Satellite Internet Providers in Austin

Hughesnet and Viasat are our favorite satellite internet providers for Austin residents. Viasat’s speeds are impressive, and its high data caps make it ideal for big families, work-from-homers, and serious games.

Hughesnet’s speeds are lower, but so are its prices. You can get high-speed satellite internet through HughesNet for under $50 a month, which makes it cheaper than many wired internet plans.

Starlink is another satellite internet option in Austin, but it tends to be less reliable and a lot more expensive than Hughesnet and Viasat. That said, internet latency tends to be lower with Starlink (which is good for things like online gaming).

But remember: Even the best satellite internet is usually worse than standard cable and fiber internet. You should always look at all of the options in your area before you sign up. Here are our favorite traditional internet companies that are operating in Austin.

Austinites have plenty of great internet providers to choose from, but we think that the top three at AT&T, Spectrum, and Google Fiber. Between these companies, almost the entire city is covered.

AT&T alone covers 90% of Austin, and it offers a range of high-speed fiber-optic internet plans. Fiber is the fastest and most reliable kind of internet, making it ideal for work-from-homers, serious gamers, and large families.

Google Fiber also offers super-fast fiber service, but its coverage area is smaller. Where it is available, the 2 Gbps internet plan for $100 a month is an amazing deal for larger households.

Spectrum is a great budget alternative for people who don’t need the highest speeds. It uses a mostly cable network, which isn’t quite as fast as fiber (especially for upload speeds), but is still plenty for most people who just want to stream Netflix and surf the web.

What good is having the internet if your online game is lagging, your Netflix is choppy, and you have to wait five minutes for a website to load? With these Austin internet companies, you don’t have to worry about all that.

If your priority is performance, these are the internet providers for you: AT&T, EarthLink, Google Fiber, and Spectrum. Each of these companies can give you speeds of 1,000Mbps or more, which is enough bandwidth to (theoretically) stream more than 100 HD movies at the same time.

If you work from home, run a Twitch channel, or are trying to break into the competitive gaming scene, we recommend going with one of the fiber providers listed above. With AT&T and EarthLink you can get speeds all the way up to 5,000Mbps, which is great for apartment buildings or larger shared living situations.

You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to get fast and reliable internet in Austin. There are several options for high-speed internet for under $50 a month.

If you want an affordable, bare-bones, no-contract plan that still cranks out decent speeds, Spectrum is the way to go. Its $49.99 a month cable internet plan gets you speeds up to 300Mbps, which is plenty for most small families, couples, and students.

If Spectrum isn’t available in your area, check out Astound Broadband. The company offers incredibly low introductory pricing for its 300Mbps plan. However, watch out for price hikes and other plan changes after the first 12 months.

If you live outside Spectrum and Astound service areas, then consider going with HughesNet or T-Mobile for affordable internet plans. Both companies offer plans for $50 a month or less.

T-Mobile uses its vast mobile network infrastructure to give customers home internet using a Wi-Fi receiver/router (which is included with the plan), so it’s available almost anywhere. HughesNet’s satellite service can be installed in every part of Austin.

Fiber internet gives you faster and more reliable internet than cable, DSL, satellite, or fixed wireless options. It is simply the best option wherever it is available. Here’s a look at Austin’s fiber internet providers.

Austin has two internet providers that offer fully fiber networks: AT&T and Google Fiber. If you live in a neighborhood with either service, you can get the fastest, most reliable internet in the city (and the prices aren’t even bad).

Other providers, like Astound and Earthlink, have partially fiber-optic networks. In certain areas you may be able to get the full benefits of fiber’s superfast download speeds and symmetrical upload speeds. However, in other neighborhoods you might be stuck with cable or DSL.

• Google Fiber (entire network)
• AT&T (entire network)
• EarthLink (fiber, cable, and DSL)
• Astound (fiber and cable)
• Optimum (fiber and cable)

There’s no shortage of high-speed internet providers in ATX. Between AT&T and Google Fiber, the city has good fiber coverage. Even if you don’t live in an area with fiber, providers like Spectrum, Astound, and T-Mobile Home Internet can offer decent speeds at affordable prices.

