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Spectrum was first introduced to the world after its parent company, Charter, merged with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to bring all three companies under the same roof and to increase the level of service more than any one of the individual companies could have provided on their own. Since then, Spectrum has expanded into forty-four states offering coverage to over 100 million Americans. Spectrum continues to expand their coverage areas, attracting more and customers with its easy to understand tiered pricing and historically fast, reliable internet connections.
Charter, Spectrum’s parent company, was founded in 1980 primarily offering home telephone service and television. They eventually entered into the internet market through a strategic partnership with EarthLink, since acquiring and merging with multiple companies over its life cycle. The company we now know as Charter Spectrum came to fruition in 2016 when it merged with Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, making it the third-largest cable television provider in the nation just behind AT&T and Comcast. It was after this merger that Charter brought all services covered by the three formerly-independent companies under the brand name “Spectrum.” As a condition of this merger, Charter Spectrum agreed to expand its lines to generally underserved areas of New York State with 145,000 new residences to receive service by 2021. Since the merger, Charter has entered into further strategic partnerships with companies like Comcast and Verizon to expand the suite of services it offers as well as expanding its general service area.
Spectrum uses a hybrid fiber-coaxial network to supply its customers with the internet. This was an easy transition for the company to make once they started offering internet, leveraging the massive network they inherited from Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, allowing them to hit the ground running once they entered the market as an internet service provider. Hybrid fiber-coaxial lines are the most common way for most companies to offer internet service due to their relative low cost, especially when compared to fiber. Reaching higher speeds than DSL, a hybrid fiber-coaxial line is able to provide more than fast enough internet for most consumers though still being slower than fiber. With that being said, hybrid fiber-coaxial lines do have their drawbacks. The biggest is shared bandwidth. Total bandwidth is shared among all users on those lines so when there is heavy usage, the end-user is going to receive reduced speeds. However, this usually only happens a portion of the day and even when congested, most receive fast enough speeds to be able to handle anything they’d be looking to do.
Spectrum offers multiple services beyond the internet including cable television and home phone service. They offer multiple different plans, bundles, and prices, allowing for easy navigation and customization for their customers. This is especially important as every household has different needs based on their number of active devices, active users, and budget. Now, this is all based on availability, but generally, there are multiple different options in every market Spectrum serves. Spectrum has created a service that can meet the demands of any budget and any digital lifestyle.
HughesNet currently has the highest coverage area in the nation with all fifty states falling under its service area. One of the two major satellite providers in the nation, HughesNet has focused the core of its business on providing internet to underserved or un-served areas, often rural or small towns. Its recently increased speeds up to 25mbps with the launch of its new Gen 5 satellite, the “EchoStar XIX.” With ninety-eight percent of the country under HughesNet’s coverage area, it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll be an option available to any consumer.
HughesNet uses geosynchronous satellites to provide its customers with broadband internet connections. Since HughesNet was initially founded, it’s launched multiple satellites with its latest launch occurring in 2017 with the “EchoStar XIX,” powering HughesNet’s Gen 5 service. This launch allowed the company to reach broadband levels, increasing speeds to 25 Mbps across the board. It also increased the available bandwidth that HughesNet offered its customers as well as simplifying their pricing structure to a tiered system that was based on available data caps. HughesNet does operate off of priority data caps though its internet can be considered unlimited. At no point does HughesNet charge overage prices or shut the internet off if a customer goes over their “priority data” limit, instead just having to deal with reduced speeds until their next billing cycle. If a customer does need more data before their next billing cycle rolls around, HughesNet has made data tokens available, increasing priority data and increasing available speeds in the process.
HughesNet is a great choice for rural customers as wired connections are often completely unavailable in America’s more remote locations. Satellite internet allows them to access the world wide web at broadband speeds allowing for almost any activity. It does have its drawbacks though. The biggest activities this can be seen in is online gaming and virtual private networks. This is in large part due to the latency, or ping, that satellite internet experiences. The time signals take to transmit from the customer’s dish to the satellite to the receiving and then back again can take anywhere from a half-second to a second. For most activities like browsing the internet or streaming video, this latency is almost entirely imperceivable. For gaming though, that often required split-second reaction times, it is unavoidable. VPNs, in particular, are affected, as well. When using a VPN, download speeds even when within the priority data limit can tank anywhere from fifty to seventy-five percent. This reduction in speeds is not guaranteed with some VPN users not having any issues whatsoever. With that being said, it is something to take into account when considering a satellite internet provider.
