Best Internet Providers in Fontana, California

What is the best internet provider in Fontana, California?

There’s a clear order of operations when choosing internet in Fontana. If you can get AT&T Fiber, that’s your best choice; if you can’t, it’s Spectrum. AT&T Fiber is Fontana’s best internet service provider because it offers the fastest speeds and customer-friendly perks like free equipment and unlimited data. Unfortunately, data from the Federal Communications Commission shows that AT&T Fiber is currently available to only 20% of Fontana residents.

If you’re looking for the lowest prices, Spectrum is the cheapest internet provider in Fontana, and it’s available almost everywhere in the city. Prices increase significantly after one or two years, but Spectrum doesn’t require contracts, so you’re free to switch before the increase kicks in. Wireless internet from T-Mobile and Verizon is also widely available in Fontana, but speeds are slower and it tends to be more prone to network congestion than cable or fiber.

Best internet in Fontana, California

Speed range

300 – 5,000 Mbps

Price range

$55 – $250 per month

Our take – Fiber is the best internet connection you can get, and AT&T Fiber is CNET’s favorite fiber provider in the US. If you can get it at your address, we almost always recommend that you do; Fontana is no exception. It’s the only provider in the city with symmetrical upload and download speeds — crucial for online gaming or videoconferencing — and your price won’t automatically increase after a year. Unfortunately, it’s available to only around 1 in 5 homes in Fontana right now, according to FCC data.

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Check with AT&T

Speed range

300 – 5,000 Mbps

Price range

$55 – $250 per month

Speed range

300 – 1,000 Mbps

Price range

$50 – $80 per month

Our take – Spectrum will be the default choice for most people in Fontana. It’s available almost everywhere, and Spectrum’s cable internet speeds will get the job done for the majority of folks. The main drawback is price increases: Your monthly bill will increase by as much as $35 after one or two years. That’s one reason Spectrum has below-average customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power and the American Customer Satisfaction Index. 

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Check with Spectrum

Speed range

300 – 1,000 Mbps

Price range

$50 – $80 per month

Connection

Fixed wireless

Speed range

72 – 245 Mbps

Price range

$60 per month

Our take – Wireless internet is a solid alternative if you can’t get AT&T Fiber and don’t want to worry about price increases. T-Mobile and Verizon offer wireless plans in Fontana, and if you’re a cellphone subscriber with one of them, that’s the one we’d recommend — you can get excellent discounts for bundling with home internet. Larger households might need a little more bandwidth than wireless internet can provide, but most people won’t have issues.

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Check with T-Mobile

Connection

Fixed wireless

Speed range

72 – 245 Mbps

Price range

$60 per month

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Fontana

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

Fontana internet providers, such as T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, including AT&T Fiber and Spectrum, run the same standard pricing year-round.  

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

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 Fontana

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike with the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So 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 at FCC.gov.

But 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?

Though 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, 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 Fontana FAQ