Living in rural areas has its advantages, but it comes with certain cons. One of the biggest among them is the lack of good internet options. People in cities get to enjoy download speeds of up to 1000 Mbps. Those living in rural areas have to make their peace with slower speeds such as 10 Mbps, 15 Mbps, and 25 Mbps. For some areas, even that is a luxury. So if you are looking for some best internet options for rural areas, we have some handpicked selections for you.

Historically, satellite internet providers have been the only options available for the people of rural areas. However, due to FCCs efforts to eliminate this digital divide, other internet options such as DSL, fixed wireless, and even cable internet are available in many areas.

Best Internet Options for Rural Areas

Suppose someone asks you what the best internet option for rural areas is, or even you are searching for a reliable and fast internet connection. In that case, there are some excellent internet providers that you can turn to. These internet options include;

1. HughesNet

HughesNet internet has been the best option for reliable internet services in rural areas for years. Since it relies on satellite internet technology, it doesn’t need any wired connectivity to deliver internet services to its customers. As a result, those living at the remotest locations can get good internet services.

Compared to other satellite internet options, HughesNet is affordable and offers benefits such as a price guarantee for 2 years. So, customers don’t have to face price hikes every once in a while and enjoy a good speed of up to 25 Mbps at lower rates.

HughesNet offers several data plans for its customers to choose from, ranging from 10 GB per month to 50 GB per month of high-speed data. In addition, all customers get access to 50 GB of additional data for free as part of the HughesNet bonus zone data. Once they go over these data limits, the speed is managed following HughesNet’s fair usage policy while users are not required to pay any additional charges.

As for prices, these plans start from $59.99 per month and go up to $149.99 per month. New customers can also get a $10 discount for the first six months based on the promotion available in their area. You can also do a HughesNet speed Hack by limiting the streaming quality to medium if you experience any buffering. However, in most cases, you won’t face any issue like that.

2. CenturyLink DSL

CenturyLink DSL internet connection is the second option available for rural areas. It currently offers a download speed of up to 100 Mbps. Since it is a wired connection, many people consider it more reliable than satellite internet. The best part is that it is cost-effective compared to satellite, and the connection’s latency is lower. Resultantly, customers get a faster internet connection at affordable prices.

It offers several plans with download speeds ranging from 15 Mbps to 100 Mbps. Meanwhile, the price for all these plans is $49 per month. CenturyLink wants its rural customers to have the maximum download speed at the lowest price. So, customers can choose the maximum download speed available in the area without worrying about their budget.

On the downside, all these speed options are not available everywhere. So, you might only get the download speed option of 15 Mbps in your area while paying the same price.

3. Xfinity

Xfinity is the largest ISP in the US that covers 39 states, including both cities and rural areas, and offers services through cable connection. That makes it much faster than any other service provider listed here.

It offers a download speed going up to 1000 Mbps while the data per month is more than 1000 gigabytes. Moreover, it is also the cheapest internet option as the prices start from $34.99 for a download speed of up to 100 Mbps and go up to $84.99 per month for a download speed of up to 1000 Mbps. That makes it one of the best internet options to consider for rural areas.

On the other hand, Xfinity offers plans with or without contracts. So, those who don’t want to bind themselves for years can opt out of the contract. However, they are required to pay extra every month for that. Another problem is that Xfinity internet might cover the rural areas, but it is not available everywhere. So only a few can get the services while most customers have to look for other options.

4. AT&T

AT&T is yet another good internet service provider for rural areas. Apart from the broadband service, AT&T offers IPTV, Telephone, OTT, and other related services in the United States. When it comes to Internet Plans, they offer a wide range of Internet Plans that include the AT&T Internet Plan 1000 that offers almost 1Gbps speed and a device capacity of 14 per connection.

So, AT&T can also be considered the best option for internet in the urban and rural areas of the country.

Summing Up

Although efforts are being made by several organizations and FCC to make high-speed internet services available for everyone, they are falling short. Most of the rural areas still rely on satellite and DSL internet services. Suppose you cannot find any of the options mentioned here. In that case, you can try some other names, including Windstream, Rise Broadband, Mediacom, and Suddenlink, which are also some of the best internet services for rural areas. Hopefully, you will get the best internet options through one of those.