Best Rural Internet Providers of 2022: More Than Satellite – CNET

• Connection type: DSL, fiber-optic
• Price range: $49-$65 per month
• Speed range: 1-940Mbps
• Data cap: None
• CNET review score: 6.7

Aside from satellite internet providers, CenturyLink has arguably the greatest coverage area of any ISP, largely spanning suburban and rural areas across 36 states coast to coast. Most of that coverage, around 77%, comes from its DSL network, which means many rural residents within CenturyLink service areas will likely only be eligible for DSL service.

The good news is that 66% of DSL customers will be able to get broadband speeds or higher — that’s download speeds up to 25Mbps and upload speeds of 3Mbps — and more than a quarter of customers, around 28%, can get max download speeds of 100Mbps or higher. So in short, CenturyLink can meet or beat the internet speeds of satellite internet in most service areas, and service comes with a lower price tag (starting at $49 per month), unlimited data and no contracts.

If CenturyLink fiber service is available in your area, consider yourself lucky — fiber service from any provider only reaches 25% of rural areas, according to the FCC. Fiber internet from CenturyLink comes with two plan options: 200Mbps starting at $50 per month or gig service starting at $65 per month. Either plan is a massive upgrade from satellite, DSL or other rural internet connection types, so I’d recommend deciding which speed you need and going with CenturyLink’s fiber service if it happens to be available. 

Decent speeds and favorable service terms typically make for a good customer experience, and CenturyLink’s recent customer satisfaction scores indicate that’s the case for many. While not necessarily at the top of the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index scores, CenturyLink does fare better than other top rural internet providers. In 2021, CenturyLink received an ASCI score of 62, placing it marginally above Windstream (61), Mediacom (60), Frontier (57) and Suddenlink (55).

Read our CenturyLink review.

• Connection type: DSL, fiber-optic
• Price range: $37-$67 per month
• Speed range: 25-1,000Mbps
• Data cap: None
• CNET review score: 6.7

Kinetic by Windstream also received a 6.7/10 in our review, but falls just short of CenturyLink in coverage and customer satisfaction. That said, it’s still likely to be an excellent choice for rural internet as the provider has some of the fastest DSL speeds and greatest fiber network percentage of any rural ISP.

Kinetic offers internet service in 18 states total across the Midwest, South and Eastern US. Though available primarily in rural and suburban areas, nearly a third of Windstream’s network uses fiber technology. Where fiber service is available, Kinetic customers can get download and upload speeds ranging from 25 to up to 1,000Mbps, which is among the fastest speeds available from any major rural internet provider. These speeds make Kinetic ideal for streaming over wireless connections and online gaming, activities that are often a challenge with rural internet service.

Service areas not eligible for fiber will have to settle for DSL, but Kinetic’s DSL network is better than most. More than 86% of households will have access to broadband speeds or higher while roughly 65% can get speeds up to or higher than 100Mbps. 

Regardless of the available network, Kinetic is a great choice for unlimited rural internet service, as all plans come with no data caps or contracts.

Read our Kinetic by Windstream review.

• Connection type: Cable
• Price range: $20-$80 per month
• Speed range: 60-1,000Mbps
• Data cap: 200-6,000GB
• CNET review score: 6.4

As a cable provider, Mediacom can deliver much faster speeds than DSL, satellite or fixed wireless service, but its service reach is more limited. Mediacom is available to just over 2% of US residents with service areas across much of the Midwest and South, as well as parts of California and Delaware.

Still, if it’s available in your area, Mediacom is one of the best cheap internet providers for rural areas, with service starting at just $20 a month. Just know that the cheapest Mediacom plan only comes with 200GB of data, and going over the limit can add up to $50 to your bill. More data is available with higher-tiered plans, up to 6 terabytes, but no Mediacom plan offers unlimited rural internet service. 

Pricing goes up on all Mediacom plans after the first year and settles somewhere around the industry average for cable internet providers. Still, starting prices of $20-$80 per month aren’t bad, especially for a rural internet connection.

Read our Mediacom review.

• Connection type: Fixed wireless
• Price range: $25-$65 per month
• Speed range: 5-50Mbps
• Data cap: 250GB, unlimited data options available
• CNET review score: 6.2

Rise Broadband is a leading fixed wireless internet provider with service available to around 6% of US households, many of which are in rural areas. Coverage spans 16 states, with Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Texas and Utah having the highest serviceability.

Similar to satellite internet, fixed wireless service from Rise Broadband requires no direct lines to the home, making it accessible to those in rural areas where cable, fiber-optic and even telephone lines do not reach. Where available, Rise Broadband would be my choice over satellite internet, as the provider offers speeds up to 50Mbps, latency low enough to support online gaming and truly unlimited data options, all for a relatively low price compared to satellite. 

Rise Broadband is also a great choice for wireless internet in rural areas with Premium Wi-Fi and Premium Mesh Wi-Fi service available as add-ons to all internet plans.

Read our Rise Broadband review.

