Internet service in Bakersfield, California

Spectrum, AT&T and two local wireless networks

Bakersfield has 117,047¹ homes and businesses in the FCC's data as of June 30, 2026 (revision of November 10, 2026), counted within the city boundary used for the 2020 Census. The FCC calls them broadband serviceable locations; a whole apartment complex can be one of them. Here they are, by the companies covering the largest shares, with satellite set aside since it is claimed at every address.

Only two wired networks reach most of the city. Spectrum reports cable at 94.1% of locations and fiber at 3.0%, advertising up to 1 Gbps. AT&T reports service at 90.2%, but offers 100/20 Mbps at only 41.5%: outside its fiber area it reports DSL over copper telephone lines, which is still listed at 61.0%¹ of the city's locations, or fixed wireless.

The two largest names in the table are not wired at all. Applied Technology Group reports unlicensed fixed wireless at every location in the city, up to 500 Mbps; Bakersfield accounts for more than half of the 220,950 locations it reports in California, the only state where it files. unWired Broadband, another California-only company, reports 99.9%¹ with licensed and unlicensed radio.

Each share is a provider's own filing: a claim that it serves the address now, or would install standard service there within ten business days of an order. Anyone who finds a wrong claim at an address can challenge it through the FCC's map.

Spectrum is the only fast wire at most addresses

Wired service of 100/20 Mbps or more is reported at 96.9% of locations, so nearly every address has a fast wire. Fewer have a choice of two. At 56.2% of locations exactly one wired provider offers that speed, the 51st highest share among large cities and well above California's 43.2%. That provider is Spectrum, which is the only wired 100/20 option at 55.6%¹.

NoneOneTwoThree or more

Bakersfield

California

United States

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. Different wired providers (fiber, cable or DSL; FCC provider IDs) reporting 100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up or more at the same location. Fixed wireless and satellite are not counted.

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Area	None	One	Two	Three or more
Bakersfield	3.1%	56.2%	40.7%	0.0%
California	6.9%	43.2%	43.4%	6.5%
United States	7.8%	36.6%	44.6%	11.1%

The single-wire share has fallen from 64.4%² in June 2022, while AT&T's fiber reached more locations. Where two wired providers compete at 100/20 Mbps, 40.7% of locations, the second is almost always AT&T. Three or more wired choices exist at only 0.0%¹.

Fiber: AT&T's network covers about a third

Fiber to the premises is reported at 35.5% of Bakersfield's locations, up from 23.4%² in June 2022. On that measure Bakersfield is tied for 45th lowest among the 343 US cities of 100,000 or more. AT&T accounts for almost all of it (34.6% of locations, with an advertised maximum of 5 Gbps); Spectrum's fiber reaches 3.0%. Two different fiber networks overlap at 2.1%¹ of locations.

BakersfieldCalifornia

Fiber35.5% 47.8%

Cable94.1% 90.5%

DSL (copper)61.0% 43.7%

Licensed fixed wireless (incl. 5G home)94.9% 88.1%

Unlicensed fixed wireless100.0% 35.3%

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. Share of broadband serviceable locations where at least one provider reports the technology, at any speed; a location can have several. Satellite is reported almost everywhere and is left out.

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Technology	Bakersfield	California
Fiber	35.5%	47.8%
Cable	94.1%	90.5%
DSL (copper)	61.0%	43.7%
Licensed fixed wireless (incl. 5G home)	94.9%	88.1%
Unlicensed fixed wireless	100.0%	35.3%

The city has less fiber than Kern County as a whole, where it reaches 39.0% of locations. Copper is receding slowly. DSL fell from 65.4%² of locations in 2022 to 61.0%, a smaller drop than the 12.1 percentage points¹ gain in fiber.

Gigabit with fast uploads: where Bakersfield differs from Fresno

The FCC's gigabit tier means 1,000 Mbps down and at least 100 Mbps up. In Bakersfield it is advertised at 40.1% of locations, a share that ranks tied for 21st lowest among the 343 large cities, although a 1 Gbps download alone is advertised at 96.9%. Wired service of 100 Mbps in both directions is reported at 35.5%, almost exactly the fiber share and the 13th lowest¹ among large cities. Away from fiber, fast wired uploads stop.

The other large San Joaquin Valley cities, where Xfinity rather than Spectrum is the cable company, show a different picture. Their gigabit shares are far above their fiber shares; the two Spectrum cities in the table, Palmdale and Riverside, look like Bakersfield.

