Internet Service Providers
Compare Local Plans (KY)
(click in list below for more details)
| ISP | Lowest Price (cheapest plan) | Top Speeds (fastest plan) |
|---|---|---|
| ATT | 10 mbps for $60/mo | 100 mbps for $60/mo |
| ATT Fiber | 300 mbps for $60/mo | 1000 mbps for $80/mo |
| Mediacom | 60 mbps for $40/mo | 1000 mbps for $140/mo |
| MetroNet | 100 mbps to 200 mbs $50/mo | 500 mbps to 1 GB for $60/mo |
| Earthlink | 3 to 15 mbps for $50 / 60 per mo | 5 GB for $189 per mo |
| Spectrum | 300 mbps for $50/mo | 1 GB for $90/mo |
| Xfinity | 60 mbps for $40/mo | 2000 mbps for $300/mo |
Satellite
(click below for more details)
| ISP | Lowest Price | Top Speeds |
|---|---|---|
| Viasat | 12 Mbps for $50 | 30 Mbps fo $100 |
| HughesNet | 25 Mbps for $40/mo (promo) | 25 Mbps for $150/mo w/50GB |
ATT 844-383-4450
Basic Internet Plans
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost |
|---|---|---|
| .8 | .4 | $50 |
| 1.5 | 1 | $50 |
| 5 | 1 | $50 |
- Basic plans are $50 per month
- $99 install fee
- 1TB data allowance
These plans are good for email, web surfing, social networking, and small file downloads.
Internet Only Plans
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | $60 |
| 10 | 10 | $60 |
| 25 | 25 | $60 |
| 50 | 50 | $60 |
| 100 | 100 | $60 |
- Speeds depend on where you live and wiring in your location
- Plans are $60 per month
- $99 install fee
- 1TB data allowance
These plans are better for multiple device usage, streaming video, online gaming, large files, etc
AT&T Fiber 833-270-5669
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost |
|---|---|---|
| 300 | 300 | $55 |
| 500 | 500 | $65 |
| 1GB | 1000 | $80 |
Max speed per plan is based on your location.
Earthlink 1-833-601-5693
Internet Packages
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost (mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 15 Mbps | 1.0 Mbps | $49.95 to 59.95 |
| 18 to 30 Mbps | 1.5 Mbps | $59.95 |
| 40 to 80 Mbps | 40 Mbps | $59.95 to $79.95 |
| 100 to 115 Mbps * | 100 Mbps | $59.95 to $79.95 |
| 200 to 500 Mbps | 500 Mbps | $69.95 to $89.95 |
| 1 Gb | 1Gb | $89.95 |
| 2 Gb | 2 Gb | $19.95 |
| 5 Gb | 5 Gb | $189.95 |
- * Most popular plan
- All speeds are dependent on serviceability at physical address—speeds vary by distance.
- 24/7 Customer support via phone or chat
- 12 month commitment
- Router Rental: $12.95/month
- Professional Installation: $79.95 one-time fee
Mediacom (877)-203-0630
Mediacom Internet
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost (mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 5 | $40 |
| 100 | 10 | $80 |
| 200 | 20 | $100 |
| 500 | 30 | $120 |
| 1000 | 50 | $140 |
- Cable connection
- No contract length
- WiFi 360 extenders provide greater coverage throughout home
Corporate stores located in Benton, Edmonton, London, & Salyersville.
MetroNet
Internet Packages
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost (mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | - | $50 |
| 200 | - | $50 |
| 500 | - | $60 |
| 1GB | - | $60 |
- Fiber
- Unlimited data
- No contract
- Can use your own modem
Available in the following areas: Lexington, Midway, Nicholasville, Richmond, Versailles
Spectrum 1-833-826-1164
Spectrum Internet
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost (mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 300 | (no data caps) | $50 |
| 500 | (Internet Ultra upgrade) | $70 |
| 1 GB | (Internet Gig upgrade) | $90 |
- Advanced WiFi option lets you control what devices get wifi
- Cable connection
- Free modem
- Contract free plan
- No data caps
Corporate stores located in Ashland, Berea, Bowling Green, Corbin, Crestwood, Danville, Edgewood, Florence, Georgetown, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, London, Louisville, Madisonville, Manchester, Middlesboro, Morganfield, Mount Sterling, Murray, Newport, Owensboro, Paris, Pineville, Radcliff, Richmond, Shelbyville, Shepherdsville, Somerset & Vanceburg.
Suddenlink 1-833-920-3138
Gigabit Areas
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost (mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | $75 | |
| 200 | $85 | |
| 400 | $95 | |
| 1000 | $125 |
Non Gigabit Areas
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost (mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | $75 | |
| 75 | $85 | |
| 100 | $95 | |
| 150 | $115 |
- Altice Fiber provides 1 Gig speeds.
- 24/7 customer support.
- built in Wi-Fi
Stores located in Fort Scott, Prestonsburg, Pikeville.
