Best Internet Providers in Bakersfield, California

Those who live in Bakersfield, California, have a mixed bag with regard to the Internet. Good? It seems that 100% of residents have access to a plan with at least 100 Mbps of download and download speeds of 20 Mbps – the minimum proposed by the Federal Commission for High Speed – and this is one of the 50 best cities in the country by median speed.

So what is the bad? Bakersfield’s broadband internet options are still very limited. While AT&T Fiber is now available for around one in five household (with prices from $ 55), the spectrum is the only option in many neighborhoods. Wireless suppliers like T-Mobile and Verizon also offer internet plans at home, but their speeds tend to fluctuate more than wired connections. The plans offered by the two suppliers start at $ 50 and go to $ 70 or $ 75 respectively.

On the right side, in 2022, the Bakersfield municipal council approved an agreement with the Sifi networks to build and maintain a network of fibers along each street in the city at no cost for taxpayers. Sifi will then sell access to the network to private internet suppliers. According to a presentation given to the board of directors, residents would pay about $ 60 each month for 10,000 Mbps. For comparison, AT&T currently invoices $ 245 for 5,000 Mbps. But the project is currently in the design phase, without clear calendar for construction.

Best Internet options in Bakersfield

CNET examines customer service, speed, pricing and overall value before recommending the best high speed in your region. For a long time, Spectrum was essentially the only option for high -speed Internet in Bakersfield. Then, in 2015, AT&T agreed to extend its fiber optic network to 20 new metropolitan zones within four years as part of its agreement to buy Directv. In 2017, AT&T Fiber was officially launched in Bakersfield, immediately becoming the best internet option in the city. However, fiber networks are only available for around 25% of Bakersfield households.

Note: The prices, speeds and characteristics detailed in the text of the article may differ from those listed in the retail cards of the product, which represent the national offers of suppliers. Your specific Internet service options – including prices and speeds – depend on your address and can differ from those detailed here.

Source: CNET analysis of supplier data.

What other Internet options are there in Bakersfield?

We believe that the three suppliers highlighted above are your best options for Internet in Bakersfield, but there are some other ISPs that you can consider:

• Applied technology group: For residents of rural areas around Bakersfield, Applied Technology Group offers fixed wireless internet plans with speeds up to 35 Mbps. If the choice is between applied internet and satellite, we would probably go with applied. But in all other situations, there is probably a better option.
• high speed: This is another fixed wireless supplier in the region, with plans from $ 60 per month. It is intended for people living in rural areas; When we asked them for a quote for an address in the city, they actually recommended that we are examining instead on Spectrum or AT&T. If you can’t get anything else, we are not worth it.
• Satellite internet: Companies like Hughesnet and ViaSat offer an internet service to almost all the addresses in the country, but it is only your best option if it is your only option. Internet by satellite is delivered with slow speeds, low data ceilings and high prices. An exception is Starlink, which offers much faster speeds but costs $ 120 per month with equipment costs of $ 349 in advance.
• Verizon 5G Home Internet: Like T-Mobile, the Verizon Internet at Home Internet service offers wireless Internet in Bakersfield. He has three plans: $ 50 per month for download speeds up to 85 Mbps or $ 70 for speeds up to 250 Mbps. The two plans obtain a decent discount when they are grouped together with eligible Verizon 5G mobile plans.

Price details on the Bakersfield internet internet service

Residents of Bakersfield can expect to pay between $ 50 and $ 90 per month for the Internet service, which is almost average for cities across the country. That said, there is a lack of really cheap internet plans in the city, with only a spectrum offering departure prices at $ 30 per month.

Cheapest internet plans in Bakersfield

Source: CNET analysis of supplier data.

The fastest internet in Bakersfield

There are only two suppliers offering concert speeds – download speeds reaching 1,000 Mbps – but they are both good options. AT&T fibers are up to 5,000 Mbps, which is much more than most people, but it is a good option for ultra-connected smart homes. Although Spectrum download speeds reach 1,000 Mbps, households working at home or at home may encounter problems with its 35 Mbps download speeds.

Source: CNET analysis of supplier data.

How Cnet chose the best internet suppliers in Bakersfield

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphones, laptops, routers or cooking tools, it is not practical to personally test each internet service provider in a given city. What is our approach? To start, we explain a database owner price, availability and speed that are based on our own factual data, partner data and information mapping of the FEDERAL Communications Commission of FCC.GOV.

This does not stop there: we are going on the FCC website to check our data and ensure that we consider each ISP which provides a service in an area. We also enter local addresses on supplier websites to find specific options for residents. We examine the sources, including the American customer satisfaction index and JD Power, to assess how satisfied customers are satisfied with an ISP service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; All the information provided is correct for publication.

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

• Does the supplier offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
• Do customers have a decent value for what they pay?
• Are customers satisfied with their service?

Although the answers to these questions are often superimposed and complex, the suppliers who are closest to the “yes” on the three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest Internet service, we are looking for the lowest monthly costs, although we also take into account things such as price increases, equipment costs and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively simple. We examine the announced download and download speeds and consider the speed data of the real world from sources such as Ookla and FCC reports. (Disclosure: Ookla belongs to the same parent company as Cnet, Ziff Davis.)

To explore our deeper process, visit our How We Testing FAI page.

What is the last word on Internet suppliers in Bakersfield?

Residents of Bakersfield do not swim exactly in excellent internet options, but all residents have access to at least one supplier offering speeds of 100/20 MBPS – the new minimum wide -band speed offered by the FCC. While At& T Fiber is by far the best choice in the city, not all residents have access to their fiber plans. However, Spectrum and T-Mobile are both good backup options.

Bakersfield Internet FAQ