For many rural customers, satellite internet is going to be one of the only viable options open to them. That doesn’t make it a lesser product though. When choosing the right package for you, assess your needs, your internet usage, and your budget to choose the package that will leave you satisfied and meet all of your digital requirements.
Though having been around since 1986, ViaSat didn't launch its first internet plans until 2012. ViaSat is a satellite internet service provider with a general focus on serving areas that normally do not have access to a reliable internet connection. Covering 98% of the country and all 50 states, all that is needed to be able to connect is a clear line of sight to the southern sky, a modem, and a satellite dish to send and receive signals. This has helped many of those who would otherwise have to spend thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, to run a DSL, cable, or fiber line to their home.
ViaSat has continually upgraded its service. When the company first launched, its entire service survived off the back of one satellite, the ViaSat-1. Since then, they've acquired three additional satellites, either through additional launches or acquisitions from other companies to greatly expand its capabilities. The last of these to launch, the ViaSat-2, was said to increase the total bandwidth and network capacity available by 300 Gigabits per second as well as take ViaSat's service internationally. They have plans to increase this further. They've announced three more launches of their newest satellite, the ViaSat-3, that will increase the total bandwidth by a full terabit per second. The first of these is set to launch in 2020 with a second launch planned by 2022.
Offering free standard installation on all orders, ViaSat makes connecting to the internet easier than ever. ViaSat offers multiple different plans that feature different speeds and different levels of priority data. Priority data? I'm sure the question being asked is “Does ViaSat have a data cap?” The answer is a resounding no. Viasat offers unlimited data without charging overage fees or shutting your internet connection off. If one does go over their priority data, then at that point, customers just have to contend with network congestion much like any other internet service provider. If there is no congestion, then speed should be unaffected. This makes ViaSat a perfect option for activities like streaming, checking social media, or visiting a favorite site on the web.
ViaSat is perfect for almost any web-based application. Connecting your smartphone, sharing videos online, and watching your favorite streaming service are perfect fits for ViaSat's network. The only limitations ViaSat has are gaming and Virtual Private Networks(VPN). When it comes to gaming, there should be a half a second to full second lag time when playing online. If you're playing single-player games, this interruption is non-existent and will not interfere with any updates that a game may release after launch. A VPN is another matter. VPNs put a significant strain on any network and satellite networks doubly so. When using a VPN with ViaSat, speeds can be expected to drop anywhere from 50 to 75 percent. That doesn't mean ViaSat is an inferior service though. However, when looking to game or use in-home VPN, it's important to be aware of the technology's limitations so that you can plan accordingly and choose the best service that will fit your needs.
Frontier Communications Corporation is one of the United States’ largest telecommunications providers, delivering internet, phone, and security services to nearly 4 million residences and businesses nationwide. It is also a substantial pay television provider with over 800,000 subscribers in the United States. Employing more than 20,000 employees in 25 states, Frontier’s mission is to keep people connected to the people, places, and things that matter most to them.
Frontier offers download speeds up to 1000 Mbps in select markets. In areas where Frontier’s fiber network isn’t available, it offers DSL Broadband and DSL at varying speeds. In contrast to most of its direct competitors, Frontier customers enjoy no data caps on their internet service, which means you’ll never experience any unexpected overage charges on your monthly bill. Frontier also offers symmetrical download and upload speeds, which means you can upload those photos from your family vacation in no time at all.
Residential customers can generally expect to have a one year price lock with no contract required. Frontier Communications offers some of the lowest prices for gigabit speeds in the country, with speeds of up to 500 Mbps going for as little as $40 per month in certain areas. And since there are no data caps on Frontier’s internet service, you’ll never receive an unexpectedly high bill. You have the option to purchase or lease equipment directly from Frontier, which is always under warranty and is supported by Frontier’s 24/7 US-based tech support team. You also have the option to bring your own equipment, but be sure that it is compatible with Frontier internet service and be prepared to troubleshoot any WiFi troubles on your own.
