Best Internet Providers in Arlington, Texas
There are a few internet providers in Arlington, but some stand out. If you’re looking for the best internet provider in Arlington, your first step should be entering your address into AT&T’s website. Can you get the fiber optic internet to your home? If the answer is yes, your search is over. AT&T Fiber Optic is the best internet provider for most households in Arlingtonthanks to ultra-fast upload and download speeds and reasonable prices.If it’s not available at your address, both Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet are reasonable, if imperfect, second choices.
Top Internet Providers in Arlington
The best internet providers offer fast speeds at affordable rates and have a track record of satisfying customers. In Arlington, AT&T Fiber is the only ISP that checks all of these boxes.
Arlington internet providers compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment costs | Data limit | Contract | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Internet Read the full review |
DSL | $60 | 10-100 Mbps | No | 1.5 TB (none for 100 Mbps plan) | No | 7.4 |
| AT&T Fiber Optic Read the full review |
Fiber | $55-$245 | 300-5,000 Mbps | No | No | No | 7.4 |
| Spectrum Read the full review |
Cable | $30-$70 | 100-1,000 Mbps | $10 (optional, free with 1gig plan) | No | No | 7.2 |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$50 with eligible mobile plans) | 72-245Mbps | No | No | No | 7.4 |
| Verizon 5G home internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$45 for eligible Verizon Wireless customers) | 85-1,000 Mbps | No | No | No | 7.2 |
Show more (1 product)
Shop providers at my address
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 25/5 Mbps for $40 per month or 50/10 Mbps 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 to get. 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 are available everywhere in Arlington, but you’ll experience slow speeds, high prices, and low data caps. Starlink satellite internet is faster but extremely expensive: $120 per month for service plus $349 upfront for the equipment and $100 congestion charge.
- Verizon 5G home internet: Verizon’s service is comparable to T-Mobile, our pick for the best fixed wireless internet in Arlington. Both use cell towers to provide connectivity, but Verizon’s 5G network delivers faster speeds. The downside? Less than half of Arlington is covered by Verizon 5G Home Internet.
Internet Service Provider Pricing in Arlington
Arlington residents can expect to pay between $50 and $80 for internet plans with speeds up to 1 Gbps. Spectrum has the cheapest plans in the area, but monthly prices increase significantly in the second or third year.
What is the cheapest internet plan in Arlington?
| Provider | From price | Maximum download speed | Monthly equipment costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum internet benefit Read the full review |
$30 ($50 in year two) | 100Mbps | $10 (optional) |
| Nextlink | $40 (with a two-year contract) | 25Mbps | $9 (optional) |
| Spectrum Internet Premier Read the full review |
$50 ($80 in year two) | 500Mbps | $10 (optional) |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review |
$50 ($35 with eligible mobile plans) | 245Mbps | No |
| Verizon 5G home internet Read the full review |
$50 ($35 with eligible mobile plans) | 300Mbps | No |
| AT&T Fiber Optic Read the full review |
$55 | 300Mbps | No |
Show more (2 articles)
Shop providers at my address
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How fast is Arlington broadband?
Arlington residents can expect a median download speed of 260 Mbps and upload speed of 23 Mbps, according to the report. Ookla speed test results. That’s about on par with Texas (225/33 Mbps) and the US as a whole (245/34 Mbps). Arlington is ahead of nearby Dallas in 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 | From price | Maximum download speed | Maximum upload speed | Data limit | Connection type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T fiber optic internet 5000 Read the full review |
$245 | 5,000 Mbps | 5,000 Mbps | No | Fiber |
| AT&T fiber optic internet 2000 Read the full review |
$145 | 2,000 Mbps | 2,000 Mbps | No | Fiber |
| AT&T fiber optic internet 1000 Read the full review |
$80 | 1,000 Mbps | 1,000 Mbps | No | Fiber |
| Verizon 5G Home Plus Internet Read the full review |
$70 ($45 with eligible Verizon 5G mobile plans) | 1,000 Mbps | 75Mbps | No | Fixed wireless |
| Spectrum internet performance Read the full review |
$70 | 1,000 Mbps | 35 Mbps (cable), 1,000 Mbps (fiber optic) | No | Cable or fiber optic |
Show more (1 product)
Shop providers at my address
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How CNET Chose the Best Internet Providers in Arlington
Internet 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 is our approach? To start, we use a proprietary database of pricing, availability, and speed information that is based on our own historical ISP data, partner data, and Federal Communications Commission card information on FCC.gov.
This guide uses an internal artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific ISPs that our writers can use in determining and presenting our choices for a particular guide . For more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools, see CNET’s AI policy.
Because 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 given area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we enter local addresses into provider websites to find the specific options available to residents. We look to sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to evaluate how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate at the time of our pre-publication fact check.
Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably high internet speeds?
- Do customers get a good price for what they pay?
- Are customers satisfied with their service?
The answers to these questions are often layered and complex, but the providers that come closest to ‘yes’ to all three questions are the ones we recommend. To explore our process in more depth, visit our page on how we test ISPs.
What’s the final word on internet providers in Arlington?
High-speed internet is available everywhere in Arlington; 95% 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 too. It’s the only ISP in the region that has symmetrical upload and download speeds, and its monthly prices are reasonable – and don’t automatically increase over time like Spectrum’s sometimes do. T-Mobile Home Internet offers an affordable option throughout Arlington, but it doesn’t offer the same fast 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 provider in Arlington. It was named the best fiber internet provider in the US by CNET and received the highest customer satisfaction score 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. 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 optic internet is available in Arlington in some areas through AT&T and Spectrum. The provider offers symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 5,000 Mbps citywide.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Arlington?
The cheapest internet provider in Arlington is Spectrum. Spectrum offers three different plans, ranging from 100 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps, with plans starting at $30 per month. Spectrum prices increase significantly once 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. The AT&T Fiber Internet 5000 plan offers symmetrical upload and download speeds of 5,000 Mbps.
