Best Internet Providers in Roscommon, MI

What's the best internet provider in Roscommon?

Roscommon, Michigan, is a small village tucked in North Central Michigan, just five miles from Lake Higgins. Despite the beautiful forests, trails and scenic views, Roscommon doesn’t have many options for high-speed internet. You have a few options if you want to get online for a fair price. CNET’s pick for the best internet service provider in Roscommon is Spectrum Internet. Spectrum has the highest speed offering in the city (up to 1,000 megabits per second) and the widest availability. With Spectrum’s recent price decreases and new pledge for at least a three-year price lock, you can get online without worrying about a steep price increase in the next year.

If you’d rather avoid cable, you also have a few fixed wireless options available. CNET’s pick for the best fixed wireless option overall in Roscommon is T-Mobile Home Internet. T-Mobile Home Internet covers the most ground with 5G internet in the city and offers decent speeds, convenience, and straightforward terms of service. Verizon 5G Home Internet also offers service in the city, but with a smaller footprint, it may not be as readily available as T-Mobile Home Internet.

You also have the option of satellite internet in Roscommon. Although satellite is notoriously slow and has steep pricing, it's a great rural internet option. CNET's pick for the best satellite internet provider in Roscommon is Starlink. Starlink paces ahead of other satellite internet competitors with promises of speeds up to 150Mbps (in some cases 220Mbps) and no data caps or no contracts.

If you’re looking for cheap internet in Roscommon, unfortunately, most internet plans start at $50 per month in the city so there's not exactly a cheap internet option readily available. If you decide to bundle your internet plan with a qualifying mobile or TV plan with T-Mobile, Verizon, and Spectrum, you can bring that monthly bill as low as $30 to $45.

If you’re looking for further discounts, the Federal Communications Commission offers a $9.25 monthly discount for eligible households with the Lifeline program. Some providers, like Spectrum Internet Assist and Verizon Forward, offer their own discounts for customers.

Let’s take a closer look at what some of these internet providers have to offer Roscommon.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Getty Images

How to find internet deals and promotions in Roscommon

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

Roscommon internet providers, like Verizon 5G Home Internet and Spectrum, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, including T-Mobile Home Internet, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

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

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 in 4K 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 in-depth breakdown, refer to CNET's 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 and 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 Roscommon, Michigan

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

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:

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
3. Are customers happy with their service?

The answer to those questions is often layered and complex, but the providers who 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, although 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 the FCC and Ookla. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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

Internet providers in Roscommon FAQs