Internet Providers in Chicago, Illinois

Enter your zip code to find ISPs in your neighborhood.

Residential Internet Statistics for Chicago, IL
Wired Internet Providers: 7
Average Speed Test Result: 99.73 Mbps
Top Advertised Speed: 1,200 Mbps
No Broadband Access: 0.43%

Most Popular Residential Internet Providers in Chicago, Illinois

98.7% Available

XFINITY from Comcast
Speeds up to:

1,200 Mbps

Download

35 Mbps

Upload
Order Online
(844) 910-2674

98.6% Available

AT&T Internet
Fiber
Speeds up to:

1,000 Mbps

Download

1,000 Mbps

Upload
View Plans and Pricing
(855) 910-0548

17.1% Available

WOW!
Speeds up to:

1,000 Mbps

Download

50 Mbps

Upload
View Plans and Pricing
(855) 929-4510

Internet Access in Chicago, Illinois

The average address in Chicago is serviceable by 4-5 Internet Service Providers, or "ISPs." This is a lot of choice contrasted with other communities. Competition often results in better pricing.

The data on this page comes via FCC filings. Then, it's validated using privatized data sources to create more accurate resources than can be accessed through the FCC directly. Information about pricing of individual broadband plans is sourced by manually collecting tens of thousands of data points every year. We've catalogued 792 Chicago Internet plans since 2014, with 65 Internet plans currently marketed in the area.

Considering network tech offered across the area, we see that the most widespread physical wire Internet connection options are IPBB and Fiber, with 98.60% and 26.34% respectively. Fiber is built on newer, more modern Fiber-optical lines, which are made of hair-like glass strands that deliver digital data as light. Fiber Internet results in better speed and performance, but may switch over to slower copper wiring in the "last mile" near a subscriber. As a result, some fiber connections might not offer true "gigabit" performance.

XFINITY from Comcast is a common second choice to the primary providers (Viasat and HughesNet), serving Chicago with 98 percent availability and a top speed of 987 Mbps. Wired broadband isn't the only way to get Internet service in Chicago. fixed wireless companies like Everywhere Wireless are able to offer 1,000 Mbps via direct wireless links. There are 31 companies in city limits selling specialized enterprise and business products and services such as SD-WAN. BroadbandNow includes all providers with business plans online, but home providers often have unlisted business plans as well.

Viasat Internet (formerly Exede) and HughesNet are the most commonly avialable ISPs in Chicago so far as coverage. The more common ISPs often compete at addresses in different neighborhoods around Chicago.

Internet Statistics 2021

Recognition

fiber-certification-badge

Chicago, IL

0.8% of consumers in Chicago

21,000 People Only have access to 1 or fewer wired internet providers available at their address.

This data is calculated from FCC datasets which providers are legally required to supply twice a year. We further validate this data for accuracy.

Are you a journalist or researcher writing about this topic?

Contact us and we'll connect you with a broadband market expert on our team who can provide insights and data to support your work.

Summary Of Fastest Internet Providers In Chicago, Illinois

Provider Speed Type Time To Download 1 GB
AT&T Internet 1,000 Mbps DSL and Fiber 8s
RCN 1,000 Mbps Cable 8s
XFINITY from Comcast 1,200 Mbps Cable 6s
AccessMedia3 250 Mbps Cable 32s
Consolidated Communications (Formerly Fairpoint Communications) 100 Mbps DSL 1m 21s
WOW! 1,000 Mbps Cable 8s
Viasat Internet (formerly Exede) 50 Mbps Satellite 2m 43s
HughesNet 25 Mbps Satellite 5m 27s

Summary of Internet Providers Availability in Chicago, Illinois

  • AT&T Internet - 98.6% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 1,000 Mbps
  • Xfinity - 98.7% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 1,200 Mbps
  • RCN - 21.3% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 1,000 Mbps
  • WOW! - 17.1% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 1,000 Mbps
  • AccessMedia3 - 0.2% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 250 Mbps
  • Consolidated - 0.0% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 100 Mbps
  • Viasat - 100.0% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 50 Mbps
  • HughesNet - 100.0% Availability in Chicago - Speeds up to 25 Mbps

Internet Providers in Nearby Cities

Internet Provider Competition Map For Chicago

Chicago Internet Competition Map. Click for interactive map.
Click here to initialize interactive map
Chicago is the 2nd most connected city in Illinois ahead of Oak Park, Berwyn, Cicero, Riverside, and Forest Park.

