Best Internet Providers in Irvine, CA

The best internet providers in Irvine are AT&T Fiber and Cox. AT&T Fiber is the best provider in Irvine because of its widely available fiber-optic internet and gigabit speeds. AT&T ranked first in Customer Satisfaction in 2023, according to J.D. Power (on the West Coast). In addition, AT&T Fiber offers download and upload speeds up to 5 Gbps. With five different fiber plan options available, AT&T Fiber internet-only plans begin at just $55 per month. Customers like AT&T Fiber for its regular promotions, such as Visa Reward Cards and free months of service. Moreover, you can tap into additional savings with AT&T Fiber when you combine AT&T Wireless with your internet plan.

Cox’s cable and fiber networks also offer Irvine residents extensive coverage and multi-gigabit speeds. Users in Irvine can expect symmetrical speeds up to 2 Gbps and prices starting at $70 per month from Cox. That said, you might not be able to tap into Cox’s fiber internet options at every address in Irvine, and instead, you could get access to its cable internet, which comes with slower upload speeds. For the best prices from Cox, you’ll want to bundle one of its various services, including Cox Mobile, Cox Contour TV, Cox Voice, or Cox Homelife, with your internet plan.

AT&T - Fastest Provider
Spectrum - Cheapest Provider
Viasat - Widely Available
Viasat - Great for Rural Areas
Verizon - Offers 5G Home Internet
AT&T - Great Value

What’s a Good Internet Speed?

Internet Speed	Appropriate For	Providers in your Area offering this Speed	Availability in your Area
100 Mbps	Streaming Video chat Online gaming Larger households	Viasat T-Mobile EarthLink Hughesnet XNET WiFi Starlink	100%
1000 Mbps (1 Gbps)	Heavy streaming (4K video multiple devices etc.) Video chat Lag-free gaming Large households	AT&T Spectrum Cox Google Fiber	80.12%

Learn more about internet speeds:

Internet Availability in Irvine, CA

For many Irvine residents, a few wired internet providers offer service in different residential areas. Depending on where you live, you have a chance of coming across these major providers: AT&T Fiber, Cox, and Google Fiber.

Let’s start with the provider that has widespread coverage in Irvine: Cox. It’s available in 80.1% of the city, with its cable service being more accessible than its fiber service. College students who live across the University of California, Irvine and around University Town Center will find Cox to be their primary internet provider. East Irvine neighborhoods like Turtle Rock and Shady Canyon also fall within Cox’s coverage zone.

If Cox’s cable internet service doesn’t meet your needs and you prefer fiber, AT&T Fiber covers 29.8% of Irvine. This provider is trickier to access, as its fiber service is scattered all over the city; plus, it prioritizes business districts over residential neighborhoods. However, it does cover Cypress Village, which is further east of Irvine.

Another provider with similar coverage areas is Google Fiber. Cypress Village residents are lucky to have access to two fiber internet providers, though Google Fiber also covers residents of Oak Creek, Woodbury, and Stonegate. Like AT&T Fiber, Google Fiber has more coverage in business districts.

If you live in areas along Culver Drive, your best bet as an internet provider is Cox; AT&T Fiber and Google Fiber barely hold any territory in that area.

Provider Connection Types in Irvine, CA

Connection Type	About this Connection Type	Availability in Irvine, CA
Satellite	Available even in very rural areas Typically has high latency (lag)	100%
DSL	Typically about 100 Mbps Slower than Cable or Fiber	15.1%
Cable	Typically 250 Mbps - 1 Gbps Widely available A good choice for most users	88.09%
Fiber	Typically 1 Gbps or faster Upload speeds match download speeds	43.580000000000005%