Internet Providers in Santa Barbara, California

Best Internet Providers in Santa Barbara, CA

Cox and Frontier are the top internet providers in Santa Barbara, with Cox being the better of the two. Its cable connection offers download speeds up to 2 Gbps, which is more than enough to handle all your household internet needs. Cox also supplies the least expensive internet plan in the city, with its most affordable option costing as little as $50 per month.

If you’re looking for a fiber internet provider, Frontier is a good alternative to Cox. With gigabit speeds and prices starting at $64.99 per month, Frontier is a great internet provider in Santa Barbara.

If Frontier and Cox aren’t available at your address, or you’re looking for an alternative to traditional internet providers, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a viable option that uses 5G technology to speed up the wireless home internet experience. Customers can expect download speeds between 33 and 182 Mbps for a flat rate of $50 per month (with AutoPay).

Internet Availability in Santa Barbara, CA

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 45.2% 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.