The “Connected” metric is a citywide average based on FCC data showing the density of broadband options at the census block level.

Approximately 23,000 people in Cook County don't have access to any wired internet.

This statistic is drawn from the population in census blocks not served by at least one wired broadband provider.

Fiber Availability: 27% of people living in Chicago have residential fiber service available to them.

Fiber coverage data is sourced from FCC Form 477 filings and cross-validated through BroadbandNow with private datasets and direct provider reporting.

Approximately 99% of Chicago residents are serviced by multiple wired providers.

This coverage statistic is based on a mix of FCC and private provider reporting in the past two quarters.

As of this month, 60654 is the zip code with the fastest average download speed in Chicago.

Zip-based speed averages are calculated from M-Labs consumer speed tests run by IP addresses in the area.

In Cook County, approximately 26,000 people do not have access to 25 Mbps wired broadband.

25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload is the minimum speed for an Internet connection to be classified as “Broadband” by the FCC.

Broadband Access for Education in Chicago

Devry University-Illinois and Depaul University are the largest universities in Chicago. For the 48,019 combined students living in the area, strong internet access is a must for obtaining educational materials and viewing research. Devry University-Illinois residential buildings have 3-4 internet providers available in area on average, while Depaul University has closer to 3. Devry University-Illinois students that live close to campus can expect to get download speeds of around 155.66 Mbps, according to speed test data in the Devry University-Illinois zip code. Speeds close to Depaul University average out to 147.28 Mbps over 124,341 tests run in the past year.
FCC and US Government reports often cite the need to better internet service access for college and high school students.

Data Caps Around Chicago

Data collected by our market research team suggests that some of the popular ISPs use data caps for their residential Internet connections. Data caps are controversial since consumers view caps as a strategy for limiting streaming services. Providers explain they are a reasonable strategy for managing network congestion. In either case, the problem is streaming video, which can eat up one to seven Gigabytes per hour.

Internet access in Chicago neighborhoods

Chicago Internet access info can be found in these specific neighborhoods: Jefferson Park, Calumet Park, Norridge, Merrionette Park, Burnham, and Bedford Park.

Summary Of Internet Providers In Chicago

Provider Type Coverage Speed
AT&T Internet DSL and Fiber 98.6%+ 1,000 Mbps
XFINITY from Comcast Cable 98.7%+ 1,200 Mbps
Everywhere Wireless Fixed Wireless 85.7%+ 1,000 Mbps
RCN Cable 21.3%+ 1,000 Mbps
WOW! Cable 17.1%+ 1,000 Mbps
Webpass Fixed Wireless 1.5%+ 1,000 Mbps
AccessMedia3 Cable 0.2%+ 250 Mbps
E-Vergent Wireless Fixed Wireless 0.1%+ 65 Mbps
Comelec Internet Services Fixed Wireless 0.1%+ 40 Mbps
Consolidated Communications (Formerly Fairpoint Communications) DSL 0.0%+ 100 Mbps
Viasat Internet (formerly Exede) Satellite 100% 50 Mbps
HughesNet Satellite 100% 25 Mbps
Comcast Business Cable 86.8%+ 987 Mbps
Crown Castle Fiber Fiber 50.2%+ 1,000 Mbps
AT&T Fiber 18.0%+ 1,000 Mbps
CenturyLink Business Fiber 15.3%+ 1,000 Mbps
GTT Communications DSL 26.7%+ 8 Mbps
First Communications Copper 20.1%+ 500 Mbps
Verizon Business Fiber and Copper 18.1%+ 1,000 Mbps
US Signal Company Fiber 12.5%+ 1,000 Mbps
Cogent Communications Fiber 10.1%+ 1,000 Mbps
RCN Business Fiber 9.7%+ 1,000 Mbps
Windstream Fiber 9.1%+ 1,000 Mbps
Fusion Copper 8.1%+ 200 Mbps
Zayo Fiber 4.7%+ 1,000 Mbps
Access One Inc Copper 4.0%+ 3.0 Mbps
Towerstream Fixed Wireless 2.9%+ 1,000 Mbps
Google Fiber Webpass Copper 2.3%+ 1,000 Mbps
Global Cloud Xchange Copper 1.9%+ 905 Mbps
SNET Copper 1.9%+ 1,000 Mbps
Call One Copper 1.7%+ 1,000 Mbps
E-Vergent Wireless Fixed Wireless 0.9%+ 6 Mbps
Xclutel Communications Copper 0.5%+ -- Mbps
Consolidated Communications (Formerly Fairpoint Communications) Fiber 0.2%+ 1,000 Mbps
M2 nGage Fiber 0.3%+ 1,000 Mbps
AccessMedia3 Copper 0.2%+ 500 Mbps
TPx Communications Copper 0.2%+ 100 Mbps
Atlantic Metro Fiber 0.2%+ -- Mbps
T2 Technologies Copper 0.1%+ 50 Mbps
Panterra Copper 0.1%+ 3.0 Mbps
Unite Private Networks Fiber 0.1%+ 1,000 Mbps
Allstream Fiber 0.1%+ -- Mbps
CallTower Fiber 0.1%+ 100 Mbps
AssetBlack Fiber 0.0%+ 50 Mbps

