Best Internet Providers in Knoxville, Tennessee - CNET
In most cities across the US, shopping for home internet doesn’t involve much choice — you just go with whatever your home is wired for. If you’re lucky, you might have two or three options.
That’s not the case in Knoxville, where six legitimately good options are available, five of which offer gig-speeds. Out of all those worthy contenders, AT&T Fiber is CNET’s pick for the best internet provider overall in Knoxville. If you can’t get AT&T, then Xfinity and WOW offer wide coverage throughout the city, and their cable internet services deliver plenty of speed for most people.
Our team considers speeds, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend the best internet service in Knoxville across various categories. Our evaluation includes spot-checking local addresses for service availability. We also do a close read of providers’ terms and conditions and, when needed, will call ISPs to verify the details.
Our process has some limitations though. Pricing and speed data are variable: Certain addresses may qualify for different tiers of service and monthly costs may vary, even within a city. The best way to identify your particular options is to plug your address into a provider’s website.
Note that the prices, speed and other information listed above and in the provider cards below may differ from what we found in our research. The cards display the full range of a provider’s pricing and speed across the US, according to our database of plan information provided directly by ISPs. At the same time, the text is specific to what’s available in Knoxville. The prices referenced within this article’s text come from our research and include applicable discounts for setting up automatic payments each month — a standard industry offering. Other discounts and promotions might also be available for things like committing to a contract or bundling with a cellphone plan.
To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.
Top internet providers in Knoxville
Knoxville residents have a surprisingly high number of quality internet providers to choose from. According to FCC mapping data, 99.5% of the city has access to internet speeds of at least 250Mbps download and 25Mbps upload, and 72% can get 1,000/100Mbps speeds.
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Product details
If AT&T Fiber is available in a city, there’s a good chance it’s going to be our top pick. CNET named it the best fiber provider in our review of the best ISPs nationwide, and it earned top scores from the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power. AT&T Fiber gives you everything you’d want in an internet provider: fast, symmetrical speeds, reasonable pricing and unlimited data.
Availability: AT&T internet service is available to 81% of Knoxville households, according to FCC data, but not everyone will be able to get AT&T Fiber. If you only have access to AT&T’s slower DSL plans — you’ll only see one plan available when you put in your address — we recommend moving on to Xfinity or WOW.
Plans and pricing: There are five AT&T Fiber plans in Knoxville: 300Mbps upload and download speed for $55 per month, 500Mbps for $65, 940Mbps for $80, 2,000Mbps for $150 and 5,000Mbps for $250.
Fees and service details: There are no extra fees with AT&T Fiber. Equipment is included, data is unlimited, and prices don’t increase after a year.
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Product details
If you’re just looking for the cheapest internet you can get in Knoxville, WOW’s prices are about as low as you’ll find anywhere in the country — at least for the first year. Your bill will go up after that, but prices are still very affordable after the increase. Like all cable providers, upload speeds are much slower than download, which could be an issue for houses with a lot of online gaming or working from home.
Availability: WOW is available to 38% of Knoxville households.
Plans and pricing: There are five WOW plans in Knoxville: 100/10Mbps for $20 per month ($40 after one year), 200/10Mbps for $30 ($45 after one year), 500/50Mbps for $55, 1,000/50Mbps for $50 ($75 after one year) and 1,200/50Mbps for $95.
Fees and service details: Renting a modem will add an extra $14 per month to your bill, but this is waived on the three fastest plans. Data caps start at 1.5TB on the cheapest plan and go up to unlimited on the most expensive. WOW also provides a 30-day money back guarantee on all plans.