Internet Providers in Madison, Wisconsin

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Best Internet Providers in Madison, WI

The best internet service providers in Madison are AT&T Fiber and Spectrum. Fiber providers are always going to be your best option, as they offer the most reliable service and symmetrical speeds. AT&T is the best fiber internet provider in Madison due to its wide availability and quick speeds. AT&T Fiber has a great reputation for its fast service, with speeds reaching up to 5 Gbps. AT&T plans start at $55.

If you don’t have a fiber provider in your neighborhood, the second-best option is cable internet. Madison’s top cable provider is Spectrum, which offers download speeds up to 1 Gbps (wireless speeds may vary) and internet-only plans starting at $50 per month for 12 months. Spectrum also has good bundle options that include phone and TV starting at $30.

AT&T also offers an IPBB connection type in Madison (IPBB uses a mix of connection types, including DSL, at different places within its network). Other providers also offer fixed wireless and 5G connections. For an alternative to wired internet, we like T-Mobile 5G Home Internet for its cheap pricing starting at $60 per month for speeds between 133 Mbps to 415 Mbps. That said, we don’t generally recommend these options over more stable connection types like fiber and cable.

Getting the best deal in Madison means looking out for the most significant savings and promotions from these ISPs each month. Right now, AT&T Fiber is giving a $150 Visa Reward Card when you purchase an AT&T Fiber above gigabit speeds. Need less speed? You can still tap into Visa Reward Card bonuses when you sign up for the Internet 500 or Internet 300 plans. Spectrum, on the other hand, is giving away a free Xumo Stream Box for six months with any Spectrum TV plan purchase. You can also snag a $300 Virtual Prepaid Mastercard when you switch to T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. Check back often to see the newest deals each month to get the best deal on your internet plan.

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

Fastest Internet Providers in Madison, WI

TDS is the fastest provider in Madison, with speeds up to 8 Gbps.

The fastest internet service provider in Madison is TDS Telecom, with speeds up to 8 Gbps. With that said, most households will find that they can get an appropriate amount of bandwidth from any of the region’s top two providers: AT&T Fiber (5 Gbps) and Spectrum (1 Gbps).

Fiber internet connections get more out of their speed than other types of broadband connections because they offer upload speeds that are just as fast as downloads. In Madison, AT&T Fiber has multi-gig upload speeds that match its download speeds. However, the biggest cable provider, Spectrum, only offers upload speeds that reach 50 Mbps and can be as low as 20 Mbps. Fiber also doesn’t have the problem of traffic overload during busy periods.

Another reason to choose a fiber provider, if possible, is because data caps can restrict your internet speed and incur extra charges. Luckily the biggest cable provider, Spectrum, also offers unlimited data, but other providers in the city will likely enforce data caps.

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 Frontier XNET WiFi UScellular UPNETWI Starlink	100%
1000 Mbps (1 Gbps)	Heavy streaming (4K video multiple devices etc.) Video chat Lag-free gaming Large households	AT&T Spectrum Verizon TDS	90.94%

Learn more about internet speeds:

Internet Availability in Madison, WI

Like most cities in the United States, Madison has a primary cable internet provider that is available just about anywhere in the city. For Madison, this provider is Spectrum, which offers plans in 24.8% of the city.

The tricky part about shopping for internet in Madison is figuring out which internet companies besides Spectrum are available in your neighborhood. There are 16 providers in town, but we’d suggest narrowing your focus. Aside from Spectrum, you should be on the lookout for the city’s best fiber internet provider: AT&T Fiber.

AT&T Fiber, for its part, does a bit of a better job of covering more downtown areas. You’ll find AT&T Fiber coverage right downtown and in areas nearby, like First Settlement and Mansion Hill. AT&T Fiber has excellent availability in Emerson East, making it an option for folks in an area that other providers don’t serve. Back across town, AT&T provides a much-needed fiber internet option in Shorewood Hills, Rocky Bluff and Wingra Park.

This makes most areas of Madison very well served by fiber internet options, though there are still a few areas where residents will find themselves choosing between the main cable provider (Spectrum) and DSL options like AT&T Internet.

Provider Connection Types in Madison, WI

Connection Type	About this Connection Type	Availability in Madison, WI
Satellite	Available even in very rural areas Typically has high latency (lag)	100%
DSL	Typically about 100 Mbps Slower than Cable or Fiber	63.260000000000005%
Cable	Typically 250 Mbps - 1 Gbps Widely available A good choice for most users	94.75%
Fiber	Typically 1 Gbps or faster Upload speeds match download speeds	43.669999999999995%