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Joe Supan is a senior writer for CNET covering home technology, broadband, and moving. Prior to joining CNET, Joe led MyMove’s moving coverage and reported on broadband policy, the digital divide, and privacy issues for the broadband marketplace Allconnect. He has been featured as a guest columnist on Broadband Breakfast, and his work has been referenced by the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, National Geographic, Yahoo! Finance and more.
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What is the best internet provider in Fargo, North Dakota?
Midco is the best internet provider in Fargo. It offers the fastest speeds and broadest coverage of any provider in the city, and Midco’s customers have generally been very satisfied with their service. Its prices increase after the first year, but you’ll find that with most internet service providers in Fargo.
If you want to pay the lowest prices, Sparklight is the cheapest internet provider in Fargo. Plans start at just $29 per month ($55 in year two), and you’ll get 300Mbps download speeds — a solid value for the price.
Fiber is considered the gold standard for internet connections, and Quantum Fiber is the best fiber internet provider in the area. You’ll get fast upload and download speeds — ideal for online gamers and remote workers — and Quantum Fiber includes a Price for Life guarantee on all plans.
methodology page.
Best internet in Fargo, North Dakota
Speed range
250 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$49 – $79 per month
Our take – Midco is a regional provider that operates in the Dakotas and Minnesota, and it’s one of the rare internet companies beloved by its customers. It had the highest customer satisfaction score of any internet provider in the region in J.D. Power’s 2022 survey (Midco wasn’t included in 2023), and Reddit users in Fargo say things like “Midco all the way” and “Midco is the absolute best option.” Prices will increase by $26 to $41 in the second year, but Midco is still a solid value even with that increase.
Speed range
250 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$49 – $79 per month
Speed range
100 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$25 – $110 per month
Our take – If you’re looking for the absolute lowest prices, you won’t find anything cheaper than Sparklight’s $29 monthly price tag. Unfortunately, that rate lasts for only a year. After that, Sparklight’s plans increase by $21 to $26 monthly. Still, you’ll get solid speeds for those prices — even after the increase kicks in. The main downside is Sparklight’s low upload speeds, which could be problematic for remote workers or online gamers.
Our take – If Quantum Fiber were more widely available, it would have a good argument for our top pick. As it stands, coverage is mostly limited to southwestern neighborhoods near Horace. Quantum Fiber is the only fiber internet provider in the area, so you’ll get upload speeds that are just as fast as the downloads. It also includes a Price for Life guarantee on all plans, so you won’t have to worry about your bill skyrocketing.
How to find internet deals and promotions in Fargo
The best internet deals and top promotions in Fargo depend on what discounts are available during that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
Fargo internet providers, such as Midco and Sparklight, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, however, including Quantum Fiber and CenturyLink, run the same standard pricing year-round.
For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.
Fastest internet plans in Fargo
Provider
Starting price
Max download speed
Max upload speed
Data cap
Connection type
Midco Gig Internet
$59
1,000Mbps
250Mbps
None
Cable
Sparklight Freedom Connect Gig
$59
940Mbps
50Mbps
None
Cable
Quantum Fiber
$75
940Mbps
940Mbps
None
Fiber
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.
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 Fargo
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. So what’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information, drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites 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 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, 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.
Internet providers in Fargo FAQs
according to FCC data. Quantum Fiber is the primary fiber provider in the area, but 702 Communications and Consolidated Communications also offer some fiber services in Fargo.
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