What is the best internet provider in Long Beach?

Frontier Fiber is the best internet provider in Long Beach, offering fast, symmetrical upload and download speeds, reasonable prices and unlimited data. Frontier Fiber ties with Spectrum for the cheapest internet plan in Long Beach, with both providers starting at just $30 a month. Note that Frontier Fiber rates do rise after the first year. If you don’t want to worry about your bill going up, T-Mobile Home Internet is another solid option in Long Beach, and your price is locked in for as long as you remain a customer. T-Mobile also offers some deep discounts if you bundle your internet with eligible mobile plans, making it a fairly cheap option for current phone plan customers.

Best internet in Long Beach, California

Source: CNET analysis of provider data

Other available internet providers in Long Beach

• Satellite internet: Satellite internet is always an option, but it’s rarely your best one. HughesNet and Viasat are the traditional satellite ISPs in the US, and both come with slow speeds, stingy data caps and high prices. Starlink is a newer option from SpaceX, and it improves on the speed part, but you’re still looking at a $120 internet bill every month (plus $499 up front to purchase the satellite dish).
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile, Verizon uses its cellular network to offer fixed wireless service in Long Beach. It’s not as widely available as T-Mobile -- only 34% of residents can get it -- but speeds reach 1,000Mbps, and you can save by bundling with an eligible Verizon Wireless plan. 

Cheap internet options in Long Beach

There are several good options for cheap internet in Long Beach. Spectrum has three plans under $50 a month, but both will cost twice as much after 24 months. Frontier Fiber doesn’t have scheduled price increases like Frontier, but your price isn’t necessarily locked in, either. T-Mobile is the only ISP in Long Beach that offers that perk: Your price will stay the same for as long as you maintain service.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data

How to find internet deals and promotions in Long Beach

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

Long Beach internet providers such as Verizon may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, including Frontier, T-Mobile Home Internet and Spectrum, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

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

How fast is Long Beach broadband?

Long Beach ranks 51st out of the 100 most populated cities in the US for internet speed, according to Ookla speed test results. Residents receive median download speeds of 232Mbps and upload speeds of nearly 40Mbps. That’s faster than Anaheim, San Diego and Los Angeles but slower than Santa Ana, San Bernardino and Irvine.

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 Federal Communications Commission. 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 like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming all at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Long Beach

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 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 prepublication 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? 

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, 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 Long Beach?

Long Beach residents have a few good home internet options to choose from. Fiber internet is available to 2 in 3 residents, almost entirely from Frontier Fiber. Fortunately, Frontier’s plans start at just $30 a month, far less than you’d usually pay for the speed it provides. Spectrum offers cable internet to most of Long Beach, and its plans are even cheaper than Frontier’s, but be prepared for your bill to double in the third year. If you don’t want to deal with these headaches, T-Mobile Home Internet guarantees it will never raise your price.

Internet providers in Long Beach FAQs