The Local's Guide to Internet Service in the Bay Area - SFGATE

How Do I Choose the Best Internet Service?

Choosing an net supplier isn’t overmuch antithetic from buying immoderate different merchandise oregon service. Imagine net providers are similar cars. Usually, you prime a car based connected features specified arsenic the model, make, horsepower, and MSRP. Instead, erstwhile selecting your net provider, you should see transportation types, competition, speeds, and prices. Here are immoderate tips to travel to get the champion net supplier successful the Bay Area for you:

• Choose the transportation benignant that suits you best. The net comes successful galore antithetic sizes, shapes, and forms. When looking for your net provider, you should take the transportation benignant that matches your household’s activities. If your location is afloat of gamers and streamers, thenv fibre oregon cablegram net is best. Maybe your household enjoys being outside, boating, and RVing. If so, fixed wireless, 5G, oregon outer could beryllium amended options.
• Understand what differentiates the competition. Between each the perks, plans, and prices, picking your supplier means knowing the main players successful the Bay Area and what they offer. Do you privation a supplier with inexpensive plans and slower speeds oregon 1 with accelerated plans and precocious prices? These factors assistance to separate the close supplier for your household.
• Select net speeds based connected your needs. Everyone interacts with the net differently, whether streaming, gaming, oregon browsing, and each enactment requires definite speeds. More users and devices connected your web volition besides rise your home’s velocity necessities. Take these factors into information erstwhile selecting what benignant of transportation your household needs.
• Pick a supplier with prices that conscionable your budget. Internet work is an concern that tin rapidly adhd up if you aren’t mindful of unnecessary options and bundling options. For instance, if you don’t really request gigabit speeds, TV, oregon location telephone services, see omitting them to lessen your monthly bill. Also, take a supplier with information cap, contract, and interest policies that won’t permission you paying much successful the agelong run.

Which Internet Connection Types Are Available?

Internet prime mostly depends connected your location. If your location is successful a densely populated municipality area, specified arsenic downtown San Francisco, Oakland, oregon San Jose, you’re apt to person entree to astir transportation types, including fiber, 5G, and cable. On the different hand, if you reside successful the suburbs, outskirts of the city, oregon successful an underserved area, similar Concord, Berkeley, oregon Vallejo, you whitethorn person to edifice to utilizing DSL, fixed wireless, oregon adjacent outer services.

The close transportation benignant for you volition besides hinge connected your home’s net usage. Does your household bask streaming, gaming, and creating contented connected galore devices? If so, high-speed fibre and cablegram connections volition champion suit your needs. If not, and your household lone has a fewer users who bask browsing, shopping, and occasionally streaming, past 5G Home Internet, fixed wireless, oregon DSL whitethorn acceptable you better. Learn much astir the transportation types, however they work, what net providers usage them, and their pros and cons below.

Who Are the Main Internet Provider Competitors?

Whether it’s Coca-Cola versus Pepsi, Apple versus Android, oregon DC versus Marvel, a fewer main competitors thin to predominate astir products and services, and net providers are nary different. When searching for net work successful the Bay Area, you request to cognize who the large players are and wherefore radical flock to 1 implicit another. Let’s look astatine the large net providers to recognize what they connection and the areas successful the Bay Area they serve.

AT&T

AT&T offers a operation of speed, availability, and reliability to customers successful the Bay Area. With symmetrical speeds up to 5 Gbps, AT&T’s fiber-optic web is 1 of the fastest successful the area, though it doesn’t scope the utmost speeds offered by Xfinity. That said, AT&T Fiber is the astir wide fibre solution, extending to much cities successful the Bay Area than Xfinity, Google Fiber, oregon section fibre providers combined. If you’re successful an country wherever AT&T’s fibre offerings are much scattered (such arsenic Novato, Vallejo, and Santa Clara), cheque retired the company’s DSL services that scope astir each code contempt being slower plans overall.

AT&T’s offerings surpass Xfinity and Astound Broadband successful the Bay Area with their long-standing past of reliability and stellar lawsuit service. In fact, J.D. Power ranks AT&T No. 2 successful the West for lawsuit service successful the latest U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study. Additionally, AT&T besides outranks Xfinity successful the American Customer Satisfaction Index. 

Sign Up for AT&T

Xfinity

Xfinity is simply a powerhouse net supplier successful the Bay Area that provides subscribers with bundle services, flexible program selection, and affordability. Unlike AT&T and T-Mobile, which lone connection telephone options, Xfinity allows customers to brace their net work with a afloat enactment of location services, including TV, location phone, mobile, and adjacent location security. Keeping everything connected 1 measure gives you convenience, the quality to customize your location services based connected your household's needs, and a sizeable discount.

Even though Xfinity’s fibre web reaches ace accelerated speeds up to 6 Gbps, its fibre plans autumn abbreviated successful presumption of availability. Xfinity fibre sum successful Hayward, Berkeley, and Oakland is comparatively non-existent erstwhile compared to AT&T’s sum country oregon adjacent section fibre net providers. Instead, Xfinity’s strengths prevarication much connected the cablegram broadside of things, wherever it has a multitude of net program speeds and options you tin customize to your needs. Xfinity cablegram net is widespread, covering much of the Bay Area than immoderate different wired net provider, and it starts astatine conscionable $24.99 per month. Yet, to get the champion woody with Xfinity internet, you’ll request to motion a contract, which you won’t person to bash with AT&T oregon T-Mobile.

