Staff rating

4.0

Customer rating

4.2

(5)

Plans starting at $59.95

Download speeds up to 100 Mbps

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Staff rating

3.0

Customer rating

4.0

(1)

Plans starting at $25.00

Download speeds up to 1000 Mbps

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Staff rating

3.7

Customer rating

4.2

(110)

Plans starting at $50.00

Download speeds up to 182 Mbps

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Check availability

See what providers service your area.

Staff rating

4.0

Earthlink offers amazing customer experience at slightly more cost

If you're willing to pay a little bit more for an exceptional customer experience, EarthLink may be the right choice for your Internet service. EarthLink is an interesting Internet provider. Instead of serving internet through its own infrastructure, it partners with other internet providers to repackage their service, acting as a go-between. This means slightly higher prices, but EarthLink's superior customer experience delivers true value and peace of mind.

What we like

Wide availability
Amazing customer service
No price hikes

What we dislike

Premium prices
Plans vary greatly by area

See full review

Savings tip: EarthLink often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

Check deals

Staff rating

3.0

Rise Broadband brings good speeds and great prices to rural customers

Rise Broadband offers competitive fixed wireless speeds at reasonable prices for rural customers. While it won’t compete with your typical fiber or cable internet service, it offers a compelling alternative to satellite.

What we like

Strong rural availability
More data than satellite
Low latency

What we dislike

Limited speeds
weather can impact service

See full review

Savings tip: Rise Broadband often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

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Staff rating

3.7

Inexpensive high-speed internet with no contracts

T-Mobile provides an inexpensive 5G internet plan with no contract and decent speed, but not a lot of choices or professional installation.

What we like

One low price
No commitment
Relatively fast

What we dislike

Not widely available
No professional installation available
Inconsistent speeds

See full review

Savings tip: T-Mobile often has sign-up promotions for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.

Check deals

Value

5.0

High value and superior customer experience

You often get what you pay for, and that's the case with EarthLink. Although EarthLink offers slightly higher pricing, you get value for your dollar, and you may even end up paying less than you would with competitors in the long-run.

There’s no getting around it: EarthLink's face-value prices are almost always higher than the competition. Although, depending on the area you're in, the difference can be as little as a few dollars per month. EarthLink's slightly elevated price tag equates to some of the best customer service from an internet provider.

EarthLink doesn’t actually have its own internet infrastructure. Instead, it partners with other local DSL and fiber internet providers, like AT&T and Frontier, and EarthLink uses their infrastructure. This costs EarthLink money, and some of this naturally gets passed down to customers. In return, you’re promised a superior customer experience.

The other reason that EarthLink may offer slightly higher prices: it skips the introductory promotional pricing most internet service providers advertise. For example, when AT&T or Spectrum quote you a price, it’s often for an introductory period of 12 or 24 months. After that introductory period, the price may increase (sometimes dramatically). EarthLink doesn’t do this, which is a plus in our book. It means that EarthLink pricing is straightforward, without any hidden fees, complicated pricing structures, or gimmicks. This also means EarthLink may end up being slightly less expensive in the long-run if you intend to keep it for a couple of years.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

EarthLink's website

or call 1-833-804-4930 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Value

3.0

Much better value than satellite, but won't compete with traditional cable or fiber

Rise Broadband is a tough service to rate because it’s not your typical ISP. Rise Broadband provides what’s known as fixed wireless service, which means the signal is beamed from a tower wirelessly to your home (rather than running through cable or fiber lines). It’s also generally aimed more at rural areas where cable lines don’t exist. This means it primarily competes with satellite internet and DSL. All this has to be taken into account when considering value.

So, where does Rise stand? Compared to DSL and satellite, it’s an outstanding value. It offers better performance and higher data allowances (with an unlimited data add-on available) than satellite and DSL, and at significantly lower prices. That said, if you’re in an area that has a cable or fiber option, you may find that those providers offer more for your money.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

Rise Broadband's website

or call 1-844-719-8068 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Value

4.0

One plan, one very low price

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet comes in one download speed (182 Mbps), which is fast enough for a lot of people but slower than most cable plans (up to 1 Gbps) and fiber plans (up to 5 Gbps). The good news? T-Mobile’s plan includes unlimited data, but there may be slowdowns when the network is congested. It’ll cost you $50, which is $0.50 per Mbps, and about right for 5G plans. However, overall, 5G internet is super cheap compared to other kinds of broadband internet. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) benchmarks similar broadband plans at $105.67/month, (1) which comes out to more than a dollar per Mbps!

