Best Internet Providers in Iowa City, Iowa

What is the best internet provider in Iowa City, Iowa?

ImOn Communications is the best internet provider in Iowa City. The local Iowa company provides service throughout most of the city, and while it’s not cheap, it offers excellent value. Unlike many other options in the area, ImOn is refreshingly customer-friendly and free of things like hidden fees and data caps.

If you want to pay the lowest possible prices, Mediacom offers the cheapest internet in Iowa City. Prices start at just $20 a month, though Mediacom charges $15 a month for modem rental, and all of its plans go up in price after a year or two.

Subways is the fastest internet provider in Iowa Citywith symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 5000 Mbps — five times faster than any other provider in town. Another good option for high-speed Internet is T-Mobile Home Internet, which offers wireless Internet for $50-$70 per month. T-Mobile cell phone customers can save $10 to $20 per month by bundling home Internet service.

The best internet in Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City Internet Providers Compared

PROVIDER	Internet technology	Monthly price range	Speed ​​range	Monthly equipment costs	Data cap	contracts	CNET review score
CenturyLink Read the full review	DSL	55 dollars	Up to 100 Mbps	$15 (optional)	ANY	ANY	6.7
ImOn Communications	Fiber	$49-$69	200-1000Mbps	ANY	ANY	ANY	N/A
Mediacom Read the full review	CABLES	20-60 dollars	250-1000Mbps	15 dollars	350 GB – unlimited	ANY	6.4
Subways Read the full review	Fiber	$35-$110*	150-5000Mbps	None (but all plans include an additional $13 monthly Tech Assure fee)	ANY	ANY	6.9
Quantum fiber	Fiber	50-75 dollars	500-940 Mbps	ANY	ANY	ANY	6.7
The rise of broadband Read the full review	Fixed wireless	55 dollars	25-50 Mbps	ANY	ANY	ANY	6.2
T-Mobile Home Internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$50-$70 ($35-$55 with cellular plans)	87-415 Mbps	ANY	ANY	ANY	7.4
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review	Fixed wireless	$50-$70 ($35-$45 for eligible Verizon Wireless customers)	100-300Mbps	ANY	ANY	ANY	7.2

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What is the cheapest internet plan in Iowa City?

PROVIDER	Initial price	Maximum download speed	Monthly equipment fee
Subways Read the full review	35 dollars	150 Mbps	None (but there is an additional $13 monthly Tech Assure fee)
Mediacom Internet 250 Read the full review	20 dollars	250 Mbps	15 dollars
Mediacom Internet 500 Read the full review	45 dollars	500 Mbps	15 dollars
Subways Read the full review	45 dollars	500 Mbps	None (but there is an additional $13 monthly Tech Assure fee)
Quantum fiber	50 dollars	500 Mbps	ANY
Verizon 5G Home Internet Read the full review	$50 ($35 with eligible cellular plans)	100 Mbps	ANY

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find deals and promotions online in Iowa City

The best internet deals and top promotions in Iowa City depend on what discounts are available during that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we often look for the latest deals.

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How many members of your family use the Internet?

The other

Iowa City Internet providers, such as Mediacom, Verizon 5G Home Internet and ImOn Communications, may offer lower introductory prices or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, including Metronet and Quantum Fiber, have the same standard price year-round.

For a more extensive list of promotions, check out our guide to the best internet deals.

Fastest internet plans in Iowa City

PROVIDER	Initial price	Maximum download speed	Maximum upload speed	Data cap	Connection type
Metronet 5 Gb Read the full review	110 dollars	5000 Mbps	5000 Mbps	ANY	Fiber
Metronet 2 Gb Read the full review	70 dollars	2000 Mbps	2000 Mbps	ANY	Fiber
Metronet 1 Gb Read the full review	50 dollars	1000 Mbps	1000 Mbps	ANY	Fiber
Mediacom 1 Gig Read the full review	60 dollars	1000 Mbps	64 Mbps	3000 GB – unlimited	CABLES
ImOn Communications 1Gig	69 dollars	1000 Mbps	1000 Mbps	ANY	Fiber
Quantum fiber	75 dollars	940 Mbps	940 Mbps	ANY	Fiber

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What is a good internet speed?

Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you’re looking for an Internet plan that can accommodate video conferencing, video streaming, or gaming, you’ll have a better experience with a stronger connection. Here is a summary of the minimum recommended download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are guidelines only — and that Internet speed, service, and performance vary by connection type, provider, and address.

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

• 0 to 5 Mbps lets you get by with the basics — surfing the web, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40 Mbps gives you the highest quality video streaming and video conferencing.
• 40 to 100 Mbps should give a person enough bandwidth to meet the demands of modern telecommunications, video streaming, and online gaming.
• 100 to 500 Mbps allows one to two people to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as video conferencing, streaming, and online gaming.
• 500 to 1000 Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET picked the best Internet providers in Iowa City

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router, or kitchen appliance, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what is our approach? We start by researching price, availability, and speed information based on our historical ISP data, provider sites, and map information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC website to check our records and make sure we account for every ISP that provides service in an area. We also enter local addresses into provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look to sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to gauge how satisfied customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent change; all information provided is correct as of publication.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three key questions:

1. Does the provider provide access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Are customers getting good value for what they are paying?
3. Are customers satisfied with their service?

While the answer to these questions is often layered and complex, the providers that come closest to saying “yes” to all three are the ones we recommend. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, although we also take into account things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively simple. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

To explore our process in more depth, visit our page on how we test ISPs.

Iowa City Internet Providers FAQ