Visalia99.2%

Stockton97.8%

Fresno91.8%

Modesto83.5%

United States72.3%

California67.4%

Bakersfield40.1%

Riverside38.3%

Palmdale36.9%

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.

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Area	Gigabit (1,000/100)
Visalia	99.2%
Stockton	97.8%
Fresno	91.8%
Modesto	83.5%
United States	72.3%
California	67.4%
Bakersfield	40.1%
Riverside	38.3%
Palmdale	36.9%

Fresno reports the gigabit tier at 91.8% of locations and Stockton at 97.8%, with fiber at 39.6% and 37.2%. Palmdale, where Spectrum is the only fast wire at 54.8% of locations, reports 36.9%¹. The tiers come from advertised plan maximums in provider filings; nobody measured them. Prices are not part of the FCC filing either, and the broadband facts label each company publishes is where its plan prices appear.

Three providers on paper, mostly by radio

By one measure Bakersfield has more choice than almost any large city. At 96.2% of locations, three or more providers report ground-based service of 100/20 Mbps, up from 40.3%² in June 2022 and 88.4%³ in December 2025. Statewide the share is 51.1%, and among large cities Bakersfield is tied for 8th highest¹.

June 30, 2022December 31, 2025June 30, 2026

Three or more terrestrial choices96.2% +56.0 pts

Two or more wired choices40.7% +8.5 pts

Fiber available35.5% +12.1 pts

Gigabit (1,000/100)40.1% +16.7 pts

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2022; FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of December 31, 2025; FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. Shares of broadband serviceable locations in each FCC release (latest revision of each); the small number is the change in percentage points since June 30, 2022. The FCC's count of locations is updated with each release, so shares are compared rather than counts.

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Measure	June 30, 2022	December 31, 2025	June 30, 2026	Change (points)
Three or more terrestrial choices	40.3%	88.4%	96.2%	56.0 pts
Two or more wired choices	32.2%	39.5%	40.7%	8.5 pts
Fiber available	23.4%	34.1%	35.5%	12.1 pts
Gigabit (1,000/100)	23.4%	38.5%	40.1%	16.7 pts

What pushes the count to three is radio, not cable or fiber: a rooftop or window receiver links to the company's antenna. Applied Technology Group reports 100/20 Mbps at 100.0% of locations and unWired Broadband at 97.7%, the latter advertising up to 1 Gbps. Licensed fixed wireless at 100/20 Mbps, the kind that uses licensed radio spectrum, swung from 69.5%² of locations in 2022 to 42.7%³ in December 2025 and back to 64.0%¹.

Counting these as full competitors to Spectrum overstates the choice. A radio sector's bandwidth is split among the homes it serves, and wireless companies can cap sign-ups where it runs short, whatever their coverage filing says. The wireless layer does matter at the margins: at 3,600¹ locations no wired provider offers 100/20 Mbps and only a fixed wireless company does. Satellite is never the only option in the city.

Subscriptions since 2019

Availability and subscription are measured by different agencies in different units: the FCC counts locations, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey samples households. In the 2025 survey, 4.5% of Bakersfield households had no internet subscription (margin of error ±1.2 percentage points), down from 11.4% (±2.4 percentage points⁵) in 2019; the two ranges do not overlap. The current share is close to California's 4.4%⁴.

Wired 100/20 Mbps available (FCC, share of locations)96.9%

Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census)78.3% ±0.8

Households relying only on a cellular data plan15.1% ±1.7

Households with no internet subscription4.5% ±1.2

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026; Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year detailed tables. Availability is a share of locations as of June 30, 2026 (FCC); subscriptions are a share of households from the American Community Survey, 2025 (whiskers: 90% margin of error). Different units and dates: read the gap as a sign, not an exact number.

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Measure	Share	MOE
Wired 100/20 Mbps available (FCC, share of locations)	96.9%
Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census)	78.3%	±0.8
Households relying only on a cellular data plan	15.1%	±1.7
Households with no internet subscription	4.5%	±1.2

Subscriptions to cable, fiber or DSL stood at 78.3% (±0.8 percentage points). Another 15.1% of households (±1.7 percentage points) relied only on a cellular data plan, against 12.9% statewide; among large cities Bakersfield's estimate is tied for 82nd highest⁴, though cities near it in that ranking may not differ significantly.

Outside the city, Kern County still has gaps: 2.8% of its locations are unserved under the federal BEAD definition, with no reliable wired or licensed fixed wireless service of even 25/3 Mbps, against 42¹ locations inside Bakersfield. County-by-county figures for Kern and the rest of the state are on the California page.