider | Starting monthly price | Max download speed | Monthly equipment fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimum 300Mbps Read full review | $40 | 300Mbps | None |
| Frontier Fiber 500 Read full review | $45 | 500Mbps | None |
| Rise Broadband 50Mbps Read full review | $45 | 50Mbps | $5-$15 (optional) |
| Nextlink 50 | $60 | 50Mbps | None |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | $60 ($40 with eligible mobile plan) | 245Mbps | None |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How to find internet deals and promotions in College Station
The best internet deals and top promotions in College Station depend on what discounts are available during that period. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
College Station internet providers, such as Optimum, Nextlink and Rise Broadband, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, such as Frontier, run the same standard pricing year-round.
For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.
How fast is College Station broadband?
The median download speed in College Station is around 232Mbps, and its upload speeds reach up to 37Mbps. Ookla also reports that Frontier is the fastest provider in this Texas town, with Optimum ranking not too far behind.
If you have a need for speed in College Station, Frontier Fiber will be your best bet. Customers can choose between two multigigabit plans: 2,000Mbps for $100 or 5,000Mbps for $155 each month.
Fastest internet plans in College Station
| Provider | Starting monthly price | Max download speed | Max upload speed | Data cap | Connection type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Fiber 5 Gig Read full review | $155 | 5,000Mbps | 5,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
| Frontier Fiber 2 Gig Read full review | $100 | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
| Frontier Fiber 1 Gig Read full review | $60 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
| Optimum 1 Gig Read full review | $80 | 940Mbps | 35Mbps | None | Cable |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What’s a good internet speed?
Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you're looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you'll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here's an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines -- and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.
- 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics -- browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
- 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
- 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
- 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and gaming.
- 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.
For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in College Station
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information, drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites and mapping information from FCC.gov.
But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication.
Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
- Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
- Are customers happy with their service?
While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and also consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.
To explore our process in more depth, visit our page on how we test ISPs.
Internet providers in College Station FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in College Station?
Although Optimum's wide coverage makes it stand out above the rest of College Station's providers, Optimum also offers simple service details and cheap broadband prices.
Is fiber internet available in College Station?
Fiber internet is available to just under 37% of College Station addresses. Frontier Fiber is the largest fiber provider in the area, but select households may also be serviceable under Arrive Internet, Pavlov Media or Optimum's fiber network.
What's the cheapest internet provider in College Station?
Optimum offers the cheapest internet plan in College Station, costing $40 per month for 300Mbps.
Which internet provider in College Station offers the fastest plan?
Frontier Fiber's 5-gigabit plan is the fastest speed available in College Station, which costs $155 per month with no data caps.
