HomeUncategorizedBest Internet Providers in Mississippi – CNET

Best Internet Providers in Mississippi – CNET

October 27, 2023

Best Internet Providers in Mississippi - CNET

What is the best internet provider in Mississippi?

AT&T Fiber’s plan selection, pricing, service terms, high customer satisfaction and overall value make it the best high-speed internet service provider in Mississippi. The 100% fiber connection delivers fast, symmetrical speeds ranging from 300 to 5,000 megabits per second.

AT&T and its multigigabit plans are fast, but they surprisingly aren’t the fastest in Mississippi. Local provider MaxxSouth Broadband has the fastest plan in the state, boasting 10,000Mbps (10 gigabits per second) for only $999 monthly.

How about something a little cheaper? Xfinity has the cheapest internet plan in Mississippi, with download speeds up to 75Mbps starting at $20 per month. Mediacom and Sparklight are also top choices for cheap internet, as both offer 100Mbps starting at $25 monthly. 

Whether you’re looking for the fastest speeds, the cheapest plan or the best overall value, you’ll find everything you need to know about the top ISPs in Mississippi below.

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Our methodology

CNET considers speeds, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend the best internet service in Mississippi across many categories. Our evaluation includes referencing a proprietary database built over years of reviewing internet services. We validate that against provider information by 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.

Despite our efforts to find the most recent and accurate information, our process has some limitations you should know about. Pricing and speed data are variable: certain addresses may qualify for different service tiers, 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. 

Also, 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 Mississippi. 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 signing a term contract or bundling with multiple services. 

To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.

Best internet in Mississippi

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AT&T Fiber

Best internet provider in Mississippi

Read full review

The connection type can be as important as the providers and plans when shopping for the internet. Fiber internet is often preferred, especially if it’s from AT&T Fiber.

. . . Or call to learn more: Call to Learn More (866) 431-6052

Check with AT&T

Product details

Price range $55 – $250 per month Speed range 300 – 5,000Mbps Connection Fiber Key Info Unlimited data, no contracts, equipment included

Pros and Cons

Pros

• No contracts required to receive the lowest available price
• No data caps for any fiber plans
• Valuable perks and promotional offers

Cons

• Much slower DSL plans are more prevalent than fiber options
• Data caps enforced on all non-fiber plans

Availability AT&T Fiber is available in parts of Jackson, Gulfport, Southaven, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Tupelo and too many smaller Mississippi cities to name here. It is by far the largest fiber internet provider in the state.

Plans and pricing All service areas should have three base plans ranging from 300 to 1,000Mbps, starting at $55 to $80 monthly. Select areas may also have the choice of 2,000Mbps starting at $150 per month and 5,000Mbps starting at $250.

Fees and service details No equipment fees, data caps or contracts. It’s as simple as it gets.

Show more details

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Xfinity

Best cable internet in Mississippi

Read full review

Cable internet is a runner-up to fiber in terms of speed and reliability. It’s also often where you’ll find the cheapest rates. Case in point: Xfinity.

. . . Or call to learn more: Call to Learn More (877) 498-5506

Check with Xfinity

Product details

Price range $20 – $300 per month Speed range 75 – 6,000Mbps Connection Cable Key Info Data caps on some plans, lots of plan options, solid customer satisfaction numbers

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Good variety of plans
• Some of the fastest residential plans available
• Above average scores in almost all customer satisfaction metrics

Cons

• Data caps for some plans
• Contracts often required to get the lowest price
• Steep jump from promo price to regular rates

Availability Xfinity serves many of Mississippi’s larger cities, including Jackson, Tupelo, Hattiesburg, Southaven and Meridian.

Plans and pricing Most Xfinity internet customers will have six plans to choose from, with speeds ranging from $20 to $85 per month for speeds of 75 to 1,2000Mbps. One caveat to cable internet: those are download speeds. Your upload speeds will be much slower over a cable connection.

Fees and service details Equipment fees and contracts vary by plan. Select plans may include your equipment at no extra cost (a $13 monthly value), and some may require a one- or two-year contract to get the lowest rate. Unlimited data may also be included but is less common — most plans will come with a 1.25TB data cap and an additional fee for going over.

Show more details

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T-Mobile Home Internet

Best fixed wireless internet in Mississippi

Read full review

Fixed wireless internet is ideal for internet in rural areas. The low pricing, decent speeds and simple service terms of T-Mobile Home Internet may be enough to lure you away from the big cable or fiber providers. 

. . . Or call to learn more: Call to Learn More (877) 687-6988

Check with T-Mobile

Product details

Price range $50 per month Speed range 72 – 245Mbps Connection Fixed wireless Key Info Unlimited data, equipment included, no contracts, no additional fees

Pros and Cons

Pros

• No contracts
• No data caps
• Simple, affordable pricing
• Aggressively competitive with its terms and perks

Cons

• Speeds may vary
• Max download speeds don’t match fiber and cable
• Home internet customers deprioritized over mobile

Availability T-Mobile Home Internet covers two-thirds of Mississippi households, according to the FCC. That coverage is spread across the state, so availability may vary from one neighborhood to the next wherever you are in Mississippi. Visit the T-Mobile Home Internet eligibility page to see if your address is serviceable. 

Plans and pricing There’s only one plan, but if the speeds are fast enough for your home, the one plan is all you’ll need. T-Mobile Home Internet is $50 per month ($30 for qualifying Magenta Max customers) for speeds ranging from 72 to 245Mbps.

Fees and service details There are no equipment fees, data caps or contracts with T-Mobile Home Internet, so it may be worth trying to see what speeds you can get. If it doesn’t meet your needs, you can cancel anytime.