Frontier has three networks in the United States. Frontier FiberOptics brings gigabit speeds to your home on its 100% fiber network with matching upload and download speeds. Vantage by Frontier offers speeds up to 115 Mbps, which is plenty fast to stream your favorite shows and movies on multiple devices at the same time. High-Speed Internet is available to those outside of the FiberOptics and Vantage networks and are able to provide ample speed to do the things you need to do everyday, such as check emails, pay bills, and stay connected to family and friends through social media.
Wide Open West, or more commonly known as WOW!, is one the largest internet providers in the nation. Founded in 1996, WOW! has expanded quickly out of the Denver market, where it started, and through a number of strategic acquisitions, now offers its services to nine different states and nearly 8 million people living within their coverage area. That coverage area is continuing to grow as more and more customers discover WOW!’s outstanding service. As of today, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee all have Wide Open West available at least partially with the company planning to expand further.
WOW! Currently uses a hybrid fiber-coaxial line to provide service to its customers. As the signal transmits, it primarily uses coaxial cable lines to the end-user while the signal is first sent through a fiber line. WOW! is in the process of upgrading those lines with the hope of being able to send the signal through fiber lines from end to end, thus allowing for a more reliable, high-speed connection. Even without fiber though, WOW! is still able to provide incredible speeds by using DOCSIS technology. One of the first adopters, WOW! uses these DOCSIS lines to transmit digital data. This allows WOW! to regularly provide speeds in the hundreds of megabits per second. This ultimately saves the user and the cable provider money by avoiding the often prohibitory costs that running fiber to a home can cost. This is just one example of WOW!’s innovative thinking and as technology continues to change, it’s clear to see that Wide Open West will continue to be on the cutting-edge providing the very best for its customers.
Still headquartered out of Denver, Colorado, Wide Open West started as a relatively small company in 1996. By the time that they had built their own network in 2001, they had only 200 subscribers. This number ballooned quickly as they purchased other internet service providers and increased the area and number of people they could reach. Over the next two decades, WOW! continued making strategic acquisitions leading to its current status and coverage area.
The company is not only dedicated to providing a fast and reliable internet connection but also great customer service. They have core values that they expect every member of their team to abide by, from the CEO to the technicians who install service. These core values are as follows: respect, integrity, a spirit of service, and accountability. It is because of these that Wide Open West has been able to maintain such a strong customer base and will be the basis for its continued success. The internet service industry often is plagued by poor reputation and even worse customer service so it’s nice to see a company that stands for the opposite of those things. Reputation is all when it comes to earning the trust of the public and there’s no reason to think that Wide Open West will do anything to risk its sterling renown.
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Cable Internet Coverage
48.22%
DSL Internet Coverage
45.62%
Fiber Internet Coverage
39.35%
Fixed Wireless Coverage
1.25%
St. Petersburg is a part of the Tampa Bay area and the fifth most populous city in Florida. St. Petersburg is a popular retirement community due to its low cost of living and good weather. As more and more people move into the area, the demand for reliable high-speed internet connections will continue to grow. The city's internet service providers have built a large wired infrastructure to meet that demand with nearly the entire part of the city falling under at least one provider's coverage area.
St. Petersburg has six different internet providers offering their services in the city. WOW!, Spectrum, Frontier, HughesNet, ViaSat, and Rapid Systems all have connections available for customers using a combination of cable, fiber, DSL, satellite, and fixed wireless. The Historic Roser Park, Snell Isle, and Pinellas Park neighborhoods all have access to broadband connections as do the rest of St. Petersburg neighborhoods.
The largest provider in the city in regards to the total coverage area is going to be Spectrum. Spectrum's network is based on cable lines that it also uses to provide its customers with home phone and television service. With a full suite of products to choose from, Spectrum customers are able to customize and package different bundles together to fit both their needs and budget.
WOW! also has a sizable coverage area in St. Petersburg with far higher speeds available. WOW! has the fastest speeds in the city so if you're looking to take on high bandwidth activities like streaming in 4K or gaming competitively, then they're going to be your best choice. WOW! has particularly high coverage in southern and eastern St. Petersburg.
