Best ISPs in Lubbock, TX

What is the best ISP in Lubbock?

The best ISP in Lubbock is AT&T Fiber. It has symmetrical upload and download speeds — perfect for online gaming or working from home — and you won’t have to worry about data caps, equipment fees or contracts. Vexus is the cheapest ISP in Lubbock, with plans starting at just $35 per month for 150 megabits per second, followed by Optimum with a $40 300Mbps plan. T-Mobile is another good option for smaller households: everything is included in the $50 monthly price and locked in for as long as you’re a customer.

The best internet in Lubbock, TX

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

Other ISPs available in Lubbock

• The rise of broadband: Available to 94% of Lubbock households, Rise Broadband is a fixed wireless Internet provider with plans starting at $55 per month for speeds of 25Mbps. This is expensive for ISPs in Lubbock; I would only recommend Rise over satellite ISPs in the area.
• Satellite internet: No matter where you live, you can always get satellite internet – it will just give you headaches. Hughesnet and Viasat both come with low data caps, slower speeds, and higher prices. Starlink is a faster option than SpaceX, but you’ll need to buy the $349 satellite dish up front to set up the service.
• Vexus Fiber: If Vexus Fiber were more widely available, it would probably be one of our top picks for internet in Lubbock. As it stands, only 46% of residents can get it, but it’s worth considering whether your address qualifies. Vexus offers symmetrical speeds of up to 2000 Mbps, along with unlimited data, and equipment is included in the monthly price.

Cheap internet options in Lubbock

There are five internet plans in Lubbock that cost $50 or less. This is comparable to other cities in Texas such as Yellow (five plans), Arlington (five) and Dallas (eight).

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

How to Find Internet Deals and Promotions in Lubbock

The best internet deals and promotions in Lubbock depend on what discounts are available during that time period. Most deals are short-lived, but we check back often for the latest deals.

Lubbock ISPs like Optimum may offer lower introductory rates or streaming add-ons for a limited time. However, many, including AT&T Fiber, T-Mobile and Vexus Fiber, maintain the same standard rates year-round.

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

How fast is Lubbock broadband?

According to Ookla Speed ​​Test DataLubbock residents get average internet speeds of 230Mbps down and 51Mbps up. It ranked 52nd out of the 100 most populous US cities in the fourth quarter of 2023. This is behind Austin, IrvingPlano, Laredo and Fort Worthbut before Houston. Lubbock also has slightly faster speeds than Texas as a whole, which gets an average speed of 224/33Mbps. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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 such as video conferencing, streaming, and gaming at the same time.

How CNET chose the best ISPs in Lubbock

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? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability, and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data, and mapping information from FCC.gov.

This guide uses an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate ISP-specific content that our writers can use in determining and presenting our choices for given guidance. Check it out CNET’s AI policy for more information on how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools.

Since our database is not exhaustive, we use the FCC website to check the primary data for ourselves and ensure that we are considering every ISP that provides service in a given area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we enter local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to 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 our fact checking prior to 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 answer to these questions is often 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 such as Ookla and FCC reports.

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

What’s the final word on ISPs in Lubbock?

No matter where you live in Lubbock, you should have at least one good home internet option. AT&T Fiber is an easy choice for the top spot, with symmetrical upload and download speeds, clear pricing, and no data caps or equipment fees. Optimum offers the cheapest internet in the area, but Lubbock residents have noticed problems with outages and poor customer service. T-Mobile Home Internet has some of the happiest customers of any ISP, but speeds may not be fast enough for larger households.

ISPs in Lubbock FAQ