Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
There are a number of internet providers in Arlington, but a few stand out. If you’re shopping for the best ISP in Arlington, your first step should be to enter your address on the AT&T website. Can you get his fiber internet service in your home? If yes, your search is over. AT&T Fiber is the best internet provider for most households in Arlingtonthanks to ultra-fast upload and download speeds and reasonable prices.If not available at your address, both Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet are fleeting, albeit imperfect, second choices.
Best Internet Providers in Arlington
The best internet providers offer high speeds at affordable prices and have a track record of satisfying customers. In Arlington, the only ISP that checks all those boxes is AT&T Fiber.
Arlington Internet Providers Compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment costs | Data capacity | Contract | CNET rating rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | 60 dollars | 10-100Mbps | None | 1.5 TB (none for 100 Mbps plan) | None | 7.4 |
| AT&T Fiber Read the full review |
Fibers | $55-$245 | 300-5,000 Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
| Spectrum Read the full review |
cable | $30-$70 | 100-1,000 Mbps | $10 (optional, free on 1gig plan) | None | None | 7.2 |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$50 with eligible mobile plans) | 72-245Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$45 for eligible Verizon Wireless customers) | 50-250Mbps | None | None | None | 7.2 |
Show more (1 item)
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Other available internet providers in Arlington
- Nextlink: Nextlink’s two fixed wireless plans are available to 21% of Arlington households. You can get 25/5Mbps for $40 a month or 50/10Mbps for $60. Nextlink offers the first month of service for free and both plans come with unlimited data, but you’ll need to sign a two-year contract to get the best price. Fixed wireless is a slightly better option than satellite internet in terms of speed and reliability, but Verizon and T-Mobile are much stronger fixed wireless options.
- Satellite Internet: Satellite Internet is usually your last resort if you live in a rural area and can’t get anything else. HughesNet and Viasat they’re available all over Arlington, but you’ll have to deal with slow speeds, high prices, and low data caps. Starlink satellite internet is faster but extremely expensive at $120 per month for service plus $349 upfront for equipment and a $100 congestion charge.
- Verizon 5G Home Internet: Verizon’s service is comparable to T-Mobile, which is our pick for the best fixed wireless in Arlington. Both use cell towers to connect, but Verizon’s 5G network delivers faster speeds. Downside? Less than half of Arlington has Verizon 5G home internet coverage.
Prices for internet providers in Arlington
Arlington residents can expect to pay between $50 and $80 for Internet plans with speeds up to 1Gbps. Spectrum has the cheapest plans around, but monthly prices go up significantly in the second or third year.
What is the cheapest internet plan in Arlington?
| Provider | Initial price | Maximum download speed | Monthly equipment fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum Internet Advantage Read the full review |
$30 ($50 in second year) | 100Mbps | $10 (optional) |
| Nextlink | $40 (with two-year contract) | 25Mbps | $9 (optional) |
| Spectrum Internet Premier Read the full review |
$50 ($80 in second year) | 500Mbps | $10 (optional) |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review |
$50 ($35 with eligible mobile plans) | 245Mbps | None |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review |
$50 ($35 with eligible mobile plans) | 300Mbps | None |
| AT&T Fiber Read the full review |
$55 | 300Mbps | None |
Show more (2 items)
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How fast is Arlington broadband?
Arlington residents can expect average download speeds of 260Mbps and upload speeds of 23Mbps, according to Ookla speed test results. That’s roughly on par with Texas (225/33Mbps) and the US as a whole (245/34Mbps). Arlington is ahead of nearby Dallas for download speed, but lags behind Fort Worth. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
Fastest internet plans in Arlington
| Provider | Initial price | Maximum download speed | Maximum loading speed | Data capacity | Connection type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Fiber Internet 5000 Read the full review |
$245 | 5,000 Mbps | 5,000 Mbps | None | Fibers |
| AT&T Fiber Internet 2000 Read the full review |
$145 | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | None | Fibers |
| AT&T Fiber Internet 1000 Read the full review |
$80 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | None | Fibers |
| Spectrum Internet Gig Read the full review |
$70 | 1,000Mbps | 35 Mbps (cable), 1000 Mbps (fiber) | None | Cable or fiber |
Show more (0 items)
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How CNET chose the best Internet providers in Arlington
Internet providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest ones smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen toolsit is impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. What is our approach? For starters, we use a proprietary pricing, availability, and speed database that is drawn from our historical ISP data, partner data, and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.
This guide uses an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific internet providers that our writers can use to determine and present our choices for a given guide. Check it out CNET’s AI policy for more information on how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools.
Since our database is not exhaustive, we go to the FCC’s website to check the primary data ourselves and make sure we are considering every ISP that provides service in a particular area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we enter local addresses into provider websites to find specific options available to residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to gauge how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent change; all information provided is correct at the time of our fact checking prior to publication.
Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably high internet speeds?
- Are customers getting decent value for what they are paying for?
- Are customers satisfied with their service?
The answer to those questions is often layered and complex, but the providers that come closest to saying yes to all three are the ones we recommend. To explore our process in more detail, you can visit our page at how we test ISPs.
What’s the final word on Internet providers in Arlington?
High-speed internet is widely available in Arlington – 93% of the city can reach speeds of 250 Mbps, compared to 83% of Texas — but residents don’t have as many options as in other cities. AT&T Fiber is widely available, and if you can get it, you should. It’s the only ISP in the area that has symmetrical upload and download speeds, and the monthly prices are reasonable – and don’t automatically increase over time like Spectrum sometimes does. T-Mobile Home Internet offers an affordable option throughout Arlington, but it doesn’t offer the same high speeds as AT&T and Spectrum.
Frequently Asked Questions about Internet Service Providers in Arlington
What is the best internet provider in Arlington?
AT&T Fiber is the best internet service provider in Arlington. CNET named it the best fiber internet provider in the US and received the highest customer satisfaction rating in the 2023 American Customer Satisfaction Index survey. AT&T offers five plans in Arlington, with symmetrical speeds between 300 Mbps and 5,000 Mbps and prices ranging from $55 to $245. The equipment is included with every AT&T Fiber plan and no data caps or contracts are required.
Is fiber optic internet available in Arlington?
Yes, fiber internet is available in Arlington through AT&T and Spectrum in some areas. The provider offers symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 5,000 Mbps across the city.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Arlington?
The cheapest internet provider in Arlington is Spectrum. Spectrum offers three different plans ranging from 100Mbps to 1,000Mbps, with plans starting at $30 per month. Spectrum prices increase significantly when the promotional rate expires in year 2 or 3.
Which internet provider in Arlington offers the fastest plan?
The internet provider in Arlington that offers the fastest plan is AT&T Fiber. Its AT&T Fiber Internet 5000 plan provides symmetrical upload and download speeds of 5,000 Mbps.
