District of Columbia internet, a whole city wired twice over
Fiber is available at 87.4% of the 123,146 homes and businesses the FCC counts in District of Columbia, and wired broadband of at least 100/20 Mbps at 99.9%. 94.3% of locations have a choice of two or more wired providers at that speed; at 5.5% there is only one.1
FCC National Broadband Map, availability as of June 30, 2026 (data revised November 10, 2026), as reported by providers.
South region, South Atlantic division
The District of Columbia leads every state on wired coverage: fiber, cable, wired 100/20 service and wired choice are all at or near their ceiling here. The questions that remain in DC are about apartment buildings, upload speeds and which of several wires a given building has, not about whether a line exists.
Who reports home internet in DC
As of June 30, 2026 (FCC National Broadband Map, revision of November 10, 2026), 9 companies report wired or fixed wireless service at some of the District's 123,146 broadband serviceable locations. Two networks reach nearly all of them. Xfinity reports service, almost all of it cable, at 99.3% of locations and Verizon reports fiber at 86.9%. Astound's cable network adds a third wire at 72.5%1. Optimum also files Lightpath fiber in the District, but for business customers only, so it is left out of every figure on this page.
| Xfinity | Fiber Cable | 99.3% | 99.3% | 2 Gbps | 5.3% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon | Fiber Licensed wireless | 96.6% | 94.0% | 2.3 Gbps | 0.2% |
| T-Mobile | Licensed wireless | 84.5% | 33.4% | 100 Mbps | – |
| Astound | Fiber Cable | 72.5% | 72.5% | 1.5 Gbps | 0.1% |
| AT&T | Licensed wireless | 62.5% | 18.6% | 100 Mbps | – |
| DC Access LLC | Fixed wireless | 13.7% | 13.7% | 200 Mbps | – |
| Starry Inc | Fiber Licensed wireless | 3.4% | 3.4% | 1 Gbps | – |
| Believe Broadband | Fiber Fixed wireless | 1.5% | 0.0% | 1 Gbps | – |
| Cox | Cable | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 Gbps | – |
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. Share of the area's broadband serviceable locations where the provider reports service as of June 30, 2026. "Only wired option" is the share of locations where it is the single wired provider at 100/20 Mbps. Provider-reported and challengeable; speeds are advertised maximums, not measured; no prices. Satellite providers (HughesNet, Starlink) report service at nearly every location and are left out of the table.
The rest of the list is wireless. T-Mobile (84.5%) and AT&T (62.5%) report licensed fixed wireless (5G home internet) across most of the city, but each offers 100/20 Mbps at a minority of locations: 33.4% for T-Mobile and 18.6% for AT&T. DC Access LLC, an unlicensed fixed wireless provider, reports service at 13.7% of locations and Starry at 3.4%1. Satellite providers report service almost everywhere, as they do in every state, and are left out of the counts here.
"Reported" has a specific meaning: the provider tells the FCC it serves the location now or could connect it within ten business days, and the listing can be challenged on the FCC map.
Fiber at almost every address on the map
At 87.4% of locations at least one provider reports fiber to the premises, a share that ranks the highest among the 50 states and DC; the nearest state, Rhode Island, is at 86.2%, and the national figure is 62.6%. Cable is reported at 99.7%, which also ranks the highest1.
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.
Show the numbers
| Technology | District of Columbia | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber | 87.4% | 62.6% |
| Cable | 99.7% | 80.3% |
| DSL (copper) | 0.0% | 36.2% |
| Licensed fixed wireless (incl. 5G home) | 93.4% | 87.3% |
| Unlicensed fixed wireless | 15.2% | 19.7% |
Starting from a high base, the District gained less than any state over the four years of the map: fiber's share rose by 0.9 percentage points, from 86.5% in June 2022, against 25.4 percentage points nationally. A second fiber network has barely appeared: two fiber networks were listed at 0.5% of locations in 2022 and at 1.3% in 2026, a share that ranks 4th lowest among the states. In DC, fiber means Verizon, and the competing wires are cable. Copper went the other way: DSL was reported at 21.6%2 of locations in 2022 and at 0.0%1 in 2026.
