Best Internet Providers in Austin

Headed to a new home in Austin? Among your long list of to-do’s, you’ll need to choose your internet provider. Without access to the internet, there’s no web browsing, streaming video, music, or email in your new place.

The good news is that Austin—the capital city of Texas and a vibrant cultural hot spot—has a lot of internet providers to choose from. So many, in fact, that you may need some help deciding which of the internet providers in Austin is best for you. Let’s review your choices.

The Top Internet Providers in Austin

Austin has some of the stiffest competition in the nation when it comes to internet providers angling for your business. Several providers offer virtually 100% coverage of the entire city, which means that you can comparison shop and pick the one that’s best for your needs. With more than half a dozen internet providers in Austin, here are the two main players:

Several providers offer virtually 100% coverage of the entire city, which means that you can comparison shop and pick the one that’s best for your needs.

• AT&T offers DSL service throughout the city. DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, uses phone lines to carry the internet. Depending on the plan, AT&T’s DSL service can range from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps. AT&T also offers fiber internet in about half of Austin. Fiber (as the name implies) uses fiber optic cables and is the fastest residential internet you can buy, at around 1,000 Mbps.
• Charter Spectrum is a cable internet provider with plans of up to 100 Mbps. Cable internet service arrives in the same coaxial cable that delivers cable TV to your home. Cable is a popular choice, but unlike DSL, cable companies share bandwidth with a number of households. Most of the time, it doesn’t create a noticeable lag, but it’s something to consider when choosing between cable and DSL.

There are a handful of other internet providers servicing Austin as well. Earthlink and Frontier both offer DSL and fiber plans. CenturyLink delivers DSL and Suddenlink offers cable plans in parts of the city.

In addition to this array of cable, DSL, fiber, and fixed wireless providers, there are two satellite internet companies that service Austin as well: Viasat and HughesNet. Both of these companies offer plans throughout the Austin area to households who can mount a south-facing satellite antenna, through service is limited to a top speed of 30 Mbps.

Which Speed and Package Is Right for You?

The fastest plan is not always the best fit. You can save a lot of money by only paying for as much bandwidth as you’ll think you need.

Online gaming and streaming video (like Netflix and Hulu) tends to use the most bandwidth. If you don’t do those things, you can probably get by with as little as 25 Mbps. But if you watch streaming video, then multiply 20 Mbps by every person in the home who might watch something on their own screen at the same time. A family with two streamers can be happy with 50 Mbps; a family of four might need close to 100 Mbps. If you’re working remotely and/or there’s a gamer or two in the house, 100 Mbps may be best for your household.

Keep in mind that if whatever plan you’ve selected isn’t working for you; providers are always happy to let you step up to a faster plan.

Which Austin Internet Provider Should You Choose?

With no shortage of providers to choose from, start by determining which ones offer service to your new home.

With that knowledge, decide what kind of service you want. If you only need internet service, any provider can help you, and you should be able to find plans for as little as $35 per month. Just choose a plan that fits your budget and bandwidth needs.

But if you want a bundle that includes television or telephone service, AT&T and Charter Spectrum are good places to start. Charter Spectrum’s triple play costs about $100 per month, while AT&T offers an internet and TV bundle starting around $80 per month.

Home Sweet Home

You’ll be in Austin soon, kicking off a new chapter—don’t get caught without a connection. Check out the best options for internet providers in Austin that are available in your new neighborhood.

Want to avoid the hassle and wasted time spent individually going online or calling each internet provider available in your area? Use the free FindYourInternet shop-and-compare tool to easily search available offers at your home address.

Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson has been writing about tech since the days of the Palm Pilot. He’s the author of three dozen books about digital photography, tech, and robots, and he even authored an interactive children’s storybook. Dave started out in the Air Force, where he spent a few years flying satellites and teaching space operations. Dave has co-hosted a number of podcasts and in what little spare time he has left, he scuba dives and plays drums.

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