Best Rural Internet Providers of 2024

Satellite internet from HughesNet or Viasat is almost always going to be an option because of the wireless delivery, but satellite comes with a few downsides such as high pricing and strict data limits. Other wireless internet options for rural areas include fixed wireless service from providers such as Rise Broadband and AT&T, and 5G home internet. Currently, T-Mobile offers the greatest 5G coverage in rural areas with speeds up to 245Mbps starting at $50 a month.

DSL is another popular internet option in rural areas, but speeds can vary significantly by location and provider. For the fastest rural DSL speeds, look to ISPs CenturyLink and Kinetic; both providers offer speeds above the broadband threshold in more than 60% of their service areas. If cable internet is available, this will likely be your best bet for speed and reliability. Cable internet providers are often not as prominent in rural areas as are satellite, wireless and DSL providers.

Installation and operation costs are the main factors preventing ISPs from expanding their networks into rural or suburban markets with low population density. 

Satellite and fixed wireless services are common in rural areas because providers can broadcast internet signals over a large area without having to run physical cables to each address. DSL service is also common since the technology largely makes use of existing phone lines, which are readily available in many rural areas.

Coaxial (traditional "cable") and fiber-optic lines are less accessible in rural areas as the cost of installing lines is often much more than the provider will get in return. This means major cable internet providers like Cox, Spectrum and Xfinity, as well as fiber providers such as AT&T, Google Fiber and Verizon, are less inclined to expand service into rural areas.

Wired connection types, such as DSL (copper), cable and fiber-optic internet, typically offer faster speeds and better reliability than wireless, although 5G wireless home internet could prove to be a better option than DSL.

Although fiber-optic internet is difficult to come by, especially in rural areas, cable internet is available to 83% of US households, according to the FCC, and is capable of download speeds of 250Mbps or higher in nearly all service areas.

In rural areas where wired connections are unavailable, fixed wireless or 5G home internet are the next-best choices. You'll likely get faster speeds, more data (possibly unlimited) and lower latency with fixed wireless or 5G compared to satellite internet.

As a last resort, satellite internet is available virtually everywhere. Prices are high for the speeds you get, and data restrictions can make it difficult to use your internet for streaming, but it is an option for rural internet if no others are available.

Ziply Fiber is the fastest rural internet provider with maximum download speeds of up to 50,000Mbps (50Gbps) available in rural parts of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Ziply Fiber also offers a 5Gbps and 1Gbps plan.

Aside from Ziply Fiber, the fastest rural internet providers include Quantum Fiber Kinetic and Mediacom, all of which offer maximum download speeds of around 1Gbps.

According to the most recent Ookla speed test data, Alaska has the lowest median download speeds of any state at around 82Mbps. Montana and Wyoming also logged median speeds of less than 100Mbps, landing around 90Mbps. A total of 37 states had median speeds lower than the national average of 213Mbps.

Many factors can affect speed test results, such as network type, Wi-Fi equipment and the internet plan you choose, so average speeds aren't always the best indicator of what speeds you can expect in a particular area.

Speeds of up to 10Mbps, which are available to nearly all US households, will support light streaming activity such as streaming in standard definition on a single device. Faster speeds, such as CenturyLink's 40Mbps plan or Mediacom's 100Mbps plan, will support streaming in higher resolution and on more devices.

The primary issue with streaming in rural areas is not speed, but data. Streaming typically consumes more data than anything else we use the internet for, so you'll want to look for a rural internet option with a high data cap or unlimited data if you typically do a lot of streaming. Try to avoid satellite internet and its strict data limits that, once exceeded, may result in restricted or reduced speeds that cannot support streaming.

Viasat has faster maximum speeds -- up to 100Mbps in select areas -- compared to HughesNet's maximum of 50Mbps, and possibly higher data allowances, but HughesNet is cheaper and likely to be the better value.

Both providers come with data caps, relatively high equipment costs and a two-year contract with steep cancelation fees if you terminate service before the end of the term agreement.

The choice between HughesNet and Viasat comes down to whether Viasat's higher price is worth the potentially faster speeds and higher data allowance. For more details, check out our HughesNet versus Viasat comparison.

It's doubtful that cable or fiber providers will significantly expand into rural areas unless a driving force like population growth or development occurs, but emerging 5G and satellite technologies could help close the digital divide in future years. While AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are actively deploying 5G service across the US, Elon Musk and his satellite service Starlink are ramping up to completely disrupt the satellite internet market. Stay tuned for updates regarding these technologies and others that could impact your home internet service -- rural or otherwise.

T-Mobile is already available to approximately 70% of US households, according to the most recent FCC data. Not all addresses within T-Mobile's service areas are eligible for 5G service yet, but the provider's rapid expansion, along with that of Verizon and now AT&T, shows promise that 5G home internet could be available in more rural areas in the near future.