AT&T Internet Review: Plans, Pricing, Speed and Availability

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AT&T home internet rating

How we calculated our rating

Pros

• No contracts required to receive the lowest available price
• No data caps for any fiber plans
• Valuable perks and promotional offers

Cons

• Much slower DSL plans are more prevalent than fiber options
• Data caps enforced on all non-fiber plans

A few years ago, AT&T leaned into its goal of "offering the best fixed-broadband service in the market" by announcing new multigig plans in more than 100 cities. Since then, AT&T Fiber has grown to serve over 27 million customer locations, per the company's Q2 2024 report. That said, AT&T announced in mid-February that it would be expanding its fiber and multigig plans to the town of Sevastopol in Wisconsin, covering over 2,000 locations. 

Where does all that put AT&T now? If you're living in one of the 22 states where AT&T provides wired internet service and are one of the nearly 27 million customers eligible for the company's fiber plans, you're in a great spot. AT&T's fiber internet offers a great connection at a terrific value. But many of AT&T's service area customers aren't living in homes wired for fiber. Instead, AT&T connects those customers using fixed wireless connections such as AT&T Internet Air or a DSL hybrid service. That means worse value and much slower speeds than you'll get with fiber. 

In other words, recommending AT&T home internet service depends on where you live and what's available at your address. If AT&T Fiber is an option, move it to the top of your list. If you aren't serviceable for fiber, shop around for other available internet service providers to see if you can do better than AT&T's fixed wireless or DSL services.

AT&T internet plans and pricing

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

With AT&T you can expect several fiber internet plans, none with contracts or data caps. The company tells CNET that three of those fiber plans -- Internet 300, Internet 500 and Internet 1000 -- are available to approximately 21 million customers in the company's footprint. The multigig plans are available to a smaller portion of that base, currently just over 7 million. Overall, AT&T Fiber is available in more than 100 major cities in the US, per the company's website.

Which one is best? Honestly, it's simply a matter of which plan best suits your monthly budget. All of AT&T's fiber plans are rock-solid options and the company's overall fiber-optic service frequently tops customer service surveys and polls.

The rest of the plans use a DSL/fiber hybrid approach. While that DSL infrastructure means that speeds are much slower, it still services the rest of AT&T's customer service base. To avoid the slower speeds, AT&T Internet Air offers a fixed wireless connection with download speeds of up to 225 megabits per second. While the speeds do not match what you can get with fiber, AT&T Internet Air is still far more reliable than DSL.

Here's where AT&T offers home internet

AT&T's wired internet service area covers 22 states across the country:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Wisconsin

You can dig deeper on the AT&T coverage map to see the specific cities included within each state.

AT&T home internet connection types

A couple of potential outcomes exist when you seek to sign up for AT&T's home internet service. If you see the 300, 500 or gigabit speed tiers offered at your address, you can access AT&T's fiber internet service, which uses 100% fiber technology. Fiber connections are symmetrical by design, which means that your upload speeds will be just as fast as your downloads, unlike DSL, cable and other modes of internet. That's particularly useful for videoconferencing, transferring files (for those working and schooling from home) and online gaming.

Outside of the fiber plans, most of AT&T's plans are DSL, a hybrid of fiber-optic and copper cable. This means speeds are much slower than a pure fiber connection, and you won't see upload speeds as high as your downloads. 

In addition to AT&T's fiber and DSL plans, the company offers a fixed-wireless option, which involves installing an antenna and wireless equipment within the home. Speeds won't get much higher than 25Mbps with a connection like that -- it's intended mostly for homes that lack other options for getting online.

Finallly, AT&T introduced AT&T Internet Air last year, a new fixed wireless solution targeted to current customers subscribed to slower DSL plans. This plan features download speeds of up to 225Mbps and upload speeds of up to 30Mbps. This connection meets the FCC's benchmark for home broadband of 100Mbps download speed and 20Mbps upload, making it a decent alternative to DSL plans.

AT&T home internet features straightforward terms

For the most part, AT&T's internet service offers simple terms and is easy to understand. However, a few differences from other ISPs should attract your attention. 

