Best Internet Providers in North Carolina – CNET

August 9, 2023

`Best Internet Providers in North Carolina - CNET`

Best Internet Providers in North Carolina

Are you looking for an internet connection in the Tar Heel State? Read CNET’s guide to learn about the broadband options available.

Stephen J. Bronner Contributor

Stephen J. Bronner is a New York-based freelance writer, editor and reporter. Over his more than a decade in journalism, he has written about energy, local politics and schools, startup success tips, the packaged food industry, the science of work, personal finance and blockchain. His bylined work has appeared in Inverse, Kotaku, Entrepreneur, NextAdvisor and CNET, and op-eds written on behalf of his clients were published in Forbes, HR Dive, Fast Company, NASDAQ and MarketWatch. Stephen previously served as contributors editor and news editor for Entrepreneur.com, and was the VP, Content and Strategy, at Ditto PR. He enjoys video games and punk rock. See some of his work at stephenjbronner.com.

Expertise Energy, Local politics and Schools, Startup Success Tips, the Packaged Food Industry, the Science of Work, Personal Finance and Blockchain Credentials

2013 Media Award Winner Issued by Press Club Long Island

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7 min read

Spectrum – Best overall among internet providers in North Carolina

Prices: $40 – $70 per month
Speeds: 300 – 940Mbps
Key Info: Unlimited data, simple pricing, no contracts, modem included, free access to nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

Or call to order: 844-283-3106

AT&T Fiber – Best fiber internet coverage in North Carolina

Prices: $55 – $180 per month
Speeds: 300 – 5,000Mbps
Key Info: Unlimited data, no contracts, equipment included

Or call to order: 844-572-0025

T-Mobile Home Internet – Best 5G home internet provider in North Carolina

Prices: $50 per month
Speeds: 72 – 245Mbps
Key Info: Unlimited data, equipment included, no contracts, no additional fees

Or call to order: 877-980-2119

Brightspeed – Best rural carrier for the eastern part of North Carolina

Prices: $50 – $60 per month
Speeds: 10 – 940Mbps
Key Info: Unlimited data, no contracts

Or call to order: 844-664-0214

Google Fiber – Best high-speed fiber internet for The Triangle and Charlotte

Prices: $70 – $100 per month
Speeds: 1,000 – 2,000Mbps
Key Info: Unlimited data, no contracts, equipment included

Or call to order: 844-523-6948

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Thanks to North Carolina, you can play Fortnite while traveling in an airplane. The Tar Heel state is famous for being the birthplace of flight after the Wright Brothers’ successful airplane test in Kitty Hawk in 1903. It’s also less notably the home of Fortnitecreator Epic Games (based in Cary), which lets players dressed as Indiana Jones fight it out with Spider-Man.

Whether gaming, watching movies and TV shows, or working, North Carolina is home to some of the fastest internet speeds in the country, according to Ookla, ranking 10th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The median download speed in the Tar Heel State sits at about 209Mbps, thanks in part to the reliably fast Google Fiber, and in fact, Raleigh holds the top spot on its list of cities with the fastest internet, with median download speeds of about 255Mbps.

While AT&T and Google’s fiber option is mainly limited to Charlotte and The Triangle, North Carolinians can access many internet connection options, including satellite internet from HughesNet and Viasat (and Starlink, soon).

CNET examines customer service, speed, pricing and overall value before recommending the best broadband in your area. Due to its wide availability in the state, fast speeds and simple pricing, we’re giving the nod to Spectrum as the best internet provider overall in North Carolina. Your options will vary depending on where you live, but fortunately, everyone in the state can get online, although it may be through satellite internet. A quick note: If you live in Charlotte or Franklin, check out our guides to internet access in those cities.

Best internet options in North Carolina

As this is a state-level guide, our picks below will focus on the internet service providers that are available to most people in North Carolina, as well as other factors including speed and cost. But the best ISP will be the one available to you. All prices listed on this page reflect available discounts for setting up paperless billing. If you decide not to go with automatic monthly payments, your price will be higher.

Note: The prices, speeds and features detailed in the article text may differ from those listed in the product detail cards, representing providers’ national offerings. Your internet service options — including prices and speeds — depend on your address and may differ from those detailed here.

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7.2

SCORE

Spectrum

Best overall among internet providers in North Carolina

Read full review

Spectrum may not have the fastest speeds or provide the overall best value, but it’s the no-nonsense way for most North Carolinians to connect to the internet.

