How We Review Internet Providers
This page describes the process behind our provider reviews — where the inputs come from and how a score is produced. For the full scoring detail, see the complete rating methodology.
The Review Process
- Coverage verification: we start from FCC Broadband Data Collection filings to establish where a provider actually offers service and with which technologies (fiber, cable, DSL, fixed wireless, satellite).
- Plan and pricing research: we collect plans, speeds, promotional and standard pricing, equipment fees, and contract terms from the provider's own published materials, and review pricing on a recurring basis.
- Scoring: the provider is scored against the five weighted criteria below. The weights are fixed and apply to every provider equally.
- Editorial review: ratings and comparison analyses are reviewed by our Editor-in-Chief before publication.
- Updates: coverage data is refreshed when the FCC releases new BDC filings, and reviews are revisited when providers change plans or pricing. Pages show their last-updated date.
The Five Rating Criteria
30%
Price
Monthly cost, promotional vs standard pricing, equipment fees, and overall value
25%
Speed
Maximum download and upload speeds available, including symmetric fiber offerings
20%
Reliability
Network uptime, consistency of speeds, and infrastructure quality
15%
Coverage
How many addresses the provider actually serves, verified through FCC BDC data
10%
Customer Service
Support availability, response times, contract flexibility, and user feedback
What We Don't Do
Honesty about limits matters as much as the process itself:
- We don't run a physical test lab. Our reviews are desk research built on FCC filings and provider-published data — we do not subscribe to every provider or bench-test routers and modems.
- We can't verify your exact address from a review. Reviews describe a provider overall; availability for a specific address should be checked with our availability tool and confirmed with the provider.
- We don't guarantee pricing. Promotional offers change faster than any review site can track. Always confirm the current price with the provider before ordering.
- We don't accept payment for scores. See our editorial policy for how affiliate revenue is kept separate from ratings.
Found a Problem With a Review?
If a review contains an error — wrong speed tier, outdated price, incorrect coverage claim — report it via our contact page. Our corrections policy explains what happens next.