No equipment fees

AT&T used to charge an extra $10 monthly to use its AT&T Wi-Fi Gateway. It didn't matter if you had your own equipment. That fee was inescapable. AT&T now includes the equipment rental in your monthly service bill. This is great news for customers and a decent, fair move by AT&T. 

One-time fees

AT&T charges $99 for a full, in-home tech installation. For some addresses, there's no self-install option (you have to go online to find out if you "qualify" for the self-install kit). On the positive side, you'll frequently find online promos where the $99 fee is waived (typically for the higher-speed plans), so keep your eyes peeled for offers like that. If none are available, you could also ask them to waive it when you're calling to sign up.

If you're struggling to get a signal in the far reaches of your home, AT&T will sell you a Smart Wi-Fi Extender to pair with the gateway. Moreover, the gateway modem is included in your monthly bill, while the extender is free for customers on the 2 gig and faster plans. Otherwise, it will cost you an additional $10 a month.

No data caps (except when there are)

This is where things get a little squirrelly. For the most part, AT&T home internet plans don't come with data caps. Customers get unlimited data with all fiber plans. You won't have to track your data usage for fear of fees or throttling issues once you hit some arbitrary threshold. There's still a decent chunk of AT&T's geographic footprint where fiber isn't available. In many of those cases, there is a data allowance. 

AT&T Internet plans from 0.8 to 75Mbps have a data cap of 1.5 terabytes (1,500 gigabytes). If you exceed that monthly limit, you'll incur a $10 charge for each additional 50GB of data you use, up to $100 monthly. That's on par with other major providers who enforce a data cap, including Xfinity and Cox, but both offer a slightly lower cap at around 1.25TB. Cox also waives all your overage charges the first month you break the cap. Don't expect a free pass like that from AT&T.

If you think you'll surpass AT&T's data allowance, you can upgrade your plan to include unlimited data for an additional $30 monthly. Another option is to choose a TV and internet bundle, which would allow you to get unlimited data at no extra charge -- although there's usually a contract involved with any bundling of services.

One last caveat -- the data allowance for AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet is 350GB a month. While the $10 charge for each additional 50GB you use is the same as above, fixed wireless customers can be billed up to $200 extra per month for overage fees. That's a recipe for sticker shock, so you'll want to be extra cautious with your data usage if you're a fixed wireless subscriber.

Perks and promotions

AT&T likes to run short-term promotions and deals throughout the year. The main promo right now is an AT&T Visa Reward Card for new fiber customers who order online. Depending on your selected speed tier, the amount ranges from $50 to $150

In addition, AT&T's nationwide network of over 30,000 hotspots is free to all AT&T home internet customers. This allows you to connect while away from home without using your mobile data. 

Customers on the 2 gigabit and faster plans can access AT&T's Active Armor internet security (an $80-a-year value) for free. This technology features tools that protect your home internet and mobile devices from a wide range of online threats.

AT&T home internet vs. the competition: Flexing strong customer satisfaction numbers

AT&T crows that "you deserve the best," and the company points to its stellar showing in the 2023 J.D. Power US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study as evidence that it's delivering. AT&T nabbed the top spot in that study's North Central and West regions, with an average score of 734 on a 1,000-point scale. Only Verizon (760) and Google Fiber (839) can point to a higher average in the survey.

AT&T also fared extremely well in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index, which releases a yearly customer satisfaction survey for internet providers. AT&T Fiber's score of 80/100 remained the same from the previous year, topped all fiber ISPs and was well ahead of the industry average of 71 (76 among fiber providers). Since 2023, the ACSI has differentiated between fiber and non-fiber providers, and AT&T certainly benefited from that move. Even the company's non-fiber numbers were decent; it scored a 69 in that category, which was third behind T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet.

Final thoughts on AT&T home internet

If AT&T Fiber is an option for your address, finding a better combination of service and affordability is tough. The catch? AT&T's fiber plans aren't an option for approximately half of the company's coverage area. All other AT&T plans are fraught with issues not faced by fiber, from slower download speeds to data caps. Simply put, don't hesitate if you can hop on an AT&T Fiber plan, but research your options if only lower speeds are offered in your area.

AT&T home internet FAQs