Show more details

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Sparklight

Best rural internet in Mississippi

Read full review

While Xfinity largely sticks to Mississippi’s more densely populated areas, Sparklight’s cable internet service covers many of the state’s smaller cities. 

. . . Or call to learn more: Call to Learn More (888) 383-6134

Check with Sparklight

Product details

Price range $39 – $110 per month Speed range 200 – 1,00Mbps Connection Cable Key Info Data caps on most plans, no contracts, 30-day money-back guarantee

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Straightforward pricing with no contracts or cancellation fees
• 30-day money-back guarantee provides an opportunity to try the service
• Brings faster speeds to many communities where DSL and satellite are the only other options

Cons

• Data caps on most plans, but especially tight on the lower tiers
• Monthly price increase on starter plans after 3 months

Availability Biloxi and Gulfport are the largest Mississippi cities serviceable for Sparklight. Other service areas include Columbus, Grenada and McComb, along with various towns along the Mississippi River.

Plans and pricing Sparklight offers speeds ranging from 100 to 1,000Mbps, starting at $25 to $85 per month. Rates may increase by $25 or more after three months of service, depending on your chosen plan. 

Fees and service details Renting a router will add $13 to your monthly bill. There are no hard data caps, though exceeding 5TB of data in a month may result in throttled download speeds (10Mbps) for the remainder of your billing cycle. Service is mostly free of contracts, though certain plans or special offers may require a term agreement.

Show more details

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Mississippi

• AT&T Internet: Max speeds from AT&T’s copper-based DSL service, AT&T Internet, fall well short of AT&T Fiber at around 10 to 100Mbps. Service costs $55 per month for the fastest speeds you can get in that range. While there are still no contracts or equipment fees, a 1.5TB data cap applies.  
• Kinetic: As a fiber provider, Kinetic by Windstream is as good as any. As a DSL provider, it’s better than most. Unfortunately, availability is limited in Mississippi, as only select areas between Jackson and Hattiesburg are serviceable. 
• MaxxSouth Broadband: Local fiber provider MaxxSouth Broadband advertises 150 to 1,000Mbps starting at $30 to $70 per month. Faster plans of 2Gbps, 4Gbps, 6Gbps and 10Gbps may be available in select areas, but be aware that the plans are priced to match their speeds (high). Availability is limited to Carthage, Starkville, Oxford, New Albany and other random pockets of northeast Mississippi.
• Mediacom: Cable provider Mediacom has a small presence in Mississippi, particularly in the southern part of the state. Speeds are about what you would expect from a cable internet provider, in the 100 to 1,000Mbps range, though pricing is slightly lower than most.
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Faster than T-Mobile Home Internet, but currently with far less coverage in Mississippi, Verizon 5G Home Internet is available in parts of Jackson and random parts of the state. There are two plan options: $50 per month for speeds between 50 and 300Mbps or $70 per month for speeds between 85 and 1,000Mbps. Both plans come with free equipment, unlimited data, no contracts and an additional discount for qualifying Verizon mobile customers.
• Satellite internet: When no other internet providers are available, satellite internet from HughesNet or Viasat may be your only option for broadband. Service isn’t exceptionally fast or cheap, but it’s available everywhere and will get you online. Starlink may be the satellite solution for faster speeds, lower latency and unlimited data. Still, with an equipment purchase fee of nearly $600, it does little to alleviate the sky-high costs. 

Cheap internet options in Mississippi

Xfinity has the cheapest plan of any major provider in Mississippi, starting at $20 per month for speeds up to 75Mbps. Other providers, including Mediacom, MaxxSouth, Sparklight and Kinetic, also offer plans under $50 monthly and come with faster speeds than you’ll get with Xfinity’s cheapest plan.

T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet may be options for cheap internet as well for those who qualify for a mobile discount.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Mississippi

The best internet deals and top promotions in Mississippi depend on what discounts are available during a given time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

Mississippi internet providers, such as Xfinity, may offer lower introductory pricing or special offers for a limited time. Many, however, including AT&T, Kinetic and Sparklight, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

For a more extensive list of promotions, check out our guide on the best internet deals. 

How fast is Mississippi broadband?

Ookla speed test data from the third quarter of 2023 shows Mississippi had a median download speed of 162Mbps, ranking 40th among US states and Washington, DC. Arkansas is the only neighboring state with a lower median speed (147Mbps).

While speed tests indicate actual speeds people across Mississippi are getting, they aren’t necessarily representative of the speeds you could get. Many factors affect speed test results, including using Wi-Fi and the internet plan’s max speeds. If you want faster speeds, they are available from a variety of providers in Mississippi.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What’s a good internet speed?

Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you’re looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here’s an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines — and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.

For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.

• 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics — browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Mississippi

Internet service 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. So what’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication.

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

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
3. Are customers happy with their service?

While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.

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

While not the outright cheapest or fastest provider in the state, AT&T Fiber is our top recommendation for internet in Mississippi. All things considered — speeds, pricing, free equipment, unlimited data — the value of AT&T Fiber is tough to beat.

Xfinity, Sparklight and Mediacom are your best bets for cheap internet in Mississippi, with plans starting below $30 monthly. However, all have price increases at some point, and renting a Wi-Fi router will add $13 or more to your bill — something to keep in mind when shopping for cheap internet.

Other providers, such as Kinetic and MaxxSouth Broadband, are worth checking out if available. Depending on the speeds you can get, T-Mobile Home Internet is ideal for broadband in rural areas or as an alternative to other providers in your area.

Internet providers in Mississippi FAQs

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