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A good internet connection has become central to modern life. Forbes reports that 16% of US companies operate entirely remotely and that by 2025, 32.6 million Americans will work remotely. For these businesses and workers, speedy internet is crucial for maintaining their operations and meeting deadlines.
Beyond their working lives, Americans depend on their internet connections for leisure activities. Millions of households turn on their streaming and gaming services at night, creating a high bandwidth demand. When disruptions and slowdowns to internet service occur, this can result in mass disappointment and frustration.
Internet infrastructure has yet to be a deciding factor for Americans choosing their homes. However, with growing dependence on high-speed internet, this might change. For those searching for regions with good internet infrastructure, a report by ISP Reports charts the US cities with the fastest internet speeds.
According to this report, Salt Lake City, Utah, is the top ranked “metropolitan city”, with average speeds of 6,467 Mbps. Chattanooga, Tennessee, takes the highest spot among “major” cities, with a staggering 17,060 Mbps average speed.
Large ISP internet providers dominate most regions with the highest internet speeds. This could be because these large ISPs rank as the number one providers in most metro and major cities.
For example, out of the 60 cities listed in the article by ISP reports, Xfinity from Comcast is the top provider for 23 of them. This includes Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Houston — all metropolitan cities that rank in the top ten for internet speed. Those curious to learn about the internet providers in their area can explore this search page, which allows users to find internet providers by city or zip code.
Using this tool reveals that, along with Xfinity, Spectrum and AT&T also occupy top provider spots. Spectrum takes the first spot in ten cities cited for high internet speeds, and AT&T holds the top spot in three.
While large ISPs dominate most cities with fast internet, some regional ISPs have proven capable of breaking from this mold. As cited by ISP Reports as having the highest internet speed, Chattanooga enjoys most of its service from EPB Power, a local internet provider. Similarly, Cedar Falls Utilities provides the most internet service to Cedar Falls in Iowa, with competitively high speeds at 9,785 Mbps.
However, the presence of these regional providers has proven to be the exception to an overall trend in which large ISPs still provide the lion’s share of service for these high-speed regions.
With remote workers growing and entertainment centering more around streaming and gaming services, finding a region with good internet infrastructure will grow more critical in the coming years. Customers searching for internet speeds that meet their needs will find that some major cities and metropolitan areas, such as Salt Lake City and Chattanooga, stand apart from others in terms of the availability of high internet speeds found there.
Among these regions with robust internet infrastructure, large ISPs remain at the core for supplying internet connections to consumers, with Xfinity, Spectrum, and AT&T taking the top spot in most high-speed cities.
While some regional ISPs have made ground, top ISPs continue their dominance. In the search for better and speedier internet, Americans will likely rely on these providers for years to come.