Xfinity 855-401-5362
Xfinity Internet
| down (mbps) | up (mbps) | cost (mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 2 (Performance) | $40 |
| 250 | 5 (Blast!) | $60 |
| 400 | 10 (Extreme Pro) | $80 |
| 1000 | 35 (Gigabit) | $90 |
| 2000 | 2K (Gigabit Pro) | $300 |
- Minimum 1 year agreement required
- Equipment and installation fees
Service centers in Elizabethtown, Fort Campbell, Paducah (Hardin and McCracken counties).
Viasat Satellite (855) 242-8953
Metered broadband
| download speed (Mbps) | high speed data (GB) | cost |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 40 GB | $50 / $70 |
| 25 | 60 GB | $70 / $100 |
| 50 | 300 GB | $200 / $300 |
| 50 | 150 GB | $150 / $200 |
| 50 | 100 GB | $100 / $150 |
- 2 yr contract
- First price shown is for first 3 months (promo)
- After high speed data limit is used, you still get access to standard data (slower)
HughesNet 833-270-5638
Internet Only Plans
| download speed (Mbps) | high speed data (GB) | cost |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 15 GB | $65 |
| 25 | 30 GB | $75 |
| 25 | 45 GB | $110 |
| 25 | 75 GB | $160 |
- 2 year commitment
- lease or purchase equipment
- includes wi-fi.
How Much Internet Speed Do I Need?
Have you ever tried to complete online tasks, only to be interrupted by frustratingly slow speeds? For a reliable connection, you need Internet speed that supports your needs. Let’s take a closer look at what fast Internet involves and how to calculate your speed needs.
The first factor to consider is how many people are in your household, as you’ll need enough Mbps to support everyone’s devices.
Next, consider how you use the Internet. Here’s a quick analysis of how many Mbps common online activities require:
- Emailing: 1 Mbps
- Web browsing: 3-5 Mbps
- Social media use: 3-10 Mbps
- One-on-one video calling: 1-25 Mbps
- Conference calling: 2-50 Mbps
- Video streaming: 3-10 Mbps
- HD video streaming: 5-25 Mbps
- 4K video streaming: 25-100 Mbps
- Online gaming: 5-100 Mbps
The more functions you use, the more Internet you’ll need. For your standard Internet activities (such as web browsing, conference calling and regular downloading/uploading), you should have at least 25 Mbps per person. So, a family of four would want a minimum of 100 Mbps.
Of course, this number can vary depending on your Internet usage. A household that uses the Internet to check emails now and then will need less speed and bandwidth than a house of streamers or gamers. It all comes down to your needs!
What Is Internet Speed?
Before we unpack how to determine the right Internet speed, it’s important to understand how speed works. This includes what speed is, how it’s measured and the types of speed available.
Speed vs. Bandwidth
A key thing every Internet user should know is the difference between speed and bandwidth. Speed refers to the rate at which you’re transmitting data, while bandwidth refers to the amount of data your connection can support.
To better understand the difference, let’s compare speed and bandwidth to a highway. Speed is how fast the cars are moving, while bandwidth is the number of lanes. If there are more lanes available, cars will be able to move faster. Similarly, if you have more bandwidth, you can enjoy faster speeds. Although bandwidth and speed are two separate things, they’re generally measured together.
Measuring Internet Speed
Internet speed is measured in megabits per second, or Mbps. Bits are small units of data, while megabits (Mb’s) are clusters of bits — there are 1,000,000 bits in a single megabit.
When an Internet provider advertises a certain Mbps amount, it’s actually referring to the bandwidth. You can get an idea of the speed by dividing the number of Mb’s needed for an online task by the bandwidth. For example, say you’re trying to download a 5 Mb image, and you have two devices with different speeds: 1 Mbps and 5 Mbps. With just 1 Mbps, it would take five seconds to download the image; with 5 Mbps, it would take just one second.
Ultimately, a high amount of Mbps provides faster Internet speed and lets you perform more functions across several devices. In general, anything above 100 Mbps qualifies as “fast Internet.”
Download vs. Upload Speed
Internet speed can be divided into two types: download and upload speed. Download speed is the rate at which online data is transferred from the Internet to your device; upload speed, on the other hand, is the rate at which online data is transferred from your device to the Internet. Nearly all online activity — including visiting websites, streaming videos and sharing media — requires download speed. Here are a few of the functions that use upload speed instead:
- Uploading files or videos
- Making Zoom or conference calls
- Hosting a livestream
When Internet providers advertise their Mbps, they’re generally referring to download speeds, as this is what you’ll use the majority of the time. Most offer around 1 Mbps of upload bandwidth for every 100 Mbps of download bandwidth.
Broadband in Kentucky
Kentucky will be the first state to create an open access fiber optic network. In June 2019, the governor of Kentucky announced completion of a fiber optic network connecting Louisville, Lexington and rural parts of Kentucky. This was the initial phase of the Kentucky Wired initiative, designed to bring a high speed, fiber optic capabilities to every county in Kentucky. Over 3000 miles of cable will be constructed to connect businesses, residents, schools and more.