Even better, if you’re already a T-Mobile customer with a qualifying Magenta plan, your rate is $25/month. If max download speeds of 100 Mbps works for you, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a pretty sweet deal, especially if you’re already a customer. But if you’re looking for more plan options, you won’t find them here.

Pricing details vary by location. Visit

T-Mobile's website

or call 1-833-922-2124 to speak with a rep.

See pricing

Performance

4.0

Solid performance and fast speeds, but depends on area

EarthLink's performance is tough to rate. Because it is essentially reselling other providers’ services, the speed and reliability are highly dependent on which partners it uses in a given area.

That said, performance is generally good, and there are a wide range of high-speed internet plans available in most areas, so you can get exactly how much you need—up to 5 gigs in some places. Much of the service is fiber, which means performance is reliably consistent. Best of all, every plan has unlimited data, so whatever speed you opt for, you can use it without worry.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-833-804-4930 to speak with a EarthLink rep or

go to its website.

Performance

3.0

Better performance than other rural options

Performance-wise, Rise Broadband offers solid speeds—with the caveat that we’re comparing internet options in rural areas here. Most coverage areas have a choice of 25 Mbps and 50 Mbps plans, and some select areas have up to 100 Mbps available. These speeds would be pretty bad in areas with more options. However, if you’re considering fixed wireless, you probably don’t have many more options.

Compared to a satellite provider like Viasat, these speeds are about average—maybe even a little slow. However, fixed wireless like Rise won’t suffer from the huge latency of satellite internet, which makes it much more usable for gaming and other real-time tasks. Rise should handle HD streaming in a small household without too much trouble. You can optionally add unlimited data for an extra $10 per month, which makes a big difference without making the price unreasonable.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-844-719-8068 to speak with a Rise Broadband rep or

go to its website.

Performance

3.0

Faster than advertised, but awkwardly unpredictable

As with any fixed wireless internet provider, speeds fluctuate widely and can be affected by weather, terrain, peak hours, and more. That means you’ll rarely get a steady 100 Mbps. T-Mobile says you’ll likely see anywhere from 33 to 182 Mbps for download and 8 to 25 Mbps for upload. (2) But we think T-Mobile should toot its horn a little louder. Independent research shows speeds average out to around 119 Mbps for download and 16 Mbps for upload—both of which leave other wireless ISPs in the dust. (3)

Generally, 5G internet isn’t as fast as cable internet (up to 1,000 Mbps, or 1 Gbps) or fiber (up to 5 Gbps). But for most people, it’ll feel pretty zippy. Unfortunately, if you’re using your connection for gaming, the inconsistency could cause unpredictable, frustrating lags.

Available speeds vary by location. Call 1-833-922-2124 to speak with a T-Mobile rep or

go to its website.

Equipment and Installation

2.5

Reasonably priced equipment, but varies by area

This is another category that’s tough to rate. Since EarthLink partners with other internet service providers (ISPs) to provide service, it doesn’t actually issue its own equipment. Instead, you’ll get equipment from whichever partner EarthLink uses in your area. The good news is that EarthLink does set the fees, and they’re reasonable: $9.95 per month.

It’s a similar story for installation—your service will be installed and set up by a rep from the partner company, not EarthLink itself. The installation fee is $79.95, which isn’t the highest we’ve seen. That said, we’d rather see installation included in the price, particularly since EarthLink’s overall prices tend to be on the high side. Self-install is available only in some service areas.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

EarthLink plans

available in your area.

View plans

Equipment and installation

3.0

Surprisingly great Wi-Fi equipment—watch out for that installation fee, though

Rise Broadband offers surprisingly competitive equipment. The provider offers the TP-Link Deco M4 mesh system, which can easily cover an entire large home. Customers can choose to rent up to three of the devices for $5 more per month each, so you can save a little money if you don’t need the full range of all three routers.

Rise Broadband’s installation fee is a whopping $150. That’s one of the highest of any providers we’ve seen. However, many promotions waive this fee. If you can’t find one in your area, it’s also worth asking the sales rep about it—you never know.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

Rise Broadband plans

available in your area.

View plans

Equipment and installation

4.0

You’ll need an app for that

T-Mobile uses a 5G gateway (included at no additional cost) to turn cell signal into Wi-Fi for your home. It’s strong enough to send signal about 30 feet away, depending on how many walls are in the way. It’s compatible with most mesh network extenders. Plus, you can create up to four separate networks, so you can create one for Airbnb guests or your least favorite roommate.

