Buckeye Broadband stands out as Toledo’s best internet provider, offering the ideal mix of speed, affordability and availability. Beyond Buckeye Broadband,the city also has big names like AT&T and T-Mobile. Overall, Toledo has a decent selection of speeds, broad coverage and affordable starting prices.
If you’re in the coverage area of AT&T Fiber, it’s worth a look as an alternative. Being a fiber operator, it offers symmetrical upload and download speeds, with speeds going all the way up to 5,000Mbps. If you don’t have a fiber provider in your area or don’t need those kind of speeds, T-Mobile Home Internet is a decent alternative. Priced starting at $50 monthly, it offers speeds going up to 415Mbps and locks in the price as long as you use the service.
For a more extensive list of promotions, our guide on the best internet deals has you covered.
Fastest internet plans in Toledo
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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 and 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 online gaming.
500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in Toledo
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. 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 the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.
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 the time 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?
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 it comes to selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, although 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 take into account real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
Internet providers in Toledo FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in Toledo?
Yes, fiber internet is available to 38% of households in Toledo, according to FCC data. AT&T and Buckeye Broadband offer fiber plans in the area, but some addresses will have access only to their slower DSL and cable internet connections.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Toledo?
AT&T Fiber offers the fastest plan in Toledo, with symmetrical upload and download speeds up to 5,000Mbps. Buckeye Broadband is introducing plans up to 10,000Mbps, although availability is still scattered and minimal.