For those operating on a budget, Frontier would be a good choice. Though they offer slower speeds than the other two wired providers in the area, they do tend to be a little less expensive. If you're only going to have a couple of people in the house or you're going to be taking part in low bandwidth activities, Frontier is worth taking a look into.
Summary of Fastest Internet Providers in St. Petersburg, FL
| Provider | Max Speed | Avg Speed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | | WOW! | 600 Mbps | 600 Mbps | |
| 2. | | Spectrum | 400 Mbps | 300 Mbps | |
| 3. | | Frontier | 100 Mbps | 27 Mbps | |
| 4. | | ViaSat | 100 Mbps | 20 Mbps | |
| 5. | | HughesNet | 25 Mbps | 25 Mbps | |
| 6. | Rapid Systems | 25 Mbps | 25 Mbps | ||
| 7. |  | Dish Network | - | - | |
| 8. |  | DIRECTV | - | - | |
| Data provided by various data sources including the FCC. For more information please view our sources page. | |||||
Summary of All Internet Providers in St. Petersburg, FL
| Provider | Type | Coverage | Max Speed | Avg Speed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | | Spectrum | 100.00% | 400 Mbps | 300 Mbps | ||
| 2. | | HughesNet | 100.00% | 25 Mbps | 25 Mbps | ||
| 3. | | ViaSat | 100.00% | 100 Mbps | 20 Mbps | ||
| 4. | | Frontier | 100.00% | 100 Mbps | 27 Mbps | ||
| 5. | | Dish Network | 100.00% | - | - | ||
| 6. | | DIRECTV | 100.00% | - | - | ||
| 7. | | WOW! | 80.70% | 600 Mbps | 600 Mbps | ||
| 8. | Rapid Systems | 2.72% | 25 Mbps | 25 Mbps | |||
| Data provided by various data sources including the FCC. For more information please view our sources page. | |||||||
Frequently Asked Questions about St. Petersburg, FL.
Which provider offers the best internet service in St. Petersburg, FL?
Spectrum is the best internet provider in St. Petersburg, FL, with download speeds up to 400 Mbps and pricing starting at $40.00.
How many internet providers provide service in St. Petersburg, FL?
There are currently 8 providers that offer internet service in St. Petersburg, FL.
What providers offer internet service in St. Petersburg, FL.
What is the cheapest internet provider in St. Petersburg, FL?
Spectrum is the cheapest internet provider in St. Petersburg, FL, with pricing starting at $40.00.
What provider has the fastest speeds in St. Petersburg, FL?
WOW! is the faster internet provider in St. Petersburg, FL, with maximum speeds reaching 600 Mbps and average speeds of 600 Mbps.
Is fiber internet available in St. Petersburg, FL?
Yes! Fiber internet covers 39% of St. Petersburg, FL.
Summary of School Districts in St. Petersburg, FL
| District | Grades | Max Speed | Avg Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough County | PK - 12 | 1 Gbps | 87 Mbps |
| Pinellas County | PK - 12 | 1 Gbps | 183 Mbps |
| Data provided by various data sources including the FCC. For more information please view our sources page. | |||
Top 10 Neighborhoods in St. Petersburg, FL
| Neighborhood | Max Speed | Avg Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Shores | 600 Mbps | 256 Mbps |
| Big Bayou | 600 Mbps | 248 Mbps |
| Driftwood | 600 Mbps | 244 Mbps |
| Old Southeast | 600 Mbps | 241 Mbps |
| Casler Heights | 600 Mbps | 238 Mbps |
| Harbordale | 600 Mbps | 233 Mbps |
| Fruitland Heights | 600 Mbps | 231 Mbps |
| Pacido Bayou | 600 Mbps | 231 Mbps |
| Mel-Tan Heights | 600 Mbps | 230 Mbps |
| Snell Isle | 600 Mbps | 230 Mbps |
| Data provided by various data sources including the FCC. For more information please view our sources page. | ||
Military Bases in St. Petersburg, FL
| Name | Max Speed | Avg Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater | 600 Mbps | 124 Mbps |
| Data provided by various data sources including the FCC. For more information please view our sources page. | ||