Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the United States

Those of us who live between “sea to shining sea” know that our choice of Internet service providers (ISPs) in the United States is relatively limited, given our country’s population and expanse of area. Too many urban areas have ISP duopolies—a choice between either an MSO (“the cable company”) or a telco (“the telephone company”).

This lack of meaningful ISP competition has, of course, proved detrimental to consumers. According to the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), Internet service complaints surpass those of other industries. In 2019, BroadbandNow reported that overall broadband industry customer satisfaction is 48.3%. Multiple system operator (MSO) Comcast rebranded to Xfinity in 2010 after years of customer complaints. Cable One became Sparklight in 2019.

Also, ISPs inevitably buy out their competitors. While corporate acquisitions mean greater economies of scale for ISPs, consumers often pay higher subscription rates for service after these mergers. On top of bad service and high rates, users receive slower data speeds than their counterparts in other nations. To be fair, the nation’s relatively slow aggregate data speeds are partially due to the prevalence of thinly populated areas in flyover country.

The line between telco and MSO has blurred in recent years. AT&T has long been synonymous with “the telephone company.” But in search of revenue and market share, traditional telcos like AT&T and Verizon (the successor to GTE) now have attributes of an MSO. They deliver mobile and fixed wireless services and provide video content. AT&T owns DirecTV and Big Red has Verizon Digital Media Services.

Take a look at reviews.org’s video on “The Best Internet Service Provider for YOU.” 

How Do ISPs Deliver the Internet?

So you want to surf the web? Americans have eight technologies from which to choose. Few locations, however, have all eight options available.

• Dedicated telco circuit, i.e., T1

• Dialup

• DOCSIS

• DSL

• Fiber Optic

• Fixed Wireless (4G LTE or WiMAX)

• Mobile (4G LTE and 3G)

• Satellite

Dialup and satellite Internet are well-nigh available universally. Forget T1s; a T1 delivers but 1.5 Mbps and telco loop charges are prohibitively expensive. Fiber availability is limited. DOCSIS and DSL are available throughout major urban areas as well as in some rural locales, many of which also have fixed wireless options. Some 93% of the nation can access mobile 4G LTE.

Prices for each technology wildly vary, even by region. Those who have more options generally pay lower prices for their service than those limited to two or three choices. You can safely presume that dialup costs the least while fiber costs the most. Heavy data users will find mobile 4G LTE pricey, too.

The number of ISPs in the U.S. is constantly in flux as providers continually merge and acquire competitors. One source estimates that in 2002, 7,000 ISPs served North America (including Canada). The latest figures from BroadbandNow find only 2,681 American providers, categorized as follows:

• DSL – 887

• Copper (T1, T3) – 235

• Cable – 449

• Fiber Optic – 1,295

• Fixed Wireless – 1,584

• Mobile Broadband – 52

Readers will note that this number far surpasses 2,681. Many providers, like AT&T and Verizon, offer various ways for subscribers to access the Internet.

How do we know there are 2,681 American ISPs? BroadbandNow compiled providers’ Form 477 information, filed biannually with the FCC, which lists basic data such as subscriber base, coverage area, Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions, etc.

U.S. Satellite ISPs

As of late 2019, American consumers can choose between just two sat ISPs: HughesNet or Viasat. They provide Internet service to all 50 states, D.C. and territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While they offer nationwide service, both sat ISPS have isolated “dead” pockets—mostly in the western U.S—where their signal is unavailable.

HughesNet is the largest residential provider of Internet services in the nation, reaching “an estimated 308.7 million people (in) 33,131 zip codes.” The second-largest residential ISP, Viasat, is estimated to connect with “308.5 million (in) 32,829 zip codes.” As a point of comparison, in 2018 the U.S. population totaled 327.2 million, per the U.S. Census Bureau.

Officially, HughesNet provides “true” broadband speed (as recognized by the FCC) of 25 Mbps. Viasat claims to offer data speeds as high as 100 Mbps but realistically, expect only 12 to 30 Mbps in most locations.

Mobile 4G LTE and 3G

MNOs (mobile network operators) potentially have almost as many customers as satellite ISPs. Estimates run as high as 306.4 million for AT&T Wireless and 305 million for Verizon. Sprint and T-Mobile run third and fourth, potentially reaching 280 million and 247 million Americans, respectively. AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are nationwide; T-Mobile covers 46 states.

The latest subscriber numbers—

• AT&T Mobility (includes AT&T Wireless, wholly-owned mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Cricket and other hosted providers): 159.7 m (as of mid-2019)

• Verizon (includes hosted providers such as Credo): 154 m (as of October 2018)

• T-Mobile (includes wholly-owned MVNO Metro by T-Mobile and other hosted providers): 83 m (as of mid-2019)

• Sprint (includes MVNO Boost Mobile and other hosted providers): 54.5 m (as of March 2019)

Readers note: subscriber numbers for the four major MNOs include “hosted providers” such as MVNOs. Many MVNOs use a combination of two or more MNOs for their virtual networks and MNOs include these MVNO subscribers as part of their overall customer base.

