Internet Providers in Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara residents have access to a few wired internet providers: Cox, EarthLink, and Frontier. Depending on where you live in the city, these providers offer various connection types with their plans.

First up in availability is Cox, which covers 92.4% of Santa Barbara. Known for its cable service, Cox has the strongest presence in Alta Mesa and East Mesa. In most cases, you’ll have access to Cox given its widespread coverage, but the rare patches of unavailability are at Harding Elementary School and the business plaza along West Gutierrez Street and State Street.

EarthLink is another wired internet provider in Santa Barbara that offers 45.2% coverage. If you live within its coverage zone and prefer fiber over cable internet, EarthLink is your best option. If you don’t have access to EarthLink, Frontier is an alternative fiber internet provider, covering 48.2% of the city. Frontier is noticeably absent in the central neighborhoods between El Camino Real and Garden Street. However, it has coverage on the west and east sides of the city.

Cox and Frontier overlap with their coverage in Alta Mesa, West Mesa, and East Alta Mesa. If you want to stick with Frontier but don’t live within its fiber availability, you can opt for its DSL service, which has almost the same coverage as Cox. It isn’t, however, available in Turtle Pond or in the neighborhood between East Canon Perdido Street and E De La Guerra Street, which is east of Santa Barbara High School.