X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. How we test ISPs

AT&T Fiber Leaps to the Front of the Line as the Fastest Broadband Provider in the US

A new speed-test report ranks AT&T Fiber as having the fastest median download speeds, but Verizon Fios also had a good showing.

Headshot of Trey Paul
Headshot of Trey Paul
Trey Paul Former Senior Editor
Trey Paul was a CNET senior editor covering broadband. His 20+ years of experience as a writer and editor include time at the broadband marketplace Allconnect, as well as working with clients like Yahoo!, Google, The New York Times and Choice Hotels. An avid movie fan, Trey's career includes being a film and TV critic while pursuing a degree in New York.
Expertise Home internet and broadband, including plans, providers, internet speeds and connection types. Movies and film studies. Credentials
  • Master's degree in Cinema Studies from NYU and interviews with Conan O'Brien, Stan Lee and some of his biggest Star Trek childhood idols
Trey Paul
2 min read
AT&T product logo on a black background

AT&T's fiber service performed well in the second half of 2024, per Ookla speed test results.

AT&T Fiber can claim bragging rights: Ookla's Speedtest Connectivity Report, which pulls from millions of daily customer-run queries on Speedtest.net, named the telecom company the fastest fixed internet service provider in the US during the second half of 2024. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) AT&T Fiber also finished on top of Ookla's report for the first half of 2024.

AT&T Fiber earned the top spot for "Fastest Fixed Network" from July through December, earning a 367.05 Speed Score. The company notes that this metric includes download speed (80%) and upload speed (20%). AT&T Fiber finished the period with a median download speed of just under 358 megabits per second.

Provider Ookla speed score
AT&T Fiber
Read full review
367.05
Verizon Fios
Read full review
277.41
Xfinity
Read full review
251.32
Cox
Read full review
250.01
Spectrum
Read full review
247.81
Show more (0 item)

AT&T Fiber also came out on top in two other categories in Ookla's report: Most Consistent ISP and Top Rated ISP. The Consistency Score captures the percentage of speed test samples that met or exceeded 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload, which used to be the Federal Communication Commission's minimum threshold for broadband speed. AT&T Fiber topped the list at 95.3%, though I imagine Ookla might modify this stat in 2025 as the FCC now defines broadband speed as 100/20.

Locating local internet providers

As the Top Rated ISP, AT&T Fiber earned a customer rating of 3.74 in Ookla's five-star ratings system. In this gauge of consumers' overall satisfaction with their internet providers, AT&T Fiber nudged out Verizon Fios, which garnered a 3.54 rating.

But the report had plenty of other good news for Verizon Fios, which took the top spot in Ookla's video experience category. Ookla scores providers on three important video streaming measures: resolution delivered, video start time and uninterrupted video playback. Verizon Fios earned a 79.56, just ahead of AT&T Fiber's 78.36.

Locating local internet providers

Verizon Fios also won Ookla's Connectivity category, which combines Ookla's speed and video scores. Fios was at the top, followed by AT&T Fiber. Cox, Xfinity and Spectrum followed in that order.

Finally, while AT&T Fiber and Verizon Fios flexed their dominance within several categories, Google Fiber also had a decent showing as the fastest provider in five of the 100 most populated cities in the US. That was second only to AT&T Fiber, the fastest ISP in 17 cities. In Raleigh, which had the country's fastest median fixed download speed, Google Fiber was that city's fastest provider, with a median download speed averaging just under 330Mbps.