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What is the best internet provider in Arlington?
CNET’s top provider choice for most households in Arlington is Xfinity. In addition to providing service to most addresses in the city, your service also offers the fastest plan in Arlington. For $120 per month, Xfinity customers can reach download speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second, with no data caps or monthly equipment fees. Providers like Verizon Fios and T-Mobile are also solid choices for home internet, depending on availability.
Xfinity also offers one of the cheapest plans in Arlington, tied with Astound Broadband. While Astound offers faster speeds on its base plan, availability is much less. Xfinity Connect costs $25 per month for speeds of up to 150 megabits per second.
Best internet in Arlington, Virginia
Arlington internet providers compared
| giver | internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | The monthly cost of equipment | Data cap | Contract | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astound Broadband Read the full review |
Cable | $25-$60 | 300-1,500Mbps | nothing | nothing | nothing | 7 |
| Cox Communications Read the full review |
Cable | $50-$80 | 100-1,000Mbps | nothing | 1.25TB on some plans | nothing | 6.2 |
| Starry Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $30-$80 | 50-1,000Mbps | nothing | nothing | nothing | 7 |
| T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50 ($30 for eligible Go5G Plus and Magenta Max mobile customers) | 72-245Mbps | nothing | nothing | nothing | 7.4 |
| Verizon Fios Read the full review |
ravelled | $50-$90 | 300-940Mbps | nothing | nothing | nothing | 7.6 |
| Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review |
Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$45 with eligible Verizon 5G mobile plans) | 50-1,000Mbps | nothing | nothing | nothing | 7.2 |
| Xfinity Read the full review |
Cable | $25-$120 | 75-2,000Mbps | $15 (optional) | nothing | 1 year on some plans | 7 |
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Providers of the store at my address
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What is the cheapest internet plan in Arlington?
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Providers of the store at my address
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How to find deals and promotions on the internet in Arlington
The best internet deals and top promotions in Arlington depend on what discounts are available at that time. Most deals don’t last, but we’re always on the lookout for the latest offers.
Arlington internet providers, such as Xfinity, Cox and Astound Broadband, may offer lower introductory prices or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, however, including Verizon and T-Mobile, run the same base price year-round.
For a more extensive list of promos, see our guide to best deals on the internet.
Bruce Yuanyue Bi/Getty Images
Fastest internet plans in Arlington
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Providers of the store at my address
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
What is a good internet speed?
Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you are looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you will have a better experience with a stronger connection. Here is an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for different applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines — and internet speed, service and performance will vary by connection type, provider and address.
For more information, see our guide to how much internet speed do you need?.
- 0 to 5Mbps lets you tackle the basics — browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
- 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
- 40 to 100Mbps should provide a user with enough bandwidth to satisfy the needs of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
- 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as videoconferencing, streaming and gaming.
- 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to participate in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.
How CNET picked the best internet providers in Arlington
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphones, laptop, router or kitchen utensilsit is not practical to personally test every ISP in a city. So what is our approach? We started by researching pricing, availability and speed information, drawing on our own historical ISP data, provider sites and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission on FCC.gov.
But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC website to check our data and make sure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses into provider websites to find specific options for residents. We looked at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to assess how happy customers are with ISP service. ISP plans and prices are subject to constant change; All information provided is accurate at the time of publication.
Once we have this local information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
- Are customers getting decent value for what they paid for?
- Are customers happy with their service?
While the answer to these questions is often layered and complex, providers who are close to “yes” to all three are the ones we recommend. When it comes to choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fees, although we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and also consider real world speed data from sources such as Ookla and FCC reports. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.
Internet providers in Arlington FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in Arlington?
Xfinity is the best internet provider in Arlington because of its wide coverage map, different plans and very fast speeds.
Is fiber internet available in Arlington?
Yes. Verizon Fios is the largest fiber provider in Arlington, but select homes may also be available for a fiber connection under Astound or Cox.
What is the cheapest internet provider in Arlington?
Xfinity and Astound Broadband tie for the cheapest service in Arlington, offering base plans for $25 per month. However, Xfinity’s coverage is much wider than Astound’s, so it all depends on what’s available at your address.
Which internet provider in Arlington offers the fastest plan?
Xfinity offers the fastest plan in Arlington: 2 gigabits, or 2,000Mbps, for $120 per month.
