Best Internet Providers in Lima, Ohio

What is the best internet provider in Lima, Ohio?

Spectrum is the best internet provider in Lima. It offers its cable internet plans to 92% of the city and has the cheapest plans in the area at $30 a month. While there are some downsides to Spectrum’s service — primarily its severe price increases after a year or two — it’s still an easy choice for fast, reliable internet in Lima.

TSC is the fastest internet provider in Lima. It’s only available to around 1 in 10 Lima residents, but if you can get it, it’s a very appealing option. It’s the only fiber provider in the area, which means it’s the only one that delivers symmetrical upload and download speeds, and prices won’t skyrocket after a year or two. 

If you have a smaller household that doesn’t connect a lot of devices at once, T-Mobile Home Internet is a great alternative to Spectrum. It’s not exactly cheap at $50 a month, but T-Mobile’s prices don’t skyrocket after a year or two like Spectrum, and you can get discounts by bundling with a cellphone plan.

For rural residents that can’t get Spectrum or T-Mobile, I’d recommend looking into Starlink’s satellite service. It’s much faster than DSL internet or other satellite providers, but you’ll have to buy a satellite dish for at least $499 upfront. 

Best internet in Lima, Ohio

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Lima

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

Lima internet providers, such as Spectrum and T-Mobile Home Interent, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, including TSC and Starlink, run the same standard pricing year-round.  

For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on 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 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 Lima

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. 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 from the Federal Communications Commission 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 the time 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 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, 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 Lima FAQs