Best ISPs in Frederick, MD

What is the best ISP in Frederick?

Frederick residents have a variety of internet options to choose from, but our experts can help you narrow down your search. Xfinity is the best internet service provider in Frederick, Maryland, for most households, thanks to its wide availability and competitive price range high speed internet plans. For example, the Xfinity Connect tier is the cheapest internet plan in Frederick starting at $20 a month for speeds up to 150 megabits per second and currently includes unlimited data with no contractual requirements. Some addresses may only qualify for the $30 plan with 300Mbps speeds.

For those who prefer fast speeds over low costs, Glo Fiber offers the fastest Internet plans in Frederick, with speeds from 600 to 2400 Mbps available in select areas. A 100% fiber connection promises equally fast upload and download speeds, a benefit you’ll usually only get from optical internet.

Verizon Fiosanother fiber optic provider, may be available in select parts of Frederick, but your address is much more likely to be available for Verizon 5G Home Internet, a wireless Internet service. While it doesn’t have the same speed potential as Xfinity or Glo Fiber, Verizon 5G Home Internet is worth checking out for its fair pricing, simple terms of service, and discount on mobile packages, especially in the west side of town where service is best.

T-Mobile Home Internetanother wireless home Internet provider in Frederick, is also an option, but relatively slow speeds make it more suitable for suburban and rural Internet service.

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

How to Find Internet Deals and Promotions in Frederick

Frederick’s best internet deals and promotions 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.

Frederick Internet providers, such as Xfinity and T-Mobile Home Internet, may offer lower introductory rates or other incentives for a limited time. However, others, including Glo Fiber and Verizon 5G Home Internet, have the same standard prices 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 satisfy 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 picked the best ISPs in Frederick

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 relatively fast internet access?
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 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 consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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

Internet Providers in Frederick, Maryland FAQ