The only other major American MNO (i.e., a “facilities-based service provider”) is U.S. Cellular. With towers in 23 states, it has but 5 million customers as of March 2019. Several regional MNOs serve rural Americans; many of these carriers have a presence in only one state. Moreover, some only offer 3G connectivity. See the list below:

Contiguous 48 States and HI

Appalachian Wireless	Choice Wireless	Mobi	RTC Communications
Big River Broadband	Colorado Valley Communications	Nemont includes Sagebrush Cellular	Snake River PCS
Blaze Wireless	Commnet Wireless (WHSL)	Pine Belt Wireless	STRATA Networks
Blue Wireless	CTC Wireless	MobileNation	Southern Linc
Bluegrass Cellular	Custer Telephone Cooperative	Nex-Tech Wireless	Thumb Cellular
Bravado Wireless	DTC Wireless	NorthwestCell	Tampnet
Bug Tussel Wireless	ETC -Enhanced Telecommunication Corporation	Shentel (Sprint Affiliate)	West Central Wireless (incl. Right Wireless and Five Star Wireless Telephone Cooperative)
C Spire Wireless	Evolve Broadband	NNTC Wireless	Triangle Mobile
Carolina West Wireless	FTC Wireless	NVC	Union Wireless
Cellcom	Illinois Valley Cellular	Pine Cellular	United Wireless
Cellular One of North East Arizona	Indigo Wireless	Pioneer Cellular	Silver Star Communications
Cellular One	Infrastructure Networks	PTCI	VTel
Chariton Valley Wireless	Inland Cellular	Redzone Wireless	Viaero Wireless
Chat Mobility	Limitless Mobile	Rock Wireless	WUE
Fusion	Mosaic Telecom	Phoenix Communications	Northwest Missouri Cellular

Alaska

ASTAC	GCI Wireless
Bristol Bay Cellular Partnership	OTZ Cellular
Copper Valley Telecom	TelAlaska Cellular
Cordova Wireless	Windy City Cellular

U.S. Territories including Puerto Rico, USVI, Guam, Northern Marianna Islands and American Samoa

Claro	DoCoMo Pacific	IT&E
Viya	GTA	Bluesky
Open Mobile (merging with Sprint)	iConnect	ASTCA
ADM Wireless

America’s 4G network includes both LTE and so-called LTE Advanced. As of late 2019, 5G was just beginning its rollout, and only from Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile announced its 5G rollout will begin on 6 December 2019.

MSO DOCSIS

MSOs, of course, are traditionally known as cable TV providers, companies granted exclusive franchises from municipalities or townships to provide TV programming with a much wider variety of choices than conventional over-the-air (OTA) TV stations. Once American OTA TV went digital in 2009, the number of OTA channel choices virtually quadrupled as stations began adding “substations” on their digital airwaves.

This development, as well as “Over The Top” (cord cutting) video streaming from providers such as NetFlix, Roku, YouTube, etc., finds MSOs struggling to retain their customer base. Bundling cable TV (and now IPTV), Internet and phone services were once exclusively the purview of MSOs. Now heavy hitters such as AT&T (with DirecTV and U-verse) and Verizon (Fios) offer the same service bundles over DSL and for those lucky few, fiber.

Yet conventional MSOs have two aces in the hole; the coaxial cable and Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS). With fiber backbones moving closer to subscribers’ doorsteps, some MSOS now offer DOCSIS 3.1 technology with broadband speeds that rival that of fiber. These are essentially hybrid fiber networks, with coax spanning “the last mile” from backbone to customer interface. The same coax delivers both DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1.

Typically, MSOs cover a patchwork of territories. For example, Charter Communications operates in 41 states, Cox Communications is found in 18 states and Altice (Suddenlink) in 21 states. Below are the largest 25 MSOs; AT&T has the most subscribers with 22.36 million as of early 2019. Google Fiber, as of early 2019, had 68, 715 subscribers.

Largest 25 American MSOs

1. AT&T	6. Cox	11. TPG	16.Midco	21. General Comm
2. Comcast	7. Altice	12. WOW!	17. Armstrong Cable Services	22. Cincinnati Bell
3. Charter	8. Frontier	13. Atlantic Broadband	18. Service Electric CTV	23.Buckeye Broadband
4. Dish Network	9. Mediacom	14. Windstream	19. Blue Ridge	24. Consolidated
5. Verizon	10. Sparklight	15. CenturyLink	20. TDS Telecom	25. Google Fiber

Fiber Optic

Speaking of Google Fiber (not a conventional MSO), one readily sees how relatively few Americans have access to residential fiber to the home (FTTH) technology. While some of the companies above—AT&T, Comcast, Charter, Verizon, Cox, Altice, Frontier, Cable One, CenturyLink, TDS Telecom, Windstream and Cincinnati Bell—have customers accessing the Internet via fiber, these numbers are dwarfed by comparison to their total subscriber base.

