Fiber internet is a broadband connection that runs on light signals from fiber-optic cabling, delivering multigig upload and download speeds. Most providers offer plans that top out at 1,000Mbps, but some fiber plans go even faster.

Fiber has low latency, so it’s also great for gaming and videoconferencing. And it’s the only type of internet in which users are able to get “symmetrical” upload speeds, meaning the uploads are just as fast as downloads. That makes fiber perfect for working from home, online content creation, and streaming your gaming on Twitch.

Though fiber isn’t widely available, you should go for it if you can get fiber in your area—our own firstinternetbundles.com data suggests that customers are generally more satisfied with fiber compared to more common connections like cable and DSL internet.

What speeds do you get on fiber internet?

Most fiber internet providers give you speeds up to 1,000Mbps, which is usually the fastest connection you can get from any internet type. Some providers also have slower plans, which cost less but still deliver excellent speed and performance. Gigabit fiber speeds (1,000Mbps or faster) are best for large households and heavy-duty internet users.

On top of fast download speeds, fiber internet also gives you equally fast upload speeds. Fiber is the only internet type that can get you these “symmetrical” upload speeds—cable and DSL providers have exponentially slower uploads. This makes fiber a superior option for doing high-bandwidth activities of all kinds.

Download activities that work best on fiber internet

• Streaming video in 4K
• Downloading large files
• Operating multiple smart-home devices
• Sharing Wi-Fi with a large number of other users

Upload activities that work best on fiber internet

• Attending Zoom meetings
• Uploading large files to cloud servers
• Hosting livestreams

What is the best fiber internet speed?

The best fiber internet speed is 300Mbps.

Although you can get fiber internet with speeds of 1,000Mbps, most people don’t need internet that fast. Getting a lower-tier plan saves you money but still guarantees you superior performance to handle streaming, gaming, video calls, and other activities on multiple devices. If you have a large household (five people or more) then we recommend a faster plan.

Pros and cons

Pros of fiber

Fastest speeds—Fiber internet is by far the fastest internet you can get. Most fiber-optic plans hit max speeds up to 1,000Mbps, but some deliver speeds up to 10,000Mbps. Fiber speeds remain consistent during heavy usage and far outpace what you get on DSL internet and even some cable internet plans.

Low latency—Fiber is very efficient and built on relatively new infrastructure, which helps reduce the amount of latency you’ll experience over your connection. Latency is the delay (measured in milliseconds) that happens when you send an internet signal from your computer to the larger internet network and vice versa. That could be anything from clicking “Send” on an email to firing a weapon in a fast-paced video game. Fiber’s low latency rates make it especially useful for the high-performance demands of online gaming, livestreams, and video calls.

Excellent upload speeds—Fiber speeds are “symmetrical,” meaning the upload speed is just as fast as the download speed. This is a huge difference from internet types like cable and DSL, whose internet packages give you much slower upload speeds compared to download speeds.

High customer satisfaction—As our annual customer satisfaction survey indicates, internet customers who use fiber service generally have a lot less complaints about things like speed, reliability, and price. In the survey section measuring satisfaction by tech type, fiber customers gave the highest ratings for overall satisfaction, while cable and DSL customers both gave more middling scores. Fiber users also gave top scores for speed and customer service.

Cons of fiber

Limited availability—The main disadvantage of fiber is that it’s hard to find. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), only 37% of Americans have access to fiber internet where they live. Building up fiber internet requires a costly investment of fiberglass cabling and other infrastructure, so many internet providers simply haven’t put in much effort to build out fiber.

Low competition—Even though fiber internet is available to 37% of the US population, an even smaller fraction of Americans have access to more than one fiber provider in their area. Fiber internet providers often serve as local monopolies in the markets where they provide service. As a result, you have less leverage when it comes to advocating for lower prices or better customer service.

How fiber internet works

Fiber uses bundled strands of fiberglass to deliver internet to your home. It’s the most reliable internet connection you can get and has better upload speeds than cable and DSL. The fastest fiber plan available today is 10,000Mbps (10Gbps), while cable stops at 1,200Mbps (1.2Gbps).

So, why is fiber the best? Both light and electricity travel at the same speed in a vacuum, but they slow down when they interact with atoms. But unlike the radio waves used in cable and DSL internet, light signals aren’t affected by radio interference. Fiber by design is simply more efficient and can reach speeds up to 10,000Mbps—much faster than any other internet type. Fiber networks are newer, too, compared to the aging infrastructure of DSL and cable, which helps boost performance.

Fiber is so reliable that the world’s major data routes and network access points are linked together between oceans and continents through massive bundles of fiber-optic cabling. If fiber is good enough for the vast global backbone of the internet infrastructure, then you know it’s the best way to wire up your own home internet.

How fast is fiber internet?

Fiber internet reaches speeds up to 10,000Mbps, but most fiber providers offer top speeds of 1,000Mbps.

To put that in perspective, Netflix recommends just 25Mbps to stream video in 4K on one device. But supercharged gigabit speeds (1,000Mbps) give you the ability to perform many more tasks on many more devices simultaneously. That way, you and everyone else on your Wi-Fi will never have to worry about whether your internet speed will slow down or cut out, because it will always be humming smoothly with bountiful bandwidth.

In practical terms, fiber is fast enough to keep up with extremely heavy internet use and a range of advanced online activities. It can also maintain a steady and reliable internet connection for multiple users who need to do speed-intensive tasks over the same Wi-Fi network at the same time.

Fiber is great for any of these tasks:

• Streaming 4K video on numerous devices
• Downloading massive files
• Uploading content to cloud servers and social media accounts
• Gaming online
• Teleconferencing on Zoom
• Connecting multiple smart home devices

Download times for different fiber speeds

Download	100Mbps	500Mbps	1,000Mbps	2,000Mbps
Small PDF (50KB)	Less than a second	Less than a second	Less than a second	Less than a second
Ebook (2.5MB)	Less than a second	Less than a second	Less than a second	Less than a second
ZIP file of .jpgs (425MB)	34 seconds	6.8 seconds	3.4 seconds	1.7 seconds
HD video file (2GB)	2.6 minutes	32 seconds	16 seconds	8 seconds
Video game (30GB)	40 minutes	8 minutes	4 minutes	2 minutes
Terabyte cloud drive (1TB)	22 hours	4.4 hours	2.2 hours	1.1 hours