Best Internet Providers in Seattle
As I see it, if a city can claim to be the birthplace of Starbucks and Jimi Hendrix, it must be doing something right. That said, Seattle isn’t exactly in the espresso lane regarding high-speed internet options. While the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue region rings in as the country’s 15th most populous metro area, it could only muster a spot at 91 among the fastest cities in the US for broadband.
That news arrived with the latest data from the Speed-testing company Ookla, which tracks the top 100 cities in the US and categorizes them based on their median download speeds.
According to Ookla’s report covering the first quarter of 2022, Seattle placed in the bottom 10, just ahead of Denver, with a median download speed of 116 megabits per second. The Ookla report also noted that Seattle’s fastest provider — again, based on median download speed — was Astound Broadband (also known in the area as Wave), a cable internet provider whose average speed was about 145 megabits per second. As we’ve written many times in CNET’s broadband coverage, cable internet connections — though offering fast speeds and decent reliability — aren’t the speediest mode available.
That claim belongs to fiber internet. And, while you can get fiber internet service in and around Seattle, each of those providers, including CenturyLink and Ziply Fiber, also supplies internet service via DSL connections, which are far slower than fiber, and less dependable than cable. That brings those average speeds back down to earth — and it also means that there’s a lot to keep track of if you’re shopping for a new internet plan in Seattle.
In any case, whether you’ve relocated to the area or are a long-time Seattleite, you’ve got some options for getting connected. Let’s dive into your choices and explore the best internet service providers in the area.