According to T-Mobile, installation should take around 15 minutes—if you have an Android or iOS phone and can download the T-Mobile internet app. If that doesn’t work out, you can call T-Mobile customer service and someone will help you get set up. If you don’t get cell signal or a landline at home, though, you’re going to have a rough day.

Equipment and installation options can vary widely depending on

T-Mobile plans

available in your area.

View plans

Customer Experience

4.5

EarthLink provides a surprisingly exceptional customer service.

Customer service is where EarthLink really shines. The company claims to prioritize customer service and experience, and users seem to agree. The company actually ranks first in some user-driven surveys of internet satisfaction, beating out providers like AT&T and Verizon, despite the slightly higher prices.

From a practical standpoint, it seems that EarthLink representatives are friendlier, more helpful, and more knowledgeable than those we’ve dealt with at other companies. However, we've seen reports that in some places, customer service is handled by the end provider instead, resulting in worse customer service.

Visit EarthLink's website

or call 1-833-804-4930 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Customer experience

3.0

Drastically improved experience compared to satellite internet, but still suffers from some weather-related interference

The customer experience with Rise Broadband is good overall. It offers solid speeds at a great price—if you’re coming from satellite, it’ll be a whole new world. Our one major gripe isn’t so much with Rise as it is with fixed wireless in general: it’s more susceptible to weather interference than most other types of internet. If you’re in an area with frequent heavy rain or snow, you might have some reliability issues (although satellite would likely have the same issues, too).

Multiple customers have noted that speeds fluctuate throughout the year, possibly due to network congestion followed by maintenance and new infrastructure to accommodate the additional traffic. Unfortunately, your experience may be hindered by limited self-help troubleshooting options if you have any issues.

Visit Rise Broadband's website

or call 1-844-719-8068 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Customer experience

4.0

Award-winning customer service, but a lackluster guarantee

T-Mobile is fairly new to providing home internet, but it has a solid track record of providing great service to its mobile customers. Both contract and non-contract customers see the best service in the industry, according to J.D. Power. (4)

We don’t like T-Mobile’s short 15-day money-back guarantee, which doesn’t give you much time for a test drive. (We much prefer Starry’s 30-day guarantee.) Even worse, your countdown starts when T-Mobile ships your 5G Gateway, not when it arrives. If there are any shipping delays or it takes you a day or two to get set up, you’ll run out of testing time fast.

Visit T-Mobile's website

or call 1-833-922-2124 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.

Go to provider

Made up your mind?

Find out what providers are available near you.

EarthLink

4.2

(5)

5 Star

40%

4 Star

40%

3 Star

20%

2 Star

1 Star

Marstonfrom Brooklyn , NY

EarthLink Customer for 4+ years

Reviewed on: 4-4-2023

Earthlink is good internet, but not better than anyone else. I haven't had problems, but I don't expect to have problems.

Jerryfrom Elkin, NC

EarthLink Customer for 8+ years

Reviewed on: 3-14-2023

Earthlink has been pretty good for what I use it for. It's a little expensive but not bad

J.J.from Dominguez, CA

EarthLink Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 8-29-2022

been an ok provider so far. nothing outstanding, nothing to complain about.

Veronica from Macon, GA

EarthLink Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 8-29-2022

Fast internet service, cloud storage

Rise Broadband

4.0

(1)

5 Star

4 Star

100%

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

Sandyfrom Nyc, Ny

Rise Broadband Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 8-29-2022

It's ok the speed could be better

T-Mobile

4.2

(110)

5 Star

43%

4 Star

41%

3 Star

14%

2 Star

1 Star

Jordanfrom Atlanta, GA

T-Mobile Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

For the price I’m paying, I would say my internet is fairly good and is fast and reliant.

Ceciliafrom Hoboken, NJ

T-Mobile Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

Have been with tmobile 20+ years with cell service

Theresafrom Austin, TX

T-Mobile Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

Was previously with Sprint. Not too familiar with T mobile

Joefrom Hewitt, NJ

T-Mobile Customer for Less than a year

Reviewed on: 6-17-2022

it is a seamless experience

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Endnotes and sources

1. “2022 Urban Rate Survey – Fixed Broadband Service,” FCC. Accessed 12 December 2022.2. “Policies, Open Internet,” T-Mobile. Accessed 12 December 2022.3. “USA 5G Experience Report October 2021,” Opensignal. Accessed 12 December 2022.4. "Wireless Customer Care Satisfaction Declines as Staff Turnover Rises, J.D. Power Finds,” J.D. Power. Accessed 12 December 2022.