Customer Reviews of Internet Providers in Chicago

Phenomenal job

My internet had been down since yesterday morning. We called today and were fortunate to get a technician. He arrived with an unwavering determination to resolve my issue. His manipulation with the tools of the trade gave me assurance that I would have Netflix and be chilling real soon! He moved from one room to next, from the basement to outside, from atop a strong ladder to the back of the reliable van, one step after another until finally done! My family and I thank you, may your jobs never be too many or your reward too few!

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Better than others

We live in a rural area and have had crappy DSL (around 400kbps download) and paid over $50 a month for it. When I found out about T-Mobile I thought I would give it a shot. At first, since it is LTE internet, I thought It would not be that good because my phone internet is pretty bad and very flaky out here, but I was told by the representative that I could try it and if I didn't like it, I could send it back, no strings attached. I have to say it was better than I thought. I get speeds ranging between 16Mbps to 30Mbps and the speed is not choppy so video and games play smoothly and don't drop the connection as they do on phone tethering. It's not cable or fiber speeds but it sure beats 3.0 DSL and the price is the same with no extra fees or taxes (50$ a month).

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Our Service Tech Brian Is Simply Great!!

I would like to write my very positive remarks about our local service technician (Brian Lloyd) who services our Sherrard, Illinois area (61281). His service over the years has been exceptional, not only with putting our internet service back on track but also about his conduct on the phone. Very courteous and professional with also a sense of humor (good mix). We hope that his manager(s) and colleagues see this review as a testament to his performance. Thanks Brian! Christopher B.

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Great Internet speeds

We got our internet last June. Our technician was outstanding and very pleasant and informative. We have not had any need to call for service since the day it was connected (hope I didn’t just jinx myself). We do have Netflix and Amazon and it works great!

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Good service

The network and company give you good service, never had an issue.

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HughesNet Review

Slow to no Internet. I called several times to complain about slow internet, only to get a quote for a higher price rate. Finally cancelled the service but I was charged a $300 cancellation fee. Currently being harassed on a daily basis by phone & emails. Horrible service.

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Top notch service

These guys take great care of their customers!

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Internet never works

Hooked up on Nov 8th and in less then a month, I have had 5 techs to my home to fix internet problem of losing signal. Goes offline all the time, sometimes for a whole day. 5 different times they have tried things but it's still not working. It works for others, why can't they do it for me? Would not use if I didn't have to and would not recommend to anyone.

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Fails 100% at providing signal

I can watch tv in 3 minute intervals and then it buffers for 20 minutes. There is never a good time for signal. But they want 500.00 to cancel.

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Worst Service and even worse customer service!

We have been a Comcast Xfinty customer for over 20 years. When they forced us (and charged more!) to the digital platform we have had nothing but trouble!!! Yes, we have the original 20 year old cable line in the ground so every time it rains or is moist we have issues. I have called and said this line is shorting out with the moisture over a year ago and still no response. I have had to reset the internet modem over 6 times this week. Stay away from Xfinity, they could careless about you as a customer and your service!!!!

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Frequently Asked Questions About Internet in Chicago, Illinois

  • What is the cheapest Internet service in Chicago?

    The cheapest internet in Chicago costs $22.00, from RCN.

  • What is the fastest Internet in Chicago?

    XFINITY from Comcast has the fastest speeds in Chicago, with speeds up to 1200 Mbps.

  • How much is Internet in Chicago?

    Internet prices in Chicago run from $22.00/month for internet-only to $34.26/month for a bundle.

  • Last updated: 04/19/2021