• Connection type: DSL, fiber-optic
• Price range: $20-$300 per month
• Speed range: 50-5,000Mbps
• Data cap: None
• CNET review score: 6.9

You read that speed range correctly: Ziply Fiber offers multigigabit internet speeds with 2 and 5Gbps plans available in select — and rural — areas throughout the Northwest. The provider recently rolled out the multigigabit service to 170,000 homes with plans to bring the service to all homes within its expanding fiber network later this year.

The fastest Ziply plan may be more speed than you need, and more than you want to pay at $300 per month, but other Ziply plans present a bit more affordability without having to sacrifice too much speed. Ziply’s entry level plan, for example, starts at just $20 per month for symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 50Mbps. Other speed tiers include 200Mbps, 1Gbps and 2Gbps, with starting prices ranging from $40 to $120 per month. All plans come with unlimited data and no contract requirements.

Ziply has an impressive fiber network, but only about half of Ziply service areas are eligible for fiber service, according to the FCC. All others will rely on a DSL network which, like most DSL services, presents one plan option for the fastest speeds available. In the case of Ziply Internet, the DSL service, that plan starts at $50 per month for speeds up to 115Mbps. Again, that’s the fastest possible speeds, and many customers may only be eligible for speeds that are much slower.

Read our Ziply Fiber review.

• Connection type: Wireless
• Price range: $50 a month
• Speed range: 25-110Mbps
• Data cap: Unlimited
• CNET review score: N/A

The arrival of 5G is exciting news for your phone, but the technology could also improve home internet connectivity, especially if you’re in a rural area. So far, T-Mobile has the greatest 5G availability with coverage reaching 30 million homes across 40 states. Around a third of those homes are in rural areas, according to T-Mobile.

If your address is eligible for T-Mobile 5G home internet, you’ll have one plan option: $50 a month for the fastest speeds available. The plan also comes with no data caps or contracts, and equipment is included at no additional cost

Actual speeds will vary by address, but will probably fall in the 35-115Mbps range. I can’t say those speeds are particularly impressive, but they are faster than you can expect from satellite service, without the hassle of data caps and contracts. Another thing of note on speeds, T-Mobile home internet service may occasionally fall back to 4G LTE service, which means speeds can further dip and vary.

Read our T-Mobile 5G home internet review.

• Connection type: Satellite
• Price range: $65-$170 per month
• Speed range: 12-100Mbps
• Data cap: 40-150GB (no hard data cap)
• CNET review score: 6.1

Slow speed is one of the biggest downsides to satellite internet, but in many areas, Viasat‘s speeds are higher than those of its main satellite internet rival, HughesNet. While HughesNet download speeds top out at the broadband threshold of 25Mbps, Viasat customers can sign up for 50Mbps or 100Mbps in select areas. Almost half of Viasat’s coverage area, which is essentially half of all households in the US, Alaska and Hawaii included, are eligible for speeds up to 100Mbps, according to the FCC. 

But with great(ish) speed comes (not-so) great pricing. Viasat is the most expensive rural broadband provider you’ll find, with service starting at $65 per month for speeds as low as 12Mbps, not to mention an added $13 per month for equipment. If you want the fastest speeds, 100Mbps, it’ll cost you $170 or more per month. There’s also a price hike after just three months of service that could add $30, $50 or $100 to your bill, depending on the plan.

Viasat is the fastest satellite provider with coverage in all 50 states, but perhaps not for long. Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have injected a lot of interest into the category, and consumers should keep an eye on names like those in the coming years.

Read our Viasat internet review.

• Connection type: Satellite
• Price range: $65-$160 per month
• Speed range: 25Mbps
• Data cap: 10-50GB (no hard data cap)
• CNET review score: 5.7

HughesNet offers some relief to the high cost of satellite internet with lower starting prices than Viasat, albeit not by much. There is more value to HughesNet’s entry level plan versus Viasat, however, with HughesNet delivering speeds up to 25Mbps and 15GB of data starting at $65 per month compared to Viasat’s 12Mbps with 40GB of data starting at $70 per month — with a $30 price increase right around the corner. Adding to the value and pricing advantage over Viasat, HughesNet is currently running a promotion of $20 off all plans for six months for new customers who sign up by May 31.

At the surface level, Viasat plans appear to come with significantly more data, but HughesNet throws in an additional 50GB per month for all customers regardless of the plan they choose. Known as the “Bonus Zone,” the extra 50GB is available between the hours of 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., when network congestion is presumably at its lowest. Granted, the timing’s not ideal if you’re not a night owl, but if you can strategically schedule your downloads to occur between these hours, it could add a considerable chunk to your monthly data allowance. 

Speed reliability is another advantage to HughesNet service. According to the FCC’s Eighth Measuring Broadband in America Report, HughesNet outperformed all other participating ISPs in terms of actual versus advertised speeds over a wired connection, with actual median speeds coming in at 150% or higher of the advertised speed.

HughesNet customers are likely to run into speed issues if they exceed the monthly data cap, however. HughesNet does not charge overage fees, meaning the service is technically “unlimited,” but customers who go over their monthly data allowance will have to purchase more data or endure drastically reduced speeds for the remainder of their billing cycle.

Read our HughesNet review.