The State of U.S. Broadband, 2026
A 40-city, 23-provider look at which internet providers reach American metros, how fast their top tiers really are, and how transparent their pricing is.
By the Editorial Research TeamPublished 2026-07Report · 2026 editionAbstract. Across 40 major U.S. cities we tracked 23 major ISPs and 342 city-by-provider availability rows. Fiber and cable top tiers reach multi-gigabit speeds where they are built, while fixed-wireless and satellite cover almost everywhere at lower peak speeds. Pricing transparency remains uneven: only 16 of 23 providers cleanly publish a national starting price — the rest quote by address.
Median top advertised speed, by connection type
Where you live still decides what you can buy. Fiber and cable deliver the fastest tiers but are built block by block; fixed-wireless (5G Home) and satellite reach almost everywhere but trade away peak speed and consistency. The result is that two households a mile apart can face completely different menus.
Coverage is broad; wireline is uneven
Satellite and 5G-home services appear in every city we studied, which is why they show the widest footprints below. Fiber and cable footprints are concentrated in the incumbents’ build areas — the reason our city rankings weight local availability alongside speed and price.
Widest footprints in our sample
The connection-type mix
- We tracked 23 major ISPs across 40 cities and 342 city-by-provider rows.
- Fiber and cable deliver the fastest top tiers (multi-gigabit where built); fixed-wireless and satellite trade peak speed for near-universal coverage.
- Price transparency is uneven: only 16 of 23 providers cleanly publish a national starting price — the rest quote by address, so we mark them “see provider.”
- Availability, not price, is usually the binding constraint: which providers reach a given address decides most households’ real choice set.
Availability is grounded in the FCC National Broadband Map (Broadband Data Collection, 2025-06-30 vintage) and each provider’s own published coverage. Max advertised speeds and connection types are the providers’ own published residential figures (2026-07). National starting prices are carried only where a provider cleanly publishes one — otherwise the value is null and we show “see provider.” We never estimate or fabricate a price. This is an MVP sample of major metros and major national/large-regional ISPs, not a census of every provider or address.
The Broadband Review Research Team (2026). The State of U.S. Broadband, 2026. Internet Providers by City.https://internetprovidersbycity.com/research/broadband-pricing-2026/