The best internet providers in Georgia

What is the best internet in Georgia?

AT&T Fiber It is the best internet provider in Georgia for speed, reliability and price. However, availability will depend on where you live. AT&T Fiber is pretty limited across the state, and even worse, Georgia’s urban areas only have a few ISP options — mostly Xfinity, Spectrum and Google FibeAT&T also offers copper-based internet in Georgia, but we don’t recommend it.

In rural areas, mostly low-boiler options are even fewer Kinetic by Windstream, Mediacom and Light lightdepending on the area. Across the country, 5G home internet from both T-Mobile and Verizon available based on individual addresses as well satellite internet from Hughesnet, Viasat and SpaceX, whose Starlink satellite internet service Available in certain pockets of the Peach State.

The best internet options in Georgia

Source: CNET analysis of provider data

Access to the Internet in rural areas of Georgia is not so difficult. Various ISPs, including Hargray, Kinetic by Windstream, and Mediacom, provide wired connections in various parts of the state. Again, it’s worth comparing these providers to T-Mobile and Verizon’s 5G home internet options available throughout Georgia. If your options are still severely limited, there are three options for satellite internet, although Viasat and Starlink have in-state restrictions.

Internet distribution by cities in Georgia

It’s difficult to cover broadband options for an entire state and give individual cities the attention they deserve. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best ISPs in every city in the US, including Georgia. We tackle details like internet connection types, maximum speed and cheapest providers. If you don’t find what you’re looking for below, check back later. We are working to add more cities every week.

Georgia internet details at a glance

Not surprisingly, cities in Georgia fare better than the rest of the state in terms of ISP options. However, only 36% of Georgians have access to fiber-based internet. Anyone in the Peach State can get online at decent speeds, even if it’s through a rural or satellite carrier.

The median download speed in Georgia is around 187 Mbps, presumably due to the availability of fiber internet from AT&T, Google and Kinetic by Windstream. Ooklaranking the state 29th out of the 50 states and Washington, DCin terms of download speed. Interestingly, Ookla does not rate one of its fiber providers as the fastest in Georgia. That difference goes to the Spectrum, which has a median download speed of about 243 Mbps. On the city side, in Ookla’s ranking of the 100 most populous cities in the US, Atlanta fared poorly, at 100th place, with an average download speed of about 94 Mbps. Google Fiber is the fastest carrier out there, averaging around 300 Mbps.

Internet prices in Georgia

The amount you’ll pay for Internet in Georgia will depend on where you live and which providers serve your area, but a good estimate for the monthly cost of going online in the Peach State is around $40. The cheapest plans available are Xfinity’s 150Mbps plan for $35 per month, 300Mbps plan for $45 per month, and Mediacom’s 100Mbps plan for a starting price of $20 per month.

How CNET chose the best Internet providers in Georgia

Internet providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen toolit is impossible to personally test every ISP in a given city. What is our approach? For starters, we use a proprietary price, availability, and speed database from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov, pulled from our own historical ISP data, partner data, and mapping data.

And it doesn’t stop there: We go to the FCC’s website to verify our data and ensure we review every ISP serving an area. We also include local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look to sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power to gauge how satisfied customers are with their ISP service. ISP plans and prices are subject to change frequently; All information provided is accurate as published.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three key questions:

• Does the provider offer access to fast enough internet speeds?
• Are customers getting decent value for what they are paying for?
• Are customers satisfied with their service?

The answers to these questions are often layered and complex, but the providers closest to a yes to all three are the ones we recommend. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the lowest monthly fee plans, although we also take into account factors such as price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively simple. We look at advertised download and upload speeds and review real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and The FCC reports. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

Visit our page to explore our process in more depth How we test ISPs page.

The future of broadband in Georgia

Georgia is set to receive $1.3 billion in federal funds from the Broadband Capital, Access and Deployment Program. Georgia Recorderreports. BEAD aims to “lay thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables and provide a $30 monthly discount on internet bills for economically disadvantaged families.” This is the latest funding the state has received to expand Internet access. Earlier this year, Governor Brian Kemp announced $234 million in funding to improve connectivity for 28 Georgia counties. Small projects are already taking shape. Conexon Connect, an ISP founded by a rural fiber-optic network design and construction management company, announced his plans to expand fiber access in Grady County using federal funds. Windstream also announced plans to expand access in Georgia south and north parts.