Best ISPs in Arlington, Virginia

What is the best ISP in Arlington?

CNET's Top Provider Pick for most households in Arlington it's Xfinity. In addition to providing service to most addresses in the city, the service also offers you the fastest plan in Arlington. For $120 per month, Xfinity customers can reach download speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second, with no data caps or monthly equipment costs. Providers like Verizon Fios and T-Mobile are also solid choices for home internet, depending on availability.

Xfinity also offers one of the cheapest plans in Arlington, tied with Astound Broadband. While Astound provides faster speeds with its basic plan, availability is much rarer. Xfinity Connect costs $25 per month for speeds up to 150 megabits per second.

Best Internet in Arlington, VA

Compared to Arlington ISPs

Provider	Internet technology	Monthly price range	Speed ​​range	Monthly equipment costs	Data cap	Agreement	CNET Review Score
Amazing broadband Read the full review	Cable	20-55 dollars	300-1,500 Mbps	No one	No one	No one	7
Cox Communications Read the full review	Cable	50-120 dollars	100-2,000 Mbps	No one	1.25TB on some plans	No one	6.2
The stellar internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	30-75 dollars	200-1,000 Mbps	No one	No one	No one	7
T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$50-$70 ($35-$55 for eligible mobile customers)	87-415 Mbps	No one	No one	No one	7.4
Verizon Fios Read the full review	Hair	50-90 dollars	300-940 Mbps	No one	No one	No one	7.6
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$50-$70 ($35-$45 with qualifying cellular plans)	50-1,000 Mbps	No one	No one	No one	7.2
Xfinity Read the full review	Cable/Fibre	25-120 dollars	75-2,000 Mbps	$15 (optional)	No one	1 year on some plans	7

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What is the cheapest internet plan in Arlington?

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find online deals and promotions in Arlington

The best online deals and top promotions in Arlington depend on what discounts are available at that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we often look for the latest offers.

Arlington ISPs such as Xfinity, Cox and Astound Broadband may offer lower introductory rates or streaming add-ons for a limited time. However, many, including Verizon and T-Mobile, have the same standard prices year-round.

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

Fastest internet plans in Arlington

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Source: CNET analysis of provider 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 accommodate video conferencing, streaming video, or gaming, you'll have a better experience with a stronger 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—browsing the web, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
• From 5 to 40 Mbps, you can enjoy higher quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100 Mbps should give a user enough bandwidth to meet the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
• 100 to 500 Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming and gaming.
• 500 to 1,000 Mbps allows three or more users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities.

How CNET picked the best ISPs in Arlington

Internet providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest ones smart phone, laptop, router or kitchen toolit is impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what is our approach? We begin by researching pricing, availability, and speed information, drawing our own historical data from ISPs, provider locations, and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission to FCC.gov.

But it doesn't end there. We go to the FCC website to check our data and make sure we account for every ISP that provides service in a particular area. We also enter local addresses on supplier 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 correct as of the time of publication.

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

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

While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who 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 factors such as price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively simple. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and also look at real-world speed data from sources like Okla and The FCC reports. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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

ISPs in Arlington Frequently Asked Questions