Best ISPs in Nampa, Idaho

Sparklight’s $35 plan is the cheapest internet in Nampa, but if you rent equipment, the $13 fee will bump the price up to $48 a month — almost as much as Quantum Fiber’s cheapest plan. Quantum Fiber offers speeds up to 500Mbps starting at $50 per month with no additional equipment fees and no data limitsplus a lifetime price guarantee that guarantees your rate for as long as you have the plan.

If Quantum fiber does not offer internet at your addressanother Lumen Technologies brand, CenturyLink, may be an option. However, DSL service is relatively slow, so you may want to rely on Sparklight or fixed wireless service instead. However, Rise Broadband has the best fixed wireless coverage in the area T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet may also be available at your address.

The best internet in Nampa, Idaho

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

How to Find Internet Deals and Promotions in Nampa

The best internet deals and top promotions in Nampa depend on what discounts are available at that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we’re often on the lookout for the latest deals.

Nampa ISPs like Sparklight may offer lower introductory rates for a limited time. However, many, including CenturyLink, Quantum Fiber and Rise Broadband, maintain the same standard rates throughout the year.

For a more extensive list of promotions, see our guide to the best internet deals.

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

What is a good internet speed?

Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you’re looking for an Internet plan that can include video conferencing, streaming video, or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a more stable connection. Here’s an overview of recommended minimum download speeds for different apps, according to the FCC. Note that these are guidelines only — and that Internet speed, service, and performance vary by connection type, provider, and address.

For more information, see our guide to how much internet speed do you really need?.

• 0 to 5 Mbps lets you handle the basics – surfing the web, sending and receiving emails, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40 Mbps gives you higher quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100 Mbps should provide a single user with enough bandwidth to meet the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one or two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming and online gaming.
• 500 to 1000 Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities simultaneously.

How CNET chose the best ISPs in Nampa

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest ones smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen toolit is not practical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what is our approach? We start by researching pricing, availability, and speed information, drawing on our own historical data from ISPs, provider sites, and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission on FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC website to check our data and make sure we’re looking at every ISP that provides service in an area. We also enter local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power to gauge how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent change; all information provided is accurate at the time of publication.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:

1. Does the provider offer access to relatively fast internet speeds?
2. Are customers getting decent value for what they pay?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

While the answers to these questions are often multi-layered and complex, the vendors that come closest to saying yes to all three are the ones we recommend. When it comes to choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, although we also take into account things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively easy. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and also consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis) and FCC reports.

To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.

ISPs in Nampa, Idaho FAQ