Apartment buildings change the fiber number
DC's map has 123,146 locations, but the FCC's summary of the same release counts 380,777 units, because a location can be a single house or a building with hundreds of apartments and offices. Weighted by units, fiber is available at 64.4% of the District's units, not 87.4%1. The gap suggests that many large apartment buildings are among the locations without reported fiber. Cable barely moves between the two counts (97.6% of units) and neither does wired 100/20 service (99.7%3).
| State | Locations (BSLs) | Fiber available | Two or more fiber networks | Cable available | Three or more wired choices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 123,146 | 87.4% | 1.3% | 99.7% | 64.5% |
| Maryland | 1,864,600 | 69.4% | 3.8% | 94.2% | 9.0% |
| Virginia | 2,923,222 | 70.3% | 4.7% | 78.0% | 3.2% |
| United States | 115,784,915 | 62.6% | 12.1% | 80.3% | 11.1% |
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.
In this release no state shows a gap this wide between the two ways of counting; in Maryland, for comparison, fiber is at 69.4%1 of locations and 65.1%3 of units. For a renter in a large DC building, the location share is a poor guide; the address search on the FCC map answers the question for a specific building. The explainer on why coverage numbers disagree covers the counting rules in more detail.
Three wires is the usual case
Competition in the District is not between one wire and none but between two and three. 64.5% of locations have three or more wired providers offering 100/20 Mbps, which ranks the highest among the states; nationally it is 11.1%. In 2022 the figure was 49.3%2. Exactly one wired choice is the case at 5.5% of locations (6,817 of them), which ranks the lowest; nationwide it is 36.6%1.
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.
Show the numbers
| Area | None | One | Two | Three or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 0.1% | 5.5% | 29.8% | 64.5% |
| Maryland | 1.8% | 32.0% | 57.3% | 9.0% |
| Virginia | 8.1% | 33.0% | 55.8% | 3.2% |
| United States | 7.8% | 36.6% | 44.6% | 11.1% |
Where only one wire reaches, it is nearly always cable: Xfinity is the only wired 100/20 provider at 5.3% of locations, Verizon at 0.2% and Astound at 0.1%. On average a DC location has 2.591 wired providers at 100/20 Mbps.
Gigabit downloads gained 100 Mbps uploads
The sharpest change in the District's filings is in upload speed. In June 2022 an advertised download of 1 Gbps was already reported at 94.4% of locations, but a gigabit offer with at least 100 Mbps upload, the 1,000/100 Mbps level, at only 0.8%. By June 2026 it was 90.7%, a rise of 89.9 percentage points that ranks the highest among the states. Symmetric service of 100/100 Mbps over a wire went from 86.5%2 to 96.8%1.
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.
Show the numbers
| Measure | June 30, 2022 | December 31, 2025 | June 30, 2026 | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gigabit (1,000/100) | 0.8% | 82.8% | 90.7% | 89.9 pts |
| Wired 100/100 Mbps | 86.5% | 96.7% | 96.8% | 10.4 pts |
| Two or more fiber networks | 0.5% | 0.4% | 1.3% | 0.8 pts |
| Three or more wired choices | 49.3% | 64.1% | 64.5% | 15.3 pts |
| DSL available | 21.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | −21.6 pts |
The fastest advertised tiers moved up at the same time. In 2022 the top offer at 99.1%2 of locations was between 940 Mbps and 2 Gbps; in 2026 it was 2 Gbps or more at 90.4%1. These are the providers' maximum advertised speeds, not measurements, and the top tier at a location is not necessarily the plan its occupants buy.
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. Maximum advertised download speed (Mbps) of any wired or fixed wireless offer at the location, as reported by providers to the FCC; satellite excluded. Advertised, not measured.
Show the numbers
| Area | Under 25 Mbps or none | 25–99 | 100–249 | 250–499 | 500–939 | 940–1,999 | 2,000 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 9.5% | 90.4% |
| United States | 2.4% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 31.0% | 61.0% |
Fixed wireless: three national networks, thinner at 100/20
Licensed fixed wireless, which includes 5G home internet from T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T, is reported at 93.4% of locations, the 3rd highest share among the states. AT&T reported no DC locations in June 2022 and now reports fixed wireless at 76,911 locations. Coverage at 100/20 Mbps is thinner: licensed fixed wireless offers that speed at 49.8% of locations, down from 52.2%4 in December 2025. Only 361 locations rely on fixed wireless as their only 100/20 option.