For Austinites who live in an internet dead zone or really far out in the sticks, there’s always satellite internet from HughesNet and Viasat.

• According to Ookla, Austin has an average internet download speed of 254.17Mbps.
• Between 2017 and 2021, 91.2% of Austin households had a broadband internet subscription, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Several internet providers—including AT&T, Google, and Starlink—have headquarters in Austin.

• Austin
• Bee Cave
• Cedar Park
• Creedmoor
• Elgin
• Jonestown
• Lago Vista
• Lakeway
• Leander
• Manor
• Mustang Ridge
• Pflugerville
• Rollingwood
• Round Rock
• Sunset Valley
• West Lake Hills

Staying connected while you travel is easy if you have a dedicated hotspot device or a mobile plan with a ton of hotspot data. But even if you don’t pack your own internet solution when you travel to Austin, you’re okay. No matter where you are in the city, there’s a free public Wi-Fi network nearby.

Many of Austin’s streets, parks, public buildings, and businesses offer free Wi-Fi that anyone can access, even without purchasing something. There are way too many Wi-Fi locations in the city to list them all, but here are some of the easiest and most centrally located free Wi-Fi spots.

• The Zilker Botanical Garden
• Republic Square
• Auditorium Shores
• Brush Square
• Woolridge parks

• Kimber Modern
• The Driskill
• JW Marriott Austin
• The Westin Austin Downtown

All Austin public libraries offer free public Wi-Fi, including these locations:

• Central Library
• Cepeda Branch
• Hampton Branch at Oak Hill
• Little Walnut Creek Branch
• Menchaca Road Branch
• Old Quarry Branch
• John Branch
• Southeast Branch
• Spicewood Springs Branch
• Willie Mae Kirk Branch
• Windsor Park Branch

Other locations where you can access public Wi-Fi in Austin include:

• Black Walnut Cafe
• Jim’s Restaurant
• Vacancy Brewing
• Freebird’s World Burrito
• Applebees
• Chick-fil-A
• Planet Fitness
• Walmart
• Starbucks

Remember, you should always take precautions when you’re using a public Wi-Fi network.

Never provide important information—like your social security number, bank account information, or sensitive passwords—when you’re on a public network. Always check the websites you access to be sure they’re correct (look for the https:// at the beginning). Using a VPN also adds an extra layer of privacy and security when you’re on a public network.

One way to make sure your internet connection is safe is using your phone. So, what are the best cell phone carriers in the Austin area?

1. T-Mobile
2. Verizon
3. AT&T

All three major carriers have good coverage in Austin. Wherever you end up, you should have at least a couple of bars from Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. However, T-Mobile’s data speeds seem to be fastest on average.

Speaking of T-Mobile, you can actually get an affordable home internet plan using the company’s network. You can learn more about the service in our review of T-Mobile Home Internet.

Downtown Austin has almost a dozen different internet providers. But once you get on the outskirts, it can be hard to get service. Luckily, satellite internet companies like Hughesnet and Viasat can install service pretty much anywhere, including in rural areas outside of Austin.

Before you commit to using satellite internet, check to see if there is service from one of Austin’s wired internet providers, like Spectrum, AT&T, or Google Fiber.

An internet plan with Wi-Fi can cost anywhere from $25–$90+ a month in Austin. If you want to get the best deal on Wi-Fi internet, check out the plans from Spectrum, Astound, and AT&T we feature in this article.

Yes, there are several fiber internet providers in Austin. AT&T and Google Fiber both have completely fiber-optic networks that provide the fastest and most consistent internet in the city. Other providers, like Optimum and Astound, have partially fiber networks, but also rely heavily on cable network infrastructure.

According to Ookla’s Speedtest site, which gathers internet speed data from thousands of individual users, Texas has a median upload speed of 215.49Mbps.