Speed 7 / 10
Value 7.5 / 10
Customer Care 7 / 10

Call to order: 844-283-3106

Check with Spectrum

Product details

Price range $40 – $70 per month Speed range 300 – 940Mbps Connection Cable Key Info Unlimited data, simple pricing, no contracts, modem included, free access to nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

Pros and Cons

Pros

Straightforward pricing
No data caps on any plans
No contracts required for internet service
Free access to Spectrum’s nationwide Wi-Fi hotspots

Cons

Competitive rates for cable, but pricier than many fiber providers
Internet service is slightly below the industry average for customer satisfaction

Availability Spectrum is available to more than 73% of households in North Carolina, according to the Federal Communications Commission, serving a decent chunk of the state, including Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh and all their suburbs. Spectrum is also available on the eastern coast at Kitty Hawk and around Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Plans and pricing Spectrum typically offers three service tiers, with a 300Mbps plan at $50 a month, 500Mbps for $70 and 940Mbps for $90.

Fees and service details Spectrum does not cap data or require a contract and offers a free modem.

Show more details

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7.4

SCORE

AT&T Fiber

Best fiber internet coverage in North Carolina

Read full review

AT&T’s fiber internet offering gets high marks from CNET for its reliability, speed and value, and normally is our top recommendation for connecting to the internet. The issue in North Carolina is its limited availability, as only 10% of households in the state can access it.

Speed 7 / 10
Value 7.5 / 10
Customer Care 7.5 / 10

Call to order: 844-572-0025

Check with AT&T

Product details

Price range $55 – $180 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 Asheville, Boone, Burlington, Charlotte (and most of its surrounding suburbs), Greensboro, Hendersonville, Lenoir, Lumberton, Rockingham, The Triangle, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

Plans and pricing AT&T offers five fiber internet options ranging from 300Mbps for $55 a month, 500Mbps for $65, 1,000Mbps for $80, 2,000Mbps for $110 and 5,000Mbps for $180. All AT&T Fiber areas will have at least the first three options available, while some bigger cities will have all five.

Fees and service details AT&T Fiber plans offer unlimited data and do not require a contract. All plans also come with Wi-Fi equipment.

Show more details

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7.4

SCORE

T-Mobile Home Internet

Best 5G home internet provider in North Carolina

Read full review

With T-Mobile’s home internet option available to three quarters of households in North Carolina, according to the FCC, you can likely connect to the internet through the carrier’s 5G offering.

Speed 6.5 / 10
Value 7.5 / 10
Customer Care 8 / 10

Call to order: 877-980-2119

Check with T-Mobile

Product details

Price range $50 per month ($30 for eligible mobile customers) 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 You’ll have to give T-Mobile your address to see if you can access its 5G home internet. Much depends on whether any open slots are in your area or neighborhood.

Plans and pricing T-Mobile Home Internet is available for $50 monthly, with speeds ranging from 72 to 245Mbps. If you’re already a customer of the company’s Go5G Plus or Magenta Max phone plans, the offering gets more compelling at $30 a month. T-Mobile customers with Go5G, Magenta or Essentials plans pay $40 monthly.

Fees and service details There are no equipment fees, data caps or contracts with T-Mobile Home Internet.

Show more details

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Brightspeed

Best rural carrier for the eastern part of North Carolina

Read full review

While Spectrum covers a wide swath of North Carolina, it has a huge coverage gap between Raleigh and Wilson to Kitty Hawk. Brightspeed, a Charlotte-based company that provides internet and voice services to areas previously served by CenturyLink, fills that gap.

Speed 0 / 10
Value 0 / 10
Customer Care 0 / 10

Call to order: 844-664-0214

Check with Brightspeed

Product details

Price range $50 – $60 per month Speed range 10 – 940Mbps Connection DSL, fiber Key Info Unlimited data, no contracts

Availability Brightspeed services the areas around the Triangle (but not the Triangle itself), including Johnson and Tusculum in the West, Hickory and the area between Henderson and Kitty Hawk in the North, down to Jacksonville in the South.

Plans and pricing Brightspeed offers both copper and fiber-based internet, but most of the rural areas of North Carolina will likely have access to just one plan for $50 a month with speeds from 19 to 100Mbps.

Fees and service details There is a $15 monthly modem lease and a one-time $99 installation fee. All plans include unlimited data, and no contract is required.

