Best Internet Providers in Jackson, Mississippi

What is the best internet provider in Jackson?

If you’re looking for the best internet provider in Jackson, Mississippi, you have a few options. The internet provider you choose will depend on several factors, including your location, budget and broadband needs. After reviewing the available options, CNET selected Xfinity as the best internet service provider overall for most households in Jackson. It offers affordable introductory deals and covers almost the whole town. However, for fiber internet, AT&T Fiber or C Spire Fiber are solid picks, depending on what’s available in your area. If you want a lower monthly price, try bundling your phone and internet with T-Mobile.

If you’re hunting for the lowest prices or fastest speeds, we’ve also found those top options. The cheapest internet in Jackson is Xfinity’s $20-per-month 150Mbps plan, with that pricing good for the first year. The fastest internet speed in Jackson is C Spire Fiber’s 8,000Mbps plan for $350 monthly, though availability is limited to just 12% off the area. AT&T Fiber's 5-gig plan is a more accessible alternative with the provider covering 78% of Jackson.

Best internet in Jackson, Mississippi

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Jackson

• AT&T Internet: AT&T’s outdated DSL network should only be a fallback option if absolutely necessary. It costs $60 monthly for speeds up to 100Mbps, but speeds may be much lower depending on your address. There are no contracts or equipment fees, but most speed levels have a 1.5TB data cap. The 100Mbps plan is unlimited. Look for cable or fiber (if available) before you settle for DSL. 
• Satellite internet: If you live in Jackson, you can at least get Xfinity’s cable service. If you live in a rural area outside of town and can’t get a decent wired or fixed wireless plan, look into satellite internet from Starlink, Hughesnet or Viasat. They’re not the cheapest, and speeds can be slow or variable, so investigate other options first. 

Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty

Cheap internet options in Jackson

Xfinity has the lowest-price home internet in Jackson by quite a bit. For $20 per month, you can get 150Mbps downloads. There are some catches. The price will go up after the first year, and you’ll need to either provide your own equipment or lease from Xfinity for $15 per month. There’s also a 1.2TB data cap. Overall, it’s a good deal while it lasts.

Some addresses in Jackson may qualify for Xfinity’s low-cost Internet Essentials plans starting at $10 monthly for 50Mbps. The Internet Essentials Plus plan is $30 per month for 100Mbps. Both plans include Wi-Fi equipment and unlimited data. Check your address with Xfinity to see if you qualify. Regarding fiber, look to AT&T Fiber’s entry-level 300Mbps for $55 per month. That’s a decent value, especially considering the equally fast upload speed. 

What’s the cheapest internet plan in Jackson?

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Jackson

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

Jackson internet providers, like T-Mobile Home Internet and Xfinity, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, including AT&T Fiber and C Spire, tend to run the same standard pricing year-round. 

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

How fast is Jackson broadband?

Many residents of Jackson have access to multigig download speeds, whether through Xfinity’s Gigabit X2 cable plan or through C Spire or AT&T’s fiber offerings. C Spire checks in with the fastest plan in town at 8,000Mbps. The availability of speedy downloads hasn’t translated into super-fast internet overall in Jackson. The city pulled down a median fixed internet download speed of about 134Mbps in a recent Ookla speed test report. (Disclaimer: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) That’s significantly slower than the Mississippi state average of around 205Mbps.

Fastest internet plans in Jackson

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What’s 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 videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you'll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here's an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines -- 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 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics -- browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give one user sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two users to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more users to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Jackson

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it's impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. So what's our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov. 

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP's service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication. 

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

• Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds? 
• Do customers get decent value for what they're paying? 
• Are customers happy with their service? 

While the answers to those questions are often layered and complex, the providers that come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.

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

What’s the final word on internet providers in Jackson?

If you live in Jackson, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have Xfinity as an option. The cable ISP’s introductory rates are affordable, but you may need to negotiate to keep your plan price down once the promotional period expires. Some neighborhoods are hooked up with fiber through AT&T Fiber or C Spire Fiber. Check into these providers if you need zippy uploads or extremely fast downloads. T-Mobile Home Internet is a dark horse candidate to check into if you’re not satisfied with the wired internet offerings at your home. 

Internet providers in Jackson FAQs