How to choose the best rural internet service option for you?

Farmer in field using tablet with rural internet options

Internet access has become an increasingly essential part of our everyday lives. It’s how we connect with many people and businesses on a regular basis. People who live in suburban and urban areas can access fast internet connections through a variety of top internet service providers. However, it’s more challenging for residents in rural America to find reliable high-speed internet service. Our guide will help you understand how to choose the best rural internet provider for your home.

Internet access difficulties in rural areas

A digital divide exists between Americans that the Federal Communications Commission is trying to fix. Those who live in or near a city have greater access to broadband internet and speedy fiber-optic internet service, while many rural communities struggle to find internet service providers in their area. Here’s a closer look at the issues many rural residents face.

Limited service availability

Home internet service availability is limited in rural areas because very few internet service providers are established in these sparsely populated communities. It’s very expensive for an ISP to expand its services throughout a large rural area. And since there aren’t many potential customers in one place, these companies don’t want to invest where profit expectations are low.

If you’re presently struggling with limited service availability in your home, there is hope, though. The FCC has recently proposed a Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to provide money to ISPs willing to expand their services to rural homes. The goal is to make internet access available to at least 4 million rural homes and small businesses that currently lack modern broadband service.

Depending on where you live and your proximity to cellphone towers, you might be able to access one of the following rural internet options typically on the market:

Fixed wireless internet
Mobile wireless internet
DSL internet
Satellite internet
Dial-up internet

Enter your home address into Frontier.com service availability check to see what internet plans, pricing, and exclusive offers are available in your area.

Slow connection speeds

Since few ISPs invest in rural internet access, rural homes are left dealing with limited options of outdated internet services. Download speeds and upload speeds are slower because of the older methods of accessing the internet people must use. Plus, the more people trying to use the internet in and near your home, the slower the connection becomes as you all try to share the limited bandwidth.

The FCC classifies internet service speeds into three categories by megabits per second.

Basic: 3 to 8 Mbps
Medium: 12 to 25 Mbps
Advanced: >25 Mbps

Good internet speed is usually at least 25 Mbps, while a fast connection is 100 Mbps or more. Rural residents often struggle with speeds at the basic service level or below. Slow speed and high latency levels make it impossible to stream high-definition videos or have multiple devices connected to the internet at the same time. Many people struggle to use the internet for work and school in rural areas.