The best internet providers in Long Beach, California

What are the best internet providers in Long Beach?

Edge fiber Is CNET's best advice as the best internet provider in Long Beach, California. We chose it because of its fast, symmetric speed, unlimited data and competitive prices. Spectrum is also an excellent choice, and although Spectrum is available in almost all Long Beaches, the budget-friendly plan for both ISPs starts at $30 per month. Please note that both providers raised prices after 12 months. For those who need connectivity to burn, Frontier Fiber’s plan is $110 per month.

Want predictable billing to increase without surprise? T-Mobile Home Internet is an excellent choice. As long as you keep a subscription, it locks your rates, and you can also get discounts on bundled internet and qualified mobile plans, making it an affordable option for current T-Mobile users.

Best Internet in Long Beach, California

Source: CNET Analysis of Provider Data

Other Internet providers in Long Beach

• Satellite Internet: Satellite Internet is always an option, but it is rarely your best internet. Hughesnet and Viasat are traditional satellite ISPs in the United States, both with slow speeds, stingy data caps and high prices. Starlink is the new option for SpaceX, which improves the speed part, but you're still looking for an internet bill of $120 per month (plus $249 for expected purchase of satellite dishes).
• Verizon 5G home internet: Like T-Mobile, Verizon uses its cellular network to provide fixed wireless services in Long Beach. It's not as widely used as T-Mobile – only 42% of residents can get it – but you can save by bundling it with a qualified Verizon Wireless program.

Cheap Internet options in Long Beach

Spectrum and Frontier Fiber offer the cheapest internet in Long Beach, with a monthly fee of $30. Please note that both spectrum and boundaries increase prices after the introduction period. T-Mobile and Verizon are the only ISPs in Long Beach that offer price locks: your prices will remain the same as long as you maintain the service.

Source: CNET Analysis of Provider Data

How to find internet deals and promotions in Long Beach

The best internet deals and the highest promotions in Long Beach depend on the discounts available during this period. Most transactions are short-lived, but we often look for the latest quotes.

Long Beach Internet providers such as Verizon may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming accessories for a limited time. Many people, including Frontier, T-Mobile Home Internet and Spectrum, run the same standard pricing throughout the year.

For a wider list of deals and promotions, check out our guide on the best internet deals.

How fast is Long Beach broadband?

According to Ookla speed test results, Long Beach ranks 51st among the 100 most populous cities in the United States. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET. This is faster than Anaheim, San Diego and Los Angeles, but slower than Santa Ana, San Bernardino and Irvine.

Source: CNET Analysis of Provider Data

What is good internet speed?

Most Internet connectivity programs can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you are looking for an internet plan that can accommodate video conferencing, streaming videos or games, you will get better experience and have a stronger connection. According to the FCC, this is an overview of the minimum download speeds recommended for various applications. Note that these are just guides, internet speed, services and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.

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

• 0 to 5Mbps allows you to solve the basics: browse the internet, send and receive emails and stream low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps provides you with higher quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give a person enough bandwidth to meet the needs of modern telecommunications, video streaming and online gaming.
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to one or two people to engage in high bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming and online gaming at the same time.
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming and online gaming at the same time.

How CNET chooses the best internet provider in Long Beach

There are numerous and regional Internet service providers. Unlike the latest smartphones, laptops, routers, or kitchen tools, it is impractical to test every internet service provider in a given city in person. What is our method? For beginners, we leverage a proprietary database that leverages information from FCC.GOV’s Federal Communications Commission from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information.

This guide utilizes an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP that is trained in our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific Internet service providers that our authors can use for a given guide in identifying and introducing our choices. Check CNET's AI policies for more information on how our team uses (and does not use) AI tools.

Since our database is not exhaustive, we visit the FCC’s website, check the main data in person, and make sure that we are considering all ISPs that provide services in a certain area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we enter our local address on the provider’s website to find specific options available to residents. We look at resources including the U.S. Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power to evaluate how satisfied ISP services have with customers. ISP plans and prices change frequently; all information provided is accurate based on our publishing fact checks.

Once this local information is obtained, we ask three main questions:

1. Can providers access reasonable and fast internet speeds?
2. Do customers get decent value for the money they pay?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

The answers to these questions are usually layered and complex, but the three we recommend are closest to the “yes” provider. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the lowest monthly plan, although we also consider issues such as price increase, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively simple. We view upload and download speeds on ads and consider actual speed data from sources such as Ookla and FCC reports.

To explore our process more deeply, you can access our test ISP pages.

What's the last sentence of the Internet provider in Long Beach?

Long Beach residents have some great home internet options to choose from. The fiber Internet is available for two-thirds of residents, almost entirely from Frontier Fiber. Fortunately, Frontier’s plan costs only $30 per month, which is much less than the rate you usually pay for it. If you don't want to deal with the headache of rising prices, T-Mobile Home Internet guarantees it will never raise your price.

Internet provider of FAQs in Long Beach