Best Internet Providers in Scottsdale, Arizona

In Scottsdale, Arizona, fiber deployment is limited. According to CNET, your best bet is a fiber connection from CenturyLink, also known as Quantum fiber. If the operator doesn’t serve your address, Cox is your next best option. It has fast download speeds, but upload speeds suffer because it’s a cable operator.

Our team looks at speeds, prices, customer service, and overall value to recommend the best internet service in Scottsdale in several categories. Our evaluation involves consulting a proprietary database built up over years of reviewing internet services. We validate that against provider information by spot-checking local addresses for service availability. We also carefully review providers’ terms and conditions and, if necessary, call ISPs to verify details.

Despite our efforts to find the most up-to-date and accurate information, our process has some limitations that you should be aware of. Pricing and speed data are variable: certain addresses may qualify for different levels of service, and monthly fees can vary, even within a city. The best way to identify your specific options is to enter your address on a provider’s website.

The prices referenced in this article are from our research and include applicable discounts for setting up automatic payments each month — an industry standard offering. Other discounts and promotions may also be available, for things like signing up for a contract or bundling with a mobile plan.

On our methodology page we describe our comprehensive process for evaluating broadband service providers.

Best Internet Options in Scottsdale

Scottsdale residents have three main options when it comes to internet: CenturyLink (now known as Quantum Fiber), Cox, and T-Mobile Home Internet. We’ve also outlined a few other providers below, but these are only worth considering if you can’t get one of the top three.

Source: CNET analysis of carrier data.

Other available residential internet providers in Scottsdale

While we think CenturyLink, Cox, and T-Mobile are the best options for internet in Scottsdale, there are a few other options worth considering:

• BAM Breedband/Desert iNet: Available to just 8% of Scottsdale residents, BAM Broadband, formerly known as Desert iNet, offers fixed wireless plans and limited fiber service in Scottsdale’s northern suburbs. In most areas, plans max out at 100 Mbps, but the company says it offers speeds of up to 2,400 Mbps in some areas. Prices start at $80 per month for 600 Mbps and go up to $99 for 1,200 Mbps. The top-of-the-line 2,400 Mbps plan will set you back $120 per month.
• Phoenix Internet: Available to about 10% of Scottsdale households, Phoenix Internet offers fixed wireless connections. Plans start at $75 per month for just 50 Mbps and go up to $95 for 100 Mbps. Faster 300 Mbps and 1000 Mbps plans are available for $115 and $140, respectively. Availability for the high-speed plans is very limited, however. It’s only worth considering if your only other options are satellite or DSL.
• Satellite internet: Satellite internet should only be a last resort. The list of drawbacks is long, including long contracts, slow speeds, low data caps, and high latency. HughesNet and Viasat are the longest-running satellite providers in the country, while Starlink has offered another option in recent years. All come with high upfront equipment costs.
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile, Verizon uses its extensive cellular network to provide home internet in the Scottsdale area. While it’s only available to about half of the city’s households, some homes may qualify for gig-speed plans (1,000 Mbps or higher).

Scottsdale Home Internet Service Pricing Information

The starting price for internet in Scottsdale averages around $52 per month, which is comparable to nearby cities like Mesa and Phoenix. CenturyLink’s fiber plan is the least expensive option for value, starting at $50 per month but with a higher-than-average starting speed of 500 Mbps, though availability can be limited. You can get a similar monthly price from T-Mobile and Verizon if you bundle home internet service with a qualifying cellular plan.

Source: CNET analysis of carrier data.

Broadband Speeds in Scottsdale

In Scottsdale, three providers offer giga speeds. For most households, a download speed of 1,000 Mbps is more than enough, but people who play a lot of online games or work from home may have trouble with the slower upload speeds from Cox and Verizon.

Source: CNET analysis of carrier data.

What’s the final word on internet providers in Scottsdale?

Scottsdale has fewer high-speed internet options than many other cities of its size. Cox is available almost everywhere — more or less guaranteeing you’ll get a solid connection — but it’s the only choice in many parts of the city. Fiber optic internet remains relatively scarce in Scottsdale, with CenturyLink being the only provider offering symmetrical speeds.

How CNET Picked the Best Internet Providers in Scottsdale

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router, or kitchen utensil, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So how do we do it? To start, we use a proprietary database of pricing, availability, and speed information based on our own 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 ISPs that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a given guide. Check out CNET’s AI Policy for more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools.

Because our database isn’t exhaustive, we go to the FCC website to fact-check the primary data ourselves and make sure we consider every ISP that offers service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we enter local addresses into provider websites to find the specific options available to residents. To evaluate how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service, we look at sources like the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent change; all information provided is accurate at the time of our pre-publication fact-check.

Once we have this localized information, we ask ourselves three main questions:

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Do customers get value for their money?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

While the answers to these questions are often layered and complex, 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 How We Test ISPs page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Internet in Scottsdale