The last few dozen locations
The District is a single county-equivalent, so the county map below is one shape and the county table one row; there are no county contrasts to draw. What the location data show instead is how small the remaining gap is. 20 locations are unserved under the BEAD definition, without reliable 25/3 Mbps service, and 4 more are underserved. At 8 locations no wired or fixed wireless provider reports service at all, leaving satellite. In June 2022, 0.5%2 of locations had no terrestrial 100/20 service; in 2026 the share rounds to 0.1%1.
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file cb_2025_us_county_5m. Darker counties are higher. Point at a county for its value; the county table has every figure. FCC file revision of November 10, 2026. Shares are of broadband serviceable locations (homes and businesses), not people.
Show the numbers
| County | Two or more wired choices |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 94.3% |
| District of Columbia | 123,146 | 87.4% | 99.9% | 94.3% | 0.0% | Xfinity | 80.0% ±0.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 123,146 | 87.4% | 99.9% | 94.3% | 0.0% | 80.0% |
Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026; Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year detailed tables. Shares of broadband serviceable locations as of June 30, 2026 (FCC). 2+ wired choices: two or more wired providers at 100/20 Mbps. Unserved: BEAD definition. Largest wired provider: reports fiber, cable or DSL at the most locations. Wired subscription: households with a cable, fiber or DSL subscription, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (± 90% margin of error).
The city of Washington has the same boundary and the same figures; its page compares it with other large US cities.
BEAD: the smallest allocation
The District's allocation from the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program is $100.7 million, which ranks the lowest7 among the states. The District's broadband office submitted its Final Proposal to NTIA on October 31, 2025, and NTIA lists that proposal as approved. The office publishes its list of eligible locations and project areas on the same page. The Treasury's Capital Projects Fund allocated a further $107.0 million8.
| Program | Amount | As of |
|---|---|---|
| BEAD allocation (NTIA, announced June 26, 2023) | $100,694,787 | |
| Treasury Capital Projects Fund allocation | $106,967,456 | |
| USDA ReConnect grants reported to USAspending | $16,036,684 | |
| Lifeline subscribers claimed | 608 | |
| Lifeline participation rate | 11.7% | |
| Households in the Affordable Connectivity Program, February 2024 | 63,806 |
Source: NTIA BroadbandUSA, BEAD Award Recipients pages; Department of the Treasury, Capital Projects Fund Awards Made to States, Territories, and Freely Associated States, to date; Department of the Treasury, spending_by_award API for Assistance Listings 10.752; Universal Service Administrative Co., Lifeline Disbursements; USAC, Lifeline participation rate; USAC, ACP Enrollments by County as of February 8, 2024. BEAD figures are as printed in NTIA's Final Proposal overview, subject to final review; "not assigned to deployment" is the allocation minus the deployment cost (NTIA calls it savings; how it may be used is not settled). The ACP stopped taking applications on February 8, 2024 and ended on June 1, 2024.
Covered everywhere, subscribed in most homes
In the Census Bureau's 2025 survey, 94.0% of DC households had a broadband subscription (margin of error ±1.1 percentage points), up from 87.3%14 in 2019, and 79.6% subscribed to cable, fiber or DSL. 11.9% relied only on a cellular data plan. The gap by income is wide: 83.7% of households earning under $20,000 had broadband, against 97.5%13 of those earning $75,000 or more.
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.
Show the numbers
| Measure | Share | MOE |
|---|---|---|
| Wired 100/20 Mbps available (FCC, share of locations) | 99.9% | |
| Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census) | 79.6% | ±1.4 |
| Households relying only on a cellular data plan | 11.9% | ±1.4 |
| Households with no internet subscription | 6.0% | ±1.1 |
In NTIA's 2023 Internet Use Survey, 15.6%15 of DC households that did not use the internet at home named cost as the main reason, a figure with a wide margin of error. Before the Affordable Connectivity Program stopped enrolling in February 2024, 63,80612 District households were signed up, an estimated 19.7 per 100 households16; the program ended on June 1, 2024.
Questions about internet in DC
What internet providers serve Washington, DC?
Apart from satellite, the largest by reported reach as of June 30, 2026 are Xfinity (99.3% of locations, fiber and cable), Verizon (96.6%, fiber and licensed fixed wireless), T-Mobile (84.5%, licensed fixed wireless), Astound (72.5%, fiber and cable) and AT&T (62.5%, licensed fixed wireless). In all, 91 wired and fixed wireless providers report service somewhere in the District.
