Best ISPs in State College, PA

What is the best ISP in State College?

Xfinity is the best internet service provider in State College, PAdue to its high availability, low starting price and variety of plans. The cable internet the supplier offers the cheapest internet State College plan: $25 per month for speeds up to 150 megabits per second and the fastest speed, up to 1200Mbps, starting at $65 per month.

However, there are some downsides to Xfinity. Cable internet supports high download speeds, but your uploads will be significantly slower. Also, a contract may be required to get the lowest price—not ideal for students living in State College semester by semester—and renting equipment will add $15 to your bill.

If Xfinity’s cable connection and terms of service have you interested in alternatives, consider Kinetic (but only if optical, pass DSL) or T-Mobile Home Internet. Kinetic offers symmetrical upload and download speeds for up to one gig, although availability in State College is limited.

T-Mobile’s home internet boasts more affordability, but lower speed potential. If you can handle the speeds — 72 to 245 Mbps — the no-contract service is worth checking out, as it includes free rental equipment, unlimited data and a bundle discount for qualified T-Mobile customers.

The best internet in State College, PA

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

Source: CNET analysis of vendor data.

How to Find Internet Deals and Promotions in State College

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

State College Internet providers, such as T-Mobile Home Internet and Xfinity, may offer lower introductory rates or streaming other incentives for a limited time. However, others, including Kinetic and Verizon 5G Home Internet, have the same standard prices year-round.

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 State College, PA

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 ISP data, 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 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 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. (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.

ISPs in State College, PA Frequently Asked Questions