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

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

If you want to pay the lowest possible price, 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.

Metronet is the fastest internet provider in Iowa Citywith symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 5,000Mbps — five times faster than any other provider in the city. Another good option for high-speed internet is T-Mobile Home Internetwhich offers wireless internet for $50-$70 per month. T-Mobile cellphone customers can save $10 to $20 per month by bundling home internet service.

Best internet in Iowa City, Iowa

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Iowa City

The best internet deals and top promotions in Iowa City depend on what discounts are available at that time. Most deals don’t last, but we’re always on the lookout for the latest offers.

Internet providers in Iowa City, 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, run the same base price throughout the year.

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

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 are looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you will have a better experience with a stronger connection. Here is an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for different applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines — and internet speed, service and performance will vary by connection type, provider and address.

For more information, see our guide to how much internet speed do you need?.

• 0 to 5Mbps lets you 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 provide a person with enough bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming.
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two people to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities such as videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming.
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to participate in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.

How CNET picks the best internet providers in Iowa City

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphones, laptop, router or kitchen utensilsit is not practical to personally test every ISP in a city. So what is our approach? We started by researching pricing, availability and speed information drawing on our own historical ISP data, provider sites and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission of FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC website to check our data and make sure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses into provider websites to find specific options for residents. We looked at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and JD Power, to assess how happy customers are with ISP service. ISP plans and prices are subject to constant change; All information provided is accurate in the publication.

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

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Are customers getting decent value for what they paid for?
3. Are customers happy with their service?

While the answer to these questions is often layered and complex, providers who are close to “yes” to all three are the ones we recommend. When choosing the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fees, 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 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 how we test ISPs page.

Iowa City Internet providers FAQs