Is fiber internet available in DC?
At 87.4% of DC's homes and businesses at least one provider reports fiber, the highest share of any state or DC. Verizon reports fiber at 86.9%1 of locations. The FCC counts an apartment building as one location, though, and weighted by units the FCC's own summary puts fiber at 64.4%3. Whether your building is wired is an address question for the FCC map.
How many people in DC lack broadband?
The FCC data count locations, not people. As of June 30, 2026, 20 of the District's 123,146 locations were unserved under the BEAD definition and 41 underserved. The larger gap is subscription: in the Census Bureau's 2025 survey, 3.5% of DC households (margin of error ±0.8 percentage points13) had no internet access at home.
Is there low-cost internet in DC?
The FCC map has no prices. The federal Lifeline program gives eligible low-income households a $9.25 monthly discount, and USAC estimates that 11.7%11 of eligible DC households take part. The Affordable Connectivity Program, which had 63,80612 DC households enrolled in February 2024, ended on June 1, 2024. Each provider's broadband facts label lists its current prices.
Checking one address in District of Columbia
The figures on this page describe the whole area. Which providers report service at a single home or apartment is shown only on the FCC's own map: search the address at broadbandmap.fcc.gov. If a provider is listed there but cannot actually connect you within ten business days, or the location is missing or misplaced, the map has a button to file a challenge; providers must respond, and corrections flow into later releases. Prices and plans are not part of the FCC data: each provider must show them on its broadband facts label at the point of sale.
More on internet in and around District of Columbia
Large cities with their own page: Washington.
Neighboring states: Maryland and Virginia. Put District of Columbia side by side with any state or large city in the comparison tool.
| Ranking | Value | Rank (1 = highest) |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber internet availability by state | 87.4% | 1st of 51 |
| Internet speed by state: where gigabit service is offered | 90.7% | 4th of 51 |
| Broadband coverage by state | 99.9% | 1st of 51 |
| Internet provider competition by state | 94.3% | 1st of 51 |
| Unserved and underserved broadband locations by state | 0.0% | 51st of 51 |
| Where fiber has grown since 2022 | 0.9% | 51st of 51 |
| 5G home internet and licensed fixed wireless by state | 93.4% | 3rd of 51 |
| Households with an internet subscription by state | 94.0% | tied 19th of 51 |
Sources
- FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026; Availability as of June 30, 2026; released November 10, 2026. broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2022; Availability as of June 30, 2022; released May 10, 2024. broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- FCC, National Broadband Map summary by geography (unit-weighted), as of June 30, 2026; released November 10, 2026. broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of December 31, 2025; Availability as of December 31, 2025; released November 3, 2026. broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file cb_2025_us_county_5m. www2.census.gov
- Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year detailed tables; 2020-2024; released January 29, 2026. api.census.gov
- NTIA BroadbandUSA, BEAD Award Recipients pages; Allocations announced 2023-06-26; released June 26, 2023. broadbandusa.ntia.gov
- Department of the Treasury, Capital Projects Fund Awards Made to States, Territories, and Freely Associated States, to date; Allocations under ARPA sec. 604 (awards announced 2022-06 to 2023). home.treasury.gov
- Department of the Treasury, spending_by_award API for Assistance Listings 10.752; Awards with action dates FY2008 to 2026-09-30. api.usaspending.gov
- Universal Service Administrative Co., Lifeline Disbursements; Support months 2018-01 to 2026-09. opendata.usac.org
- USAC, Lifeline participation rate; released August 17, 2026. www.usac.org
- USAC, ACP Enrollments by County as of February 8, 2024; Enrolled households as of 2024-02-08 (Data Month January 2024 file). www.usac.org
- Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year detailed tables; 2025 (calendar-year sample); released October 29, 2026. api.census.gov
- Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019 1-year detailed tables; 2019. api.census.gov
- NTIA Data Explorer "Analyze Table"; November 2023 (also all prior waves 1994-2021). www.ntia.gov
- US Internet Map, Our calculation from the sources named in the definition.
Margins of error (±) are at the 90% confidence level. A difference is called significant only when it passes the Census Bureau's test at that level. How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.