What is the best internet provider in Lakeland?

Looking for the best internet service provider in Lakeland, Florida? We’ve got you covered. After reviewing many popular providers, we’ve found that Spectrum is the best internet service provider for most households in Lakeland. With wide coverage, simple service details and reasonable prices -- at least for the first year, Spectrum is a great choice for home internet wherever you're located.

If Spectrum isn't an option at your address, CNET also recommends Rapid Systems and Frontier Fiber for broadband. Select households may also be serviceable for T-Mobile Home Internet, which costs $60 to $70 monthly for download speeds up to 245 megabits per second.

If you're hunting for cheap internet or the fastest speeds in Lakeland, we've also found those picks to help make your decision easier. Although Spectrum Internet offers the cheapest plan in the area ($30 a month for 100Mbps), Frontier Fiber's 500Mbps plan for $45 is more widely available. Frontier Fiber takes the gold with its 5-gigabit service for the speediest plan, costing $155 monthly. While $155 a month is not cheap, the cost per Mbps of its 5-gigabit plan is low at 3 cents per Mbps, providing great value.

Best internet in Lakeland, Florida

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Lakeland

• CableNow: This is a locally based internet vendor that connects customers to different ISPs nearby, such as Spectrum, Verizon and Frontier. CableNow also offers direct services with security camera installations and phone services. 
• EarthLink: What makes this internet provider different from other top ISPs is that it doesn't own or operate most of the networks it uses. It takes advantage of the copper and fiber networks of other providers. Customers can expect most plans to come with unlimited data and wide coverage throughout the city. Unlike other internet providers, EarthLink does not increase monthly rates after 12 months, but its initial rates tend to be a little higher. 
• Satellite Internet: With satellite connections like Hughesnet, Viasat and Starlink, coverage can be found almost everywhere. Typically, I would recommend satellite internet at the bottom of the list due to slower speeds and steep monthly costs. If broadband options are limited in your area, satellite might be the best bet. Starlink and Viasat customers don't have to worry about being tied down by a two-year contract, which is the case with Hughesnet. Starlink is the fastest of the three, but for standard service, you’re looking at $120 monthly and a sizable $599 charge upfront to lease equipment. 
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: A 5G fixed wireless connection from Verizon might be the next best thing in the area if you want to avoid the slow speeds from satellite connections or the annual price hikes from fiber and cable providers. The caveat? Verizon 5G Home Internet is only available to approximately 25% of households in Lakeland, per the latest data from the FCC. It may not be the fastest internet connection in the city, but plans are straightforward: no data caps, contracts or equipment fees. 

Cheap internet options in Lakeland

Most internet options in Lakeland start at around $45 a month for standard service. The cheapest internet plan is Spectrum's $30-a-month plan for 100Mbps. For more speed, you can bump that up for just $10 more for the 300Mbps plan. While these prices might seem promising, watch out for a price jump after the promo period ends. After 12 months, expect the rate of the 100Mbps plan to double to $85 a month. If available at your address, a fixed wireless connection might be a solid alternative. Verizon 5G Home Internet offers a $50-a-month plan for 100Mbps.

What's the cheapest internet plan in Lakeland?

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Lakeland

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

Lakeland internet providers, such as Spectrum and Mediacom, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, such as Frontier and Verizon, 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 Lakeland broadband?

In the latest Ookla speed test data, Lakeland came in with a fixed median download speed of 320Mbps. That's much better than how Florida did overall as a state, at 273Mbps. Nearby city Tampa performed below Lakeland, coming in at just 246Mbps. Winter Haven tops out at 336Mbps.

Fastest internet plans in Lakeland

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 and 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 Lakeland

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. 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.

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 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 answers to those questions are 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, although 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 also 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.

What's the final word on internet providers in Lakeland?

Whether you're looking for the cheapest or fastest internet, it will all come down to what's available at your address. Luckily, Lakeland is home to different types of broadband options, from cable widely being serviceable throughout the city to fiber-optic connections that could get you blazing fast multi-gigabit speeds. Fixed wireless connections could also be a safe bet for your household if you want reasonable prices and speeds.

Internet providers in Lakeland FAQs