Find the best fiber providers in your area

Fiber uses bundled strands of fiberglass to deliver internet to your home. It’s the most reliable internet connection you can get and has better upload speeds than cable and DSL. The fastest fiber plan available today is 10,000 Mbps (10 Gbps), while cable stops at 1,200 Mbps (1.2 Gbps).

So, why is fiber the best? Both light and electricity travel at the same speed in a vacuum, but they slow down when they interact with atoms. But unlike the radio waves used in cable and DSL internet, light signals aren’t affected by radio interference. Fiber by design is simply more efficient and can reach speeds up to 10,000 Mbps—much faster than any other internet type. Fiber networks are newer, too, compared to the aging infrastructure of DSL and cable, which helps boost performance.

Fiber is so reliable that the world’s major data routes and network access points are linked together between oceans and continents through massive bundles of fiber-optic cabling.³ If fiber is good enough for the vast global backbone of the internet infrastructure, then you know it’s the best way to wire up your own home internet.

You can get fiber internet from more than 200 fiber internet providers in the US, but those providers are found mainly in cities. According to FCC data, about 42% of the US has access to fiber internet. But the actual number is possibly lower, considering the unreliable way the FCC collected that data.⁴

Fiber internet reaches speeds up to 10,000 Mbps, but most fiber providers offer top speeds of 1,000 Mbps.

To put that in perspective, Netflix recommends just 25 Mbps to stream video in 4K on one device. But supercharged gigabit speeds (1,000 Mbps) give you the ability to perform many more tasks on many more devices simultaneously. That way, you and everyone else on your Wi-Fi will never have to worry about whether your internet speed will slow down or cut out, because it will always be humming smoothly with bountiful bandwidth.

In practical terms, fiber is fast enough to keep up with extremely heavy internet use and a range of advanced online activities. It can also maintain a steady and reliable internet connection for multiple users who need to do speed-intensive tasks over the same Wi-Fi network at the same time.

Fiber is great for any of these tasks:

• Streaming 4K video on numerous devices
• Downloading massive files
• Uploading content to cloud servers and social media accounts
• Gaming online
• Teleconferencing on Zoom
• Connecting multiple smart home devices

Google Fiber is a fiber-optic internet service provider (ISP) operating in 18 cities across the US. The ISP offers internet speeds up to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) for residential customers as well as business internet plans. None of its residential internet plans have contracts or data caps, and it provides free installation.

Google Fiber also offers fiber TV and home phone services in a few markets.

AT&T Fiber Internet offers speeds ranging from 300 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps). It’s one of two types of internet service that AT&T offers: DSL and fiber. The internet provider’s fiber internet service is faster and more reliable. It isn’t as widely available as the DSL service, but we recommend it if it’s available in your area.

You can bundle TV and home phone services with your AT&T internet plan. The company also offers mobile service.

Google Fiber internet plans start at $70 per month for 1,000 Mbps speeds and go up to $100 per month for 2,000 Mbps speeds.

Gigabit internet is any internet connection that can transfer one gigabit of data per second (1 Gbps or 1,000 Mbps). A bit is a single piece of internet data, and a gigabit is one million bits.

Many fiber-optic internet providers offer gigabit speeds, but fiber internet and gigabit internet are not the same thing. Fiber refers to the type of internet, while gigabit refers to the speed. It is possible to have gigabit internet that is not fiber—for example, many cable internet providers offer gigabit internet speeds. And many fiber internet providers offer slower speed tiers.

But even if it doesn’t offer gigabit speeds, fiber internet is still the best option for fast upload speeds, minimal network congestion, and low latency.

You can get fiber internet if it’s available in your area. But unless you already live in an area with fiber internet service, it will be difficult to get connected to fiber. If you live close enough to a fiber service area, you might be able to convince your local provider to run a dedicated line to your home, but that could cost thousands of dollars.

If you’re not sure whether you live in a fiber area or not, run your zip code in our tool to check for fiber internet providers near you.

You don’t need fiber internet for a home security system.

A fiber connection comes in handy for Wi-Fi–connected home security systems and security devices like Nest cameras and Ring doorbells. Fiber’s fast speeds and symmetrical uploads ensure you get a smooth connection and make it a lot less likely you’ll experience a security breach due to a lost connection. However, many of these tools also work well over cable internet, so long as you have adequate speeds.