Show more details

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7.5

SCORE

Google Fiber

Best high-speed fiber internet for The Triangle and Charlotte

Read full review

If you’re in Charlotte or The Triangle and need a lot of speed for an affordable price, you can’t go wrong with Google’s fiber internet.

Speed 8 / 10
Value 7.5 / 10
Customer Care 7 / 10

Call to order: 844-523-6948

Check with Google

Product details

Price range $70 – $100 per month Speed range 1,000 – 2,000Mbps Connection Fiber Key Info Unlimited data, no contracts, equipment included

Pros and Cons

Pros

Speeds start at 1Gbps
No equipment fees, data caps or contracts
Continuing fiber expansion

Cons

No cheap plan options Fiber network still has room to grow

Availability Google Fiber is limited to Charlotte and The Triangle.

Plans and pricing Two tiers of Google Fiber service are available in North Carolina: 1,000Mbps for $70 a month and 2,000Mbps for $100.

Fees and service details Google Fiber has no data caps or contracts, and the company offers free internet equipment.

Show more details

Rural internet options in North Carolina

Provider	Connection type	Price range	Speed range	Data cap	Availability
Brightspeed	DSL/fiber	$50	Up to 100Mbps	None	Eastern part of the state
HughesNet	Satellite	$50-$175	25Mbps	15-200GB	Entire state
T-Mobile Home Internet	Fixed wireless		72-245Mbps	None	Entire state
Viasat	Satellite	$50-$300	25-100Mbps	40-300GB	Entire state

Source: CNET analysis of provider data

Welcome to North Carolina sign in springtime, on the North Carolina/South Carolina border. — Jumping Rocks/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

North Carolina broadband at a glance

Around 95% of North Carolinians have access to download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps, according to state data. As mentioned above, the Tar Heel State ranks at No. 10 in the country in terms of internet speeds, with median downloads of 209Mbps, likely thanks to the relatively wide availability of fiber internet in the state — about 48% has access to the option, mostly in Charlotte and The Triangle.

How fast is broadband in North Carolina?

North Carolina boasts a whopping five cities in the top 26 of Ookla’s ranking of 100 cities by fastest internet speeds, with Raleigh coming in at the top, Durham at six, Greensboro at 22, Winston-Salem at No. 25 and Charlotte at No. 26. So, yeah, the Tar Heel State has some fast internet, mostly thanks to fiber internet from AT&T and Google.

Internet pricing in North Carolina

The starting price of internet service in North Carolina will depend on where you live, but judging by the most widely available ISPs in the state, expect to pay around $50 to get online. If you’re an existing customer of certain T-Mobile plans and have access to its 5G internet offering, you can get that service for $30 per month. Those who qualify for the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program could get $30 knocked off their monthly bills.

Future of broadband in North Carolina

The federal government in late June awarded North Carolina $1.5 billion to expand high-speed internet access across the state. The Department of Information Technology Division of Broadband and Digital Equity “will use [Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment] funding to connect high-cost areas, remaining unserved and underserved locations, and community anchor institutions without fiber access,” reads the state’s five-year plan draft. The government also plans to boost digital literacy and make internet access more affordable.

How CNET chose the best internet service providers in North Carolina

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’re considering every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. To evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service, we look at sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of the time of publication.

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

Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
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.

To explore our process in more depth, visit our How We Test ISPs page.

Internet in North Carolina FAQs

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Does North Carolina have good internet? 

You bet your tar heel it does. Not only does North Carolina rank 10th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in terms of fast median download speeds, according to Ookla, but five cities — Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh and Winston-Salem — boast some of the highest city download speeds in the country.

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Is there fiber internet in North Carolina?

Yes. There are two primary providers: AT&T and Google. Fiber internet is mostly available in Charlotte and The Triangle, but the state government plans to expand access to the technology over the next five years.

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Is Spectrum or AT&T better to connect to the internet in North Carolina?

If you have access to Spectrum and AT&T, you may wonder which is the best choice. The short answer: If you can get fiber internet from AT&T, that’s your best option. But if AT&T’s DSL service is matched up against Spectrum’s cable connection, you’d be wise to turn to Spectrum. Read more in CNET’s breakdown of AT&T vs. Spectrum.

1 World Solutions Technology News & Info

1 World Solutions Technology News & Info

Best Internet Providers in North Carolina – CNET

`Best Internet Providers in North Carolina - CNET`

Best Internet Providers in North Carolina