Best internet providers in Olathe, Kansas

Olathe is well-served by internet providers, with plans that are both reliable and fairly inexpensive.

#1: AT&T internet

If you can get fiber internet from AT&T, you’re in luck! You can choose a 300 Mbps plan for around $55. That’s fast enough for most households, and we like that a nice internet gateway for Wi-Fi is included in the monthly rate. You can also get faster plans with AT&T if you have a particularly large household, and prices are competitive. We are a little less excited that AT&T sometimes charges $100 for installation (if you need a professional installer to come by) and wish there were even cheaper plans, but AT&T is still Switchful’s top pick in Olathe.

Read our full AT&T review.

#2: Google Fiber internet

When you need reliable speeds of 1 Gbps or faster, Google Fiber is another great choice. Its pricing is super simple, and we haven’t seen an increase in monthly rates for years. We also like its version of a router, and the option to add mesh nodes at no extra cost if you have an especially large home. It would be great if this provider had slower and cheaper options like some of its competitors, but its reputation in the area can’t be beat.

Read our full Google Fiber review.

#3: Spectrum internet

When you need slower speeds and lower prices, Spectrum internet is a nice option. There’s a huge range of plans, with options as little as $30 per month all the way up to $90 per month. For most households, we recommend plans of 500 Mbps or less, which ring up at $50 per month or less. There are a few things to know, though. Spectrum charges installation costs of at least $25, even if you do the work yourself, and there’s a $5 monthly fee to rent its Wi-Fi router if you don’t already have one you can hook up. We’ve also seen a lot of complaints from frustrated customers and prices go up after a year, so the service is harder to recommend than fiber providers in the area.

Read our full Spectrum review

If you live in Olathe, you’re not limited to our top three choices for home internet. Instead, you can choose from an additional cable internet provider, two 5G home internet providers, or a traditional fixed wireless provider.

Consolidated Communications is our number-two pick for cable internet, and the provider touts its hybrid cable/fiber network. We especially like its $25 monthly plan that offers speeds up to 100 Mbps, but all its plans are reasonably priced.

If you can’t get cable or fiber internet or don’t mind connections that are a little less reliable, 5G home internet might be right for you. And the price is right! Both T-Mobile (3) and Verizon (4) blanket the city with their fastest 5G coverage, but T-Mobile may be more likely to offer 5G home internet. If you bundle your phone plan with either, you can find plans that cost as little as $25 per month.

You can also get traditional fixed wireless from Mercury Broadband or choose among three satellite internet providers, but we steer most people away from these options because they’re slow and expensive, especially compared to fiber internet.

One of the cheapest internet plans you can get in Olathe is from Spectrum, which offers a $29.99 monthly option with speeds up to 100 Mbps. That's a decent price for the speed, but you may have to pony up an additional $5 per month for Wi-Fi gear. For $25, you can also get a 100 Mbps plan from Consolidated Communications or a 5G plan from one of the cell phone providers listed above, as long as you bundle with a qualifying mobile plan.

Certain lower-income families with students, Veterans, and seniors may qualify for $30 off per month from the Affordable Connectivity Program, a taxpayer-funded initiative managed by the FCC. Learn more about the program and find other ways to get free or cheap internet at home.

Google Fiber is the preferred choice by most social media commenters in and around Olathe, but people also say 5G home internet is pretty good. Many folks bash on AT&T and Spectrum internet, citing issues with billing and customer service, but these kinds of complaints aren’t uncommon for ISPs (internet service providers) throughout the country, so we can’t judge them too harshly.

Olathe is a very well-connected city, with nearly every residence having the option for internet speeds of 100 Mbps or more. (1) Google Fiber has been operating its 100% fiber network in the city for at least a decade, and continues to expand. (5)

AT&T has an even bigger network in Olathe than Google Fiber and has been installing purely fiber internet in the area since at least 2015. (6) Cable providers Spectrum and Consolidated Communications also have large networks in Olathe. Both use a lot of fiber-optic cabling in the backbone of their networks, but have a mix of coaxial cable when it comes to delivering the internet to individual homes.

Meanwhile, Verizon and T-Mobile have been improving their networks in recent years and now make 5G home internet widely available to Olathe residents.

According to FCC data, Olathe residents have great access to broadband internet at home. However, a group of researchers with the University of Kansas say that data is only right about 25% of the time. They also say it's harder for people in less affluent parts of town to get fast speeds at reasonable prices. (7)

The federal government has allocated funds to help spread the word about the ACP, (8) and we look forward to seeing if that moves the needle for underprivileged families in the Olathe area.