As of July 2019, BroadbandNow estimates 25% fiber coverage nationwide in the U.S. This percentage refers to population—not land area—and includes FTTX (i.e., curb, node, etc.). BroadbandNow counts 1,294 providers of fiber services. Bear in mind, while some are local carriers serving limited territories (including independent local exchange carriers or ILECs), this number also includes many enterprise-level providers.

An example of a business provider of fiber Internet is Florida-based ITP Fiber, which serves one zip code in Coral Gables. Two service tiers are available; 1 Gbps (both down and up) for $499.99 per month and 10 Gbps (both down and up) for $799 per month. These prices, of course, are far beyond the reach of most residential users.

When crunching state-by-state (including PR and D.C.) numbers BroadbandNow uses, it appears that 105.4 million Americans have potential fiber access—or over 32% of the nation’s population. Incredibly, the state of Iowa leads the U.S. with 193 fiber providers serving 29% of the state’s population. Not so incredibly, a densely populated small state such as Rhode Island (with 25 providers) offers the greatest percentage of coverage (84.2%) to their residents.

The largest fiber providers in the U.S. are:

Company	Nationwide Coverage
Verizon Fios	10.74%
AT&T Fiber	7.74%
EarthLink	6.78%
Crown Castle Fiber	5.18%
Frontier Communications	3.37%
CenturyLink	2.96%
Monmouth Telephone & Telegraph	2.56%

Dialup

Dialup ISPs from the last millennium are legacy providers of Internet services over POTS. Some familiar names are still in business but their subscriber numbers are far diminished from 20-25 years ago. Still, as of 2013, 9.4 million Americans relied on dialup to access the Internet—some 3% of the U.S. population. In 2015, AOL still had 2.1 million subscribers.

While interminably slow at 56 kbps (0.056 Mbps), dialup is available virtually everywhere and is relatively secure. But in the context of speed, dialup isn’t that cheap. What’s worse, many web pages today are designed to load over broadband Internet connections. Thus, many requested web pages won’t load because downloads timeout. And, of course, dialup Internet monopolizes a phone line, preventing incoming or outgoing calls while the service is in use.

While so-called “accelerators” are available, their utility is limited to compressing data such as HTML, Javascript, JPEGs, GIFs, text and email. Streaming video and audio files, secure web pages (note most pages are secure nowadays) and media files with music and images cannot be compressed. These accelerated speeds can be equivalent to wireless 3G.

The best-known national dialup ISP providers are:

Netzero	People PC	Local Net
AOL	Juno	Dialup 4 Less
Turbo USA	Earthlink	Copper

According to Internet Advisor, 124 providers currently provide dialup web access in the U.S. Virtually all of them serve subscribers in one or two states. Most dialup web access services are provided by ILECs serving territorial customers. For example, Oklahoma Western Telephone Company (aka Phoenix Communications) Internet dialup access serves 29,000+ subscribers.

Fixed Wireless

Fixed wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) were once mostly mom-and-pop companies serving the hinterland with legacy DSL-like data speeds. In the last few years, thanks to upgraded infrastructure, connection speeds have greatly improved. Behemoths like AT&T and Verizon have muscled into this long-underserved market, delivering fixed LTE to homes and small businesses.

Still, many WISPs are regional companies offering point-to-point (P2P) wireless services that in many instances surpass or equal the FCC definition of broadband speed. Once considered rural communications providers, WISPS such as Etheric Networks and GHz Wireless now offer high-speed services to urban and suburban customers. Windstream offers WiMAX service to businesses in select urban markets.

At last count, some 1,583 WISPs were found across America, some offering speeds of 1 Gbps. Others, conversely, may deliver as little as 3-6 Mbps or even less. On the whole, if rural subscribers can corral between 25-50 Mbps, they can consider themselves fortunate.

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line service is strictly a telco offering, originating in the late-1980s and marketed to subscribers frustrated by slow dialup and ISDN speeds. It’s fast becoming obsolete, superseded by other, faster technologies such as VDSL and DOCSIS. It’s still found in country hamlets beyond the reach of a cable company but here, customers are now turning to faster fixed wireless LTE.

Some 886 providers ply DSL services. They include traditional LECs such as AT&T and Verizon, ILECs (Nucla Naturita Telephone Cooperative of Colorado, for example) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) such as Raw Bandwidth Communications of California, which also owns dialup provider Copper.

Coda

Consumer Internet usage should determine how one accesses the web. Data-heavy applications such as video streaming more or less demand Internet technologies beyond dialup, legacy DSL and primitive fixed wireless products. But be prepared to pay for true broadband in flyover country where users are only too happy to pay whatever price it takes to watch OTT content that doesn’t buffer.