AT&T Coverage and Availability

AT&T internet is available to 12% of American households across 26 states. It serves just over 28 million customers, but only 8.8 million of those have fiber connections.

AT&T gets awesome customer ratings in our review, but you’re definitely best off if you can get the fiber-optic service, since DSL and AT&T’s 5G-based Internet Air service are slower. It is currently the largest fiber provider in the United States. The company once boasted of adding 350 customer locations per hour across the country, and it plans to reach more than 50 million locations by 2029.

Fiber internet is the fastest and most reliable internet you can get. But fiber is limited nationwide—and AT&T is filling the gap by building out a 5G home internet service called Internet Air.

As of the beginning of 2025, you can find Internet Air in 57 locations across the country, including San Diego, California and Jacksonville, Florida. Similar to T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, Internet Air isn’t nearly as powerful as fiber, but it still delivers respectable speeds (up to 225Mbps) over AT&T’s wireless cellular network. It’s a good price at just $60 a month, and you can add a discount if you also have an AT&T wireless plan.

Here are some of the major cities where AT&T offers its services.

AT&T had just over 9 million fiber subscribers by the end of 2024, according to reports from AT&T’s Q4 2024 shareholder call. The company is currently continuing its expansion of fiber access by rolling out more fiber-optic cable in parts of California. It has also announced four new partnerships to accelerate the growth of its fiber network in other parts of the country.

• Here is where AT&T is expanding fiber access:
  7,500 residential and business locations in California’s Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Mateo Counties as well as some Tribal Lands
• 75 U.S. Armed Forces bases across all military branches starting in El Paso, Texas, and San Antonio, Texas
• More access to multifamily communities and private homeowners’ associations, including in Florida and Minnesota

At the end of 2024, AT&T presented a plan to its analysts and investors announcing a “wireless first” plan for 50% of 500,000-square-mile wire territory and a “fiber first” plan for the rest. Fiber is expensive to build out, and AT&T is choosy about where to get it up and running. To fill the gaps, it’s likely going to lean on building out Internet Air.

Susan Johnson, an AT&T executive VP responsible for supply chain and wireline transformation, recently explained to Ars Technica: “Wireless first is the name for our wire center areas where we have not built and do not plan to build residential fiber. There’s not an economic path to do so.”

Interestingly, AT&T pulled the plug on 5G Internet Air service for the few New Yorkers who had it. As of January 15, 2025, AT&T Internet Air is no longer available to New York customers. Due to a new 2025 broadband law in that state, the company confirms it will allow existing customers to retain their service for the next 45 days free of charge to give them time to find a new provider.

Customers can no longer buy AT&T’s once-ubiquitous DSL service (also known as copper), which uses telephone lines to provide an internet connection. In fact, the company plans to permanently shut down its copper network by 2029. That’s due to a few factors, including state-level deregulation, declining reliability due to storms and copper theft, and the $6 billion in infrastructure expenses needed to keep it running.

However, AT&T’s DSL plans are going to remain available in California. AT&T is classified in the Golden State as a Carrier of Last Resort (COLR), and state lawmakers have rejected AT&T’s reasoning that other basic services could fill the gap in AT&T’s absence. As the largest COLR in California, AT&T fills the critical role to provide reliable and basic telephone service across the state.

AT&T internet plans cost between $55 and $245 per month, with speeds ranging between 100Mbps and 5,000Mbps. Sometimes, internet prices can differ from region to region, but AT&T prices are flat across the board.

If AT&T fiber isn’t available on your block, consider these alternatives. Spectrum is a cable provider with a much wider reach (41 states to be exact). So if you can’t get AT&T fiber, Spectrum is likely your best bet—we give it solid scores for fast internet speeds and fair billing prices.

Xfinity is a solid cable internet alternative on par with Spectrum. Available in 35 states, Xfinity offers quite a few packages with a specialty in low starting rates, perfect for college kids and others on a budget. Another reliable pick is Cox internet, available in 18 states. It offers plans starting at 100Mbps and up to 2,000Mbps with free installation.

You could also try T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, which our experts rank as the best 5G home internet provider. While T-Mobile’s 5G home internet speeds can fluctuate (especially in rural areas or larger households), it’s available in all 50 states and delivers incredibly reliable service for an unbeatable price. You don’t have to worry about data caps or extra fees, and you get a discount if you also have a T-Mobile cell phone plan.

Compare AT&T internet coverage with Spectrum (“Charter Communications”) and Comcast Xfinity coverage on the map below. T-Mobile is not pictured as it is available in all fifty states.