Sign Up for Xfinity

T-Mobile

Offering sum to much than 30 cardinal households nationwide, surpassing immoderate different 5G net supplier successful the U.S., T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is the newest large net supplier and the champion 5G net solution successful the Bay Area. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet separates itself from wired counterparts AT&T and Xfinity by providing straightforward program pricing, nary hidden fees, nary information caps, nary contracts, countless sign-up perks, and important availability passim each Bay Area city.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is the provider’s lone plan, truthful you won’t person to sift done program oregon terms options similar with AT&T oregon Xfinity. For $50 per period it delivers its apical download speeds up to 182 Mbps. Unlike different providers, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is besides casual to install, boasting the quality to spell from container to browsing successful conscionable 15 minutes without the request for nonrecreational installation oregon fees. From escaped streaming services to discounts for bundling with mobile, erstwhile you motion up for T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, you’ll entree an assortment of sign-up perks adjacent surpassing the generous offerings from AT&T and Xfinity. In presumption of value, flexibility, and availability, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is simply a large enactment for astir small- to medium-sized households successful the Bay Area.

Sign Up for T-Mobile

Who Are the Fastest Internet Providers?

From distant enactment to gaming online and streaming your favourite shows, your household’s net velocity requirements volition alteration depending connected these types of usage. Do you person a large household that spends tons of clip connected the net with assorted devices? Then you should see gigabit (speeds of 1 Gbps oregon above) net plans to guarantee you person a reliable and capable connection. Or, is your location smaller with a fewer individuals who occasionally bask streaming and utilizing societal media? If so, plans beneath a gigabit whitethorn beryllium capable for you.

For households that request the highest speeds, determination are respective multi-gig net providers successful the Bay Area. The fastest of these providers is Xfinity, whose fibre net work delivers speeds up to 6 Gbps done the Gigabit Pro plan. However, since this program costs $299.95 per period and Xfinity’s fibre sum country is limited, it mightiness beryllium unattainable for immoderate subscribers.

If you’re looking for a decent mediate crushed successful presumption of velocity and price, AT&T Fiber is simply a large option. While AT&T offers speeds up to 5 Gbps for $180 per period with the Internet 5000 plan, you tin get little velocity and much worth with the 2 Gbps, 1 Gbps, oregon 500 Mbps plans from AT&T for $110, $80, oregon $65 per month, respectively. These speeds are plentifulness for 4K streaming, no-lag gaming, and teleconferencing simultaneously.

While fibre net provides awesome speeds, you mightiness see utilizing cablegram net from Astound Broadband oregon Xfinity alternatively if your household isn’t uploading contented often. Xfinity offers cablegram plans with 600 Mbps and 1.2 Gbps download speeds for $60 and $80 per month. However the champion cablegram program for velocity and terms is Astound Broadband’s 1.2 Gig Internet plan, with download speeds up to 1.2 Gbps for $50 per month.

Who Are the Cheapest Internet Providers?

While we would each emotion to thrust Porsches everywhere, the world is that velocity (as amusive arsenic it is) isn’t applicable oregon budget-conscious. The aforesaid applies to your net supplier — getting the fastest supplier is great, but you don’t person to walk a ton of wealth each period to get what you request retired of the service. In fact, aggregate net providers successful the Bay Area connection plans for little than $50 per month.

If you’re looking for the implicit cheapest net supplier successful the Bay Area, cheque retired Astound Broadband. Astound Broadband’s 100 Mbps Internet program offers download speeds up to 100 Mbps for $19.95 per month, which is faster and cheaper than Xfinity. While this program is large for the frugal-minded, the biggest occupation with Astound Broadband is constricted availability. You won’t find this program successful San Jose, Fremont, oregon galore surrounding areas. For the adjacent champion thing, subscribe to Xfinity’s Connect program for download speeds up to 50 Mbps for $24.99 per month. You won’t get arsenic overmuch velocity arsenic different providers with this plan, but it’s arsenic arsenic inexpensive arsenic Astound Broadband’s plan, and it’s disposable virtually everyplace successful the Bay Area (except San Bruno).

For conscionable $10 to $20 much per month, you tin importantly summation your net speed. Monkeybrains offers download speeds up to 300 Mbps for $35 per month, portion Sail Internet reaches up to 200 Mbps for $45 per month. Each of these providers delivers tremendous worth astatine a outgo of little than $0.25 per Mbps. Still, each this velocity comes with a caveat — since they’re some fixed wireless providers, you whitethorn not ever get the velocity oregon reliability advertised.

When it comes to perks and discounts, specified arsenic acquisition cards, escaped streaming subscriptions, and mobile-bundling deals, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet gives subscribers important worth for the cost. With download speeds up to 182 Mbps, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is faster than Astound Broadband and Xfinity, and T-Mobile’s 5G web is much accordant than accepted fixed wireless. While it does outgo $50 per month, erstwhile you origin successful each the freebies, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is simply a contender for 1 of the champion fund finds successful the Bay Area.

Finding the Right Internet Provider for Your Home

Whether you’re a gamer, streamer, distant worker, oregon each of the above, astir everyone relies connected the net truthful it’s important to take a supplier that suits your needs and budget. If you prime your supplier by looking astatine the transportation types, competition, speeds, and prices successful your area, you’re bound to find a due acceptable for your household. Looking for circumstantial suggestions for your Bay Area metropolis and beyond? Check retired our champion net supplier picks successful 1 of our different articles:

• Best Internet Providers successful San Francisco
• Best Internet Providers successful Oakland
• Best Internet Providers successful San Jose
• Best Internet Providers successful Fremont
• Best Internet Providers successful Sacramento