Best Internet Providers in Portland, Maine

What is the best internet provider in Portland, Maine?

CNET has named Spectrum the best overall internet provider in Portland. It offers gigabit speeds, is available to 88% of Portland residents, and has reliable service. Prices start at $30 and go up to $70 for the concert plan. For those who need a little more bandwidth, Fidium Fiber, with its multigigabit plans, presents an excellent option.

Fidium Fiber is also the best option if you are looking for the lowest prices or the fastest speeds. It has 100 megabits per second plans for $25 monthly and also has a 2 gigabit (2000 Mbps) tier.

The Best Internet in Portland, Maine

Source: CNET analysis of supplier data.

Other Internet Providers Available in Portland, Maine

• RedZone wireless: RedZone Wireless is available to nearly 92% of Portland residents and costs $99 per month for high-speed 4G/5G Internet.
• Traditional knowledge networks: TK Networks offers speeds of up to 500 Mbps, with packages starting at $59 monthly for 50 Mbps service and ending at $129.
• satellite internet: Satellite Internet is available in almost all addresses in the country. However, it is not always the best option due to the slower speeds and two-year contractual commitments required by HughesNet and Viasat. An interesting option is Starlink, which has unlimited data and requires no contract, but there is a high initial cost of almost $349 for its equipment.

Cheap Internet Options in Portland, Maine

If you’re looking for the cheapest internet plan in Portland, Fidium Fiber offers a 100 Mbps plan for $25 a month. If you don’t have access to those fiber plans, Spectrum Advantage is just $30 per month.

Source: CNET analysis of supplier data.

How to Find Internet Deals and Deals in Portland, Maine

The best internet deals and top promotions in Portland, Maine will depend on the discounts available at any given time. Most offers are short-lived, but we frequently check for the latest offers.

Portland, Maine internet providers like Spectrum may offer lower introductory prices or streaming add-ons for a limited time. You can also combine it with a phone plan for additional savings. Other providers, including Fidium Fiber and T-Mobile, apply the same standard pricing year-round.

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

How fast is broadband in Portland, Maine?

According to the FCC, everyone in Portland has access to at least 100 Mbps. ookla dates puts Portland’s average download speed at a healthy 202 Mbps, higher than the U.S. average of about 104 Mbps. Those numbers can be attributed to the wide availability of Spectrum’s wired broadband connections and plans multigigabit Internet from Fidium Fiber. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

Source: CNET analysis of supplier data.

What is 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 support video conferencing, video streaming, or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a stronger connection. Below is an overview of the minimum recommended download speeds for various applications. according to the FCC. Please note that these are only guidelines and Internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.

For more information, check out our guide on how much internet speed you really need.

• 0 to 5 Mbps lets you tackle the basics: browsing the Internet, sending and receiving email, and streaming low-quality videos.
• 5 to 40 Mbps gives you higher quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100 Mbps should provide a user with enough bandwidth to meet the demands of modern teleworking, video streaming, and online gaming.
• 100 to 500 Mbps allow one or two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming, and online gaming.
• 500 to 1000 Mbps allows three or more users to perform high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Portland, Maine

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphones, laptops, routers, or kitchen utensils, it’s not practical to personally test every Internet service provider in a given city. So what is our approach? To start, we leverage a proprietary database of pricing, availability, and speed that draws on our own historical ISP data, partner data, and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission on FCC.gov.

But the thing doesn’t end there. We visited the FCC website to verify our data and make sure we considered all ISPs serving an area. We also enter local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We analyzed sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to assess how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; All information provided is accurate at the time of publication.

Once we have this information located, we ask ourselves three main questions:

• Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast Internet speeds?
• Are customers getting decent value for what they pay?
• Are customers happy with your service?

While the answer to these questions is often complex and layered, the providers that 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 rate, but we also take into account things like price increases, equipment fees, and contracts. Choosing the fastest Internet service is relatively simple. We analyze advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources such as ookla and FCC Reports.

To explore our process in more depth, visit our page on how we test ISPs.

What’s the final word on Internet providers in Portland, Maine?

It all comes down to your needs as a home. If you’re an average internet consumer, your best choice for broadband providers is Spectrum for fixed broadband or T-Mobile Home Internet for 5G fixed wireless coverage. If you need symmetrical speeds for online gaming or remote work (or want multi-gigabit speeds), your best option will be Fidium Fiber.

Internet Providers in Portland, MaineFrequently Asked Questions