Spectrum is the best internet provider in Missoula. It has the lowest starting prices and is the only cable or fiber connection widely available in the city. Spectrum’s prices increase significantly after a year or two, but it doesn’t require a contract, so you can switch providers if a better option comes along. (TDS began building a fiber-optic network in Missoula in March 2023.)
Blackfoot Communications offers the fastest internet plans in Missoula — its fiber plans top out at 1,000Mbps download and 500Mbps upload speed — but it’s not widely available throughout the city. T-Mobile Home Internet is another good backup option if you can get it. Its speeds aren’t quite as fast as Spectrum’s or Blackfoot’s, but it includes a price-lock guarantee, and customers have generally been pleased with the service.
methodology page.
Best internet in Missoula, Montana
Speed range
100 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$30- $90 per month
Our take – Spectrum has a bit of an internet monopoly in Missoula. It’s the only cable internet in the area, and Missoula’s fiber providers don’t have widespread coverage in the city. Still, Spectrum is a decent option as your default, and it’s available almost everywhere. You’ll want to look out for price hikes — after one or two years, Spectrum increases your rates by as much as $35 a month.
Our take – Blackfoot offers fiber and DSL internet in Missoula, but fiber is the only option worth considering. It’s not widely available in the city — coverage is limited to a handful of neighborhoods and apartment complexes — but if you can get it, Blackfoot has the fastest speeds in the area. Because it uses fiber-optic instead of copper cables like Spectrum, Blackfoot can provide much faster upload speeds, which is useful for online gaming and videoconferencing.
Speed range
100 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$60 – $130 per month
Speed range
100 – 1,000Mbps
Price range
$60 – $130 per month
Speed range
72 – 245Mbps
Price range
$50 per month
Our take – T-Mobile Home Internet is another good alternative, offering wireless internet to 32% of Missoula residents, according to FCC data. It’s not quite as fast as Spectrum or Blackfoot, but T-Mobile’s terms are extremely customer-friendly: there are no equipment fees, and your price will never go up. That transparency has helped earn T-Mobile the highest score of any non-fiber ISP in the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s most recent survey.
How to find internet deals and promotions in Missoula
The best internet deals and top promotions in Missoula depend on what discounts are available during that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.
Missoula internet providers, such as Spectrum, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, however, including T-Mobile Home Internet and Blackfoot Communications, run the same standard pricing year-round.
For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.
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 person sufficient 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 like videoconferencing, streaming and online gaming.
500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high-bandwidth activities at the same time.
How CNET chose the best internet providers in Missoula
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 the time 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 answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When it comes to 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 also take into account 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 Missoula FAQs
Home Internet Guides
Internet Providers by City
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Updated Dec. 13, 2023 10:18 a.m. PT
CNET staff — not advertisers, partners or business interests — determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid. Reviews ethics statement
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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