What is the best internet provider in Kingsport, Tennessee?

Sidled up alongside the Holston River and tucked into the Appalachians, Kingsport, Tennessee, is a quiet country town with a limited selection of internet service providers. Residents of this scenic mountain city can still secure a fast internet connection, with some neighborhoods in the southern parts of Kingsport even being serviceable for fiber internet. 

For most residents, Spectrum Internet is Kingsport's best internet service provider due to its wide availability and solid speeds. It especially stands out compared to the middling speeds of local cable and fixed wireless providers. 

If Spectrum isn't available to you or you'd prefer to avoid the steep price increases after one to two years of service, you'd be better suited turning to internet service from local provider BrightRidge Broadband or Verizon’s 5G Home Internet service. BrightRidge offers fiber internet plans that start at $60 monthly, and Verizon offers plans that start at $50 monthly. Most internet plans in Kingsport start at $50, so there isn't exactly a "cheap" internet plan. BrightRidge offers a fixed wireless plan at $40 monthly for 25Mbps down/3Mbps up, but thanks to an updated definition from the Federal Communications Commission, that no longer qualifies as a broadband connection, so we don't recommend it unless that's all you can get. 

The fastest internet in Kingsport is BrightRidge's fiber-optic plans, which boast speeds up to 10,000Mbps. BrightRidge is mostly limited to the southern neighborhoods of Kingsport, around Summer Hills, Deerfield and Lake Crest, but if you qualify for its fiber-optic internet, you won't find any faster speeds in the area.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Kingsport

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

Kingsport internet providers, such as Spectrum and Verizon, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, including , Brightspeed and BrightRidge Broadband run the same standard pricing year-round. 

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

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 Kingsport

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? For starters, we tap into a proprietary pricing, availability and speed database that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data 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?

The answer to those questions is often layered and complex, but 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 Kingsport FAQs