What is the best internet provider in El Paso?

AT&T Fiber is the best internet service provider in El Paso, offering the fastest speeds and most favorable terms of any provider in the area. Its rates aren’t exactly cheap, but you’ll get more for the price than almost any other ISP in the country. 

If you want to pay the lowest price possible, Spectrum and T-Mobile offer the cheapest internet plans in El Paso, starting at just $50 a month for around 500Mbps and 300Mbps speeds, respectively. T-Mobile Home Internet has slower speeds than AT&T Fiber and Spectrum, but it offers something unique in the internet world: a price-lock guarantee. Your monthly bill will never budge from the $50 you start at. Additionally, T-Mobile’s customers have largely been happy with the product; it had the highest approval rating of any non-fiber ISP in the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey.

Best internet in El Paso, Texas

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in El Paso

• Satellite internet: HughesNet and Viasat are available at 100% of El Paso addresses, but they’re only worth considering in rural areas where you have no other options. Both providers are extremely expensive, and you’ll have to deal with slower speeds and restrictive data caps. Starlink uses low-orbit satellites, which can provide faster speeds and lower latency, but you’ll have to buy its satellite dish for $599 upfront, and it’s still on the pricey side at $120 a month. 
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile, Verizon offers fixed wireless home internet, but it’s not as widely available in El Paso. Speeds can reach 1,000Mbps at some addresses, and you can pay as low as $35 a month if you bundle with an eligible Verizon cellphone plan. 

Cheap internet options in El Paso

There aren’t an abundance of cheap internet plans in El Paso. Spectrum, Verizon and T-Mobile all have plans starting at $50, but both Verizon and T-Mobile customers can bundle their phone plans to save on internet. Plus, both providers don't have equipment fees or a steep price hike after the first year.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in El Paso

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

El Paso 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 El Paso broadband?

El Paso has the thirteenth fastest internet speeds of any city in the country, according to Ookla speed test data. Residents receive median download speeds of 265Mbps and upload speeds of 21Mbps. That’s slightly below Corpus Christi (ranked third), Austin (5th) and San Antonio (6th), but ahead of Dallas (98th).

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 person sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two people to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in El Paso

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. 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. 

This guide uses 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: 

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 it comes to 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 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 El Paso?

With the sixth-fastest speeds in the country and 100/20Mbps speeds available at every address in the city, El Paso is an extraordinarily well-connected city. If you can get it, AT&T Fiber is an easy choice. At reasonable rates, it has the fastest speeds in the city, and you won't have to worry about your bill automatically going up after a promotional period ends. Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Internet are solid backup options if AT&T Fiber is unavailable at your address, but both come with some drawbacks. 

Internet providers in El Paso FAQs