Internet in Worcester, Massachusetts
Fiber is available at 35.3% of the 40,298 homes and businesses the FCC counts in Worcester, and wired broadband of at least 100/20 Mbps at 97.1%. 34.3% of locations have a choice of two or more wired providers at that speed; at 62.8% there is only one.1
FCC National Broadband Map, availability as of June 30, 2026 (data revised November 10, 2026), as reported by providers.
Worcester in Massachusetts
Worcester had almost no fiber in the first national broadband map: 0.0% of its homes and businesses in June 2022. Four years later fiber reaches 35.3%, nearly all of it Verizon's, and the copper DSL lines that covered 46.1%2 of the city are gone from the map. Spectrum's cable network is still the only wired option at 100/20 Mbps for 62.2%1 of locations.
Internet providers in Worcester: one cable network, one fiber network
As of June 30, 2026 (FCC revision of November 10, 2026), two companies run wired networks across Worcester. Spectrum reports service at 96.6% of the city's 40,298 homes and businesses, almost all of it over cable, with fiber at 0.6%. Verizon reports service at 70.8%: fiber at 34.7% and fixed wireless at many of the rest. Every other wired provider in the FCC data, including Ripple Fiber (24 locations) and SELCO (241), reports a few dozen locations at most.
| Spectrum | Fiber Cable | 96.6% | 96.6% | 1 Gbps | 62.2% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | Licensed wireless | 77.9% | 11.0% | 100 Mbps | – |
| Verizon | Fiber Licensed wireless | 70.8% | 47.6% | 940 Mbps | 0.5% |
| AT&T | Licensed wireless | 46.9% | 2.4% | 100 Mbps | – |
| Ripple Fiber | Fiber | 0.1% | 0.1% | 8 Gbps | – |
| SELCO | Cable | 0.1% | 0.1% | 500 Mbps | – |
| Xfinity | Cable | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 Gbps | 0.0% |
| Aervivo | Fiber | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 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, Viasat, Starlink) report service at nearly every location and are left out of the table.
"Available" in these figures means the provider told the FCC it serves the location, or could within ten business days of a standard installation request. Listings can be challenged on the FCC National Broadband Map. The city is counted inside its limits as drawn for the 2020 Census.
Fiber: from almost none to a third of the city
Fiber was reported at 0.0% of Worcester's locations on June 30, 2022, and copper-line DSL at 46.1%2. By June 30, 2026, fiber had risen by 35.3 percentage points to 35.3%, and DSL had fallen to 0.0%; among large cities, Worcester ranks tied for the lowest for DSL. Nearly all of the new fiber is Verizon's: it reports fiber at 34.7%1 of locations.
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber available | 0.0% | 33.7% | 35.3% | 35.3 pts |
| DSL available | 46.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | −46.1 pts |
| Two or more wired choices | 0.0% | 32.8% | 34.3% | 34.3 pts |
The build has not stopped: fiber rose by 1.6 percentage points between December 31, 2025 and June 30, 2026. Even so, Worcester's fiber share is the 44th lowest among the 343 cities of 100,000 or more, below Massachusetts (54.5%) and the US (62.6%). Places where two separate fiber networks overlap are almost absent, at 0.0%1 of locations.
Two wired choices at about one address in three
In practice, where Verizon's fiber reaches, a location has two wired providers offering 100/20 Mbps or more; elsewhere it has Spectrum alone. That splits the city: 62.8% of locations have a single wired option at that speed, the 34th highest share among large cities, and 34.3% have two. In 2022, 93.3%2 had one. Across Massachusetts, 55.4%1 of locations have two or more.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | 2.9% | 62.8% | 34.3% | 0.0% |
| Springfield | 0.1% | 59.0% | 40.9% | 0.0% |
| Massachusetts | 0.9% | 43.7% | 45.3% | 10.1% |
| United States | 7.8% | 36.6% | 44.6% | 11.1% |
Wired service of 100/20 Mbps is missing almost nowhere: 1,164 locations have no wired provider at that speed, and 151 are unserved under the federal BEAD definition (no reliable wired or licensed fixed wireless service at 25/3 Mbps).
Speeds: gigabit downloads, but not gigabit with fast uploads
On one measure Worcester is last among the 343 large cities. Gigabit service with uploads of at least 100 Mbps, the 1,000/100 tier, is advertised at 0.7% of locations, against 68.4% statewide and 72.3%1 nationally. It was 3.4%3 in December 2025.
The two main networks each miss the tier from a different side. Spectrum advertises downloads of up to 1 Gbps across the city, which is why a 1 Gbps download is listed at 96.6% of locations, but at nearly all of those locations the upload speed it reports for cable is below 100 Mbps. Verizon's fiber carries fast uploads, and symmetrical 100/100 Mbps service is advertised at 35.4% of locations, but the fastest download Verizon reports in Worcester is 940 Mbps, just under 1,000 Mbps. In Boston and Lowell, Verizon reports advertised downloads of up to 2.3 Gbps1.
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.
Show the numbers
| Area | Gigabit (1,000/100) |
|---|---|
| Springfield | 97.2% |
| Lowell | 95.0% |
| Boston | 82.8% |
| Cambridge | 78.0% |
| United States | 72.3% |
| Massachusetts | 68.4% |
| Quincy | 57.8% |
| Worcester | 0.7% |
These are maximum speeds advertised by providers, not measurements of what any home receives.
Fixed wireless from three carriers
T-Mobile reports home internet over its cellular network at 77.9% of locations, AT&T at 46.9% and Verizon at many of the locations its fiber does not reach. AT&T reported no Worcester locations in the 2022 data. Their advertised speeds are lower than the wired networks': T-Mobile and AT&T each list a maximum of 100 Mbps, and offer 100/20 Mbps at 11.0% and 2.4% of locations. Counting fixed wireless, only 6.5% of locations have three or more providers at 100/20 Mbps, the 2nd lowest1 share among large cities. Carriers decide eligibility address by address, because the capacity of each tower sector is shared.
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 | Worcester | Massachusetts |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber | 35.3% | 54.5% |
| Cable | 96.5% | 97.4% |
| DSL (copper) | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Licensed fixed wireless (incl. 5G home) | 91.7% | 84.2% |
| Unlicensed fixed wireless | 0.0% | 3.8% |
Worcester among Massachusetts cities
Fiber shares range widely among the Massachusetts cities of 100,000 or more. Cambridge (0.5%), Lynn (95.0%), Brockton (90.1%) and Lowell (80.3%) are near full coverage, and Boston is at 87.3%. Springfield, where Xfinity rather than Spectrum is the main cable provider, is at 41.1%, a little above Worcester. Only Quincy (9.0%) and New Bedford (0.0%1) are lower.
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.
Show the numbers
| Area | Fiber available |
|---|---|
| Boston | 87.3% |
| Lowell | 80.3% |
| United States | 62.6% |
| Massachusetts | 54