THE FASTEST ISPS OF 2020

With so many of us working from home right now, the need for a speedy broadband connection is more important than ever. To see which internet service providers offer the most throughput, we took our annual look at the tests performed on our PCMag Speed Test. Let’s dive in and see which ISP comes out on top.

- ERIC GRIFFITH

WINNERS: THE FASTEST ISPS IN THE UNITED STATES

Major ISP: This is the eighth time in nine years that Fios, the fiber-to-the-home service from Verizon, has taken the top spot in our Fastest ISP's results. While the competition between the big-name, multi-state broadband operators is fiercer than ever, Fios continues to be the fastest nationwide internet provider. It’s not only the speediest, it remains beloved by our readers— something you can’t say about too many ISPs!—as it has consistently earned our Readers’ Choice award for a decade and a half.

All ISPs: Never heard of CFU? That’s probably because you don’t live in Cedar Falls, Iowa, a city of around 39,000 people and home of the University of Northern Iowa (Go Panthers!). Short for Cedar Falls Utilities, CFU is the municipality-owned gas, power, water, and cable TV service—and it happens to provide incredible gigabit-plus internet service to the community. We had enough tests from the area this year to prove it. If you’re looking to relocate to work from home and want the best internet you may ever experience, consider becoming an Iowan.

HOW WE RATE ISP SPEEDS

Most people don’t care about how this stuff works and simply want to see the results, but we think it’s important to understand what you’re reading. This isn’t a simple comparison of download throughput like you’d find with most ISP ratings. It’s more complicated and less complicated than that, simultaneously.