Best Internet Providers in Birmingham, Alabama
Our Experts
What is the best internet provider in Birmingham?
AT&T Fiber is the best internet provider in Birmingham, with symmetrical upload and download speeds, transparent pricing and high customer satisfaction scores. It’s especially attractive for AT&T cellphone customers, who can save $20 monthly by bundling with AT&T Fiber.
If you’re looking for the lowest prices, Spectrum offers the cheapest internet in Birmingham, with plans starting at $30 per month. That said, prices increase significantly after a year or two, and equipment isn’t included in the base price. If you’d rather not worry about caveats like these, T-Mobile Home Internet is an excellent alternative. Its speeds aren’t quite as fast as AT&T Fiber’s or Spectrum’s, but everything you need is included in its $50 monthly price, and your rate is locked in for as long as you stay a customer.
Our methodology
CNET considers speeds, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend Birmingham's best internet service providers across several categories. Our evaluation includes referencing a proprietary database built over years of reviewing internet services. We validate that against provider information by spot-checking local addresses for service availability. We also do a close read of providers' terms and conditions and, when needed, will call ISPs to verify the details.
Despite our efforts to find the most recent and accurate information, our process has some limitations you should know about. Pricing and speed data are variable: certain addresses may qualify for different service tiers, and monthly costs may vary, even within a city. The best way to identify your particular options is to plug your address into a provider's website.
Also, the prices, speed and other information listed above and in the provider cards below may differ from what we found in our research. The cards display the full range of a provider's pricing and speed across the US, according to our database of plan information provided directly by ISPs. At the same time, the text is specific to what's available in Birmingham. The prices referenced within this article's text come from our research and include applicable discounts for setting up automatic payments each month -- a standard industry offering. Other discounts and promotions might also be available for things like signing a term contract or bundling with multiple services.
To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.
Best internet in Birmingham, Alabama
Spectrum
Cheapest internet in Birmingham, Alabama
Our take - Spectrum offers the cheapest internet in Birmingham by far, with plans starting at just $30 a month. However, the price increases drastically after one or two years, no matter your plan. Because Spectrum is a cable provider, its upload speeds are much lower than AT&T Fiber’s, which could be a problem for people working from home or playing online.
AT&T Fiber
Best internet provider in Birmingham, Alabama
Our take - Only one in three Birmingham households can get AT&T Fiber, but it’s so clearly the best internet option in the city that I couldn’t keep it out of the no. one spot. AT&T Fiber gives you the fastest speeds in the area, and the prices don’t automatically increase like its main competitor, Spectrum. That straightforward service has produced a lot of happy customers: AT&T received the highest score of any internet provider in the 2023 American Customer Satisfaction Index survey.
T-Mobile Home Internet
Best fixed wireless internet in Birmingham, Alabama
Our take - If you can't get AT&T Fiber and don't want to worry about Spectrum's price hikes, T-Mobile's fixed wireless internet is a good alternative. It's not as fast as wired ISPs, but what it lacks in speed, it makes up for in simplicity. Everything is included in the $50 monthly price, and T-Mobile guarantees it won't ever raise your rate. These favorable terms have led to the highest approval rating of any non-fiber provider in the country, according to the ACSI.
Birmingham internet providers compared
| Provider | Internet technology | Monthly price range | Speed range | Monthly equipment costs | Data cap | Contract | CNET review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AT&T Fiber Read full review | Fiber | $55-$250 | 300-5,000Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
|
AT&T Internet Read full review | DSL | $55 | Up to 140Mbps | None | 1.5TB on some plans | None | 7.4 |
|
Spectrum Read full review | Cable | $30-$90 | 100-1,000Mbps | $5 (optional) | None | None | 7.2 |
|
T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | Fixed wireless | $50 ($30 with eligible mobile plans) | 72-245Mbps | None | None | None | 7.4 |
|
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review | Fixed wireless | $50-$70 ($35-$45 for eligible Verizon Wireless customers) | 50-1,000Mbps | None | None | None | 7.2 |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
Other available internet providers in Birmingham
- Satellite internet: If you have a clear view of the southern sky from your home, you can get satellite internet, but it’s rarely your best option. HughesNet and Viasat come with slow speeds, restrictive data caps and high monthly costs. SpaceX’s Starlink service is faster, but you’ll have to pay $599 upfront to purchase the satellite dish.
- Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile Home Internet, Verizon also uses its cellular network to offer home internet services. It has faster speeds than T-Mobile but is not as widely available in Birmingham. Bundling with an eligible Verizon Wireless plan can save an extra $15 to $25 each month.
Cheap internet options in Birmingham
Birmingham residents only have one truly cheap internet option available: Spectrum’s 100Mbps plan for $30 a month. That said, if you’re a T-Mobile or Verizon cellphone customer, you may be eligible for a monthly discount on their home internet plans.
What’s the cheapest internet plan in Birmingham?
| Provider | Starting price | Max download speed | Monthly equipment fee |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Spectrum Internet 100 Read full review | $30 | 100Mbps | $5 (optional) |
|
Spectrum Internet 300 Read full review | $50 | 300Mbps | $5 (optional) |
|
T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review | $50 ($30 with eligible mobile plans) | 245Mbps | None |
|
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review | $50 ($35 with eligible mobile plans) | 300Mbps | None |
Source: CNET analysis of provider data.
How to find internet deals and promotions in Birmingham
The best internet deals and top promotions in Birmingham depend on what discounts are available during that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
Birmingham internet providers, such as Spectrum, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, including AT&T Fiber and T-Mobile 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.
How fast is Birmingham broadband?
With five internet plans in the area offering speeds above 1,000Mbps, Birmingham residents have plenty of options for fast internet. That said, the only provider that offers upload speeds as fast as download speeds is AT&T Fiber. If you do a lot of upstream activities like videoconferencing or online gaming, it’s worth prioritizing AT&T Fiber over your other options.
Fastest internet plans in Birmingham
| Provider | Starting price | Max download speed | Max upload speed | Data cap | Connection type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AT&T Internet 5000 Read full review | $250 | 5,000Mbps | 5,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
|
AT&T Internet 2000 Read full review | $150 | 2,000Mbps | 2,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
|
AT&T Internet 1000 Read full review | $80 | 1,000Mbps | 1,000Mbps | None | Fiber |
|
Spectrum Internet Gig Read full review | $90 | 1,000Mbps | 35Mbps | None | Cable |
|
Verizon 5G Home Plus Internet Read full review | $70 ($45 with qualifying Verizon 5G mobile plans) | 1,000Mbps | 75Mbps | None | Fixed wireless |
Source: CNET 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 CNET chose the best internet providers in Birmingham
Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it's impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. So what's our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.
This guide leverages an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific internet service providers that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a given guide. Check CNET’s AI policy for more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools.
Because our database is not exhaustive, we go to the FCC's website to check the primary data for ourselves and make sure we're considering every ISP that provides service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we input local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to 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 our pre-publication fact-check.
Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:
- Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
- Do customers get decent value for what they're paying?
- 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, you can visit our how we test ISPs page.
What’s the final word on internet providers in Birmingham?
There are a few good options for internet in Birmingham, but AT&T Fiber is the clear standout. It provides the fastest speeds, its prices don't automatically increase after a year or two, and it has the highest customer satisfaction scores of any ISP in the country. The main drawback is that it's only available to one in three Birmingham households. If you can't get AT&T Fiber, Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet are good backup options, but both have their own downsides.
Internet providers in Birmingham FAQs
What is the best internet service provider in Birmingham?
AT&T Fiber is the best internet service provider in Birmingham. It offers fiber internet plans with no data caps or contracts and speeds up to 5,000Mbps. You can also save an extra $20 each month when you bundle with an eligible AT&T Wireless plan.
Is fiber internet available in Birmingham?
Yes, fiber internet is available to 34% of households in Birmingham, according to FCC data. AT&T is the only fiber provider in the area.
Who is the cheapest internet provider in Birmingham?
Spectrum is the cheapest internet provider in Birmingham, with plans starting at $30 per month for 100/10Mbps speeds.
Which internet provider in Birmingham offers the fastest plan?
AT&T Fiber offers the fastest plan in Birmingham, with download and upload speeds up to 5,000Mbps.
Home Internet Guides
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