Best Internet Providers in State College, Pennsylvania

What is the best internet provider in State College?

Xfinity tops ‘s list of the best internet providers in State College, Pennsylvania. It has widespread coverage, affordable starting prices and offers a range of plans. This cable internet provider also offers one of the cheapest internet plans with wide availability in the area — Xfinity’s 400Mbps plan starts at just $30 a month. If you have a need for speed, Xfinity also has a 2,100Mbps plan at $85 per month.

Xfinity isn’t without its downsides, however. While download speeds are fast, upload speeds are comparatively far slower on their cable network. You might also need to enter a contract for the best rates, which is not ideal for Penn State students staying just a semester. Also, equipment rental adds $15 monthly to your bill.

Ookla’s latest data says State College has a median download speed of around 228Mbps, which means fast internet isn’t uncommon in the area. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as , Ziff Davis.) If Xfinity’s cable connection and service terms have you wondering about alternatives, you can consider Kinetic (but only if it’s fiber, pass on the DSL) or T-Mobile Home Internet. Kinetic offers symmetrical upload and download speeds up to a gig, although it has lower availability in State College. Kinetic also has the cheapest plan in town, at $25 monthly for 100Mbps, but it loses to Xfinity’s $30 plan in terms of value and availability.

T-Mobile Home Internet boasts greater availability but a lower speed potential. If the speeds of 87 to 415Mbps sound okay to you, you might want to check out the contract-free service. It includes free equipment rental, unlimited data and a bundle discount for qualifying T-Mobile customers.

Best internet in State College, Pennsylvania

Source: analysis of provider data.

Source: analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in State College

The best internet deals and the top promotions in State College depend on what discounts are available during that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

State College internet providers, such as T-Mobile Home Internet and Xfinity, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming other incentives for a limited time. Others, however, including Kinetic and Verizon 5G Home Internet, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.

Source: analysis of provider data.

What’s a good internet speed?

Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you’re looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here’s an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines — and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.

For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.

• 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics — browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How chose the best internet providers in State College, Pennsylvania

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information, drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of the time of publication.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
3. Are customers happy with their service?

While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.

To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.

Internet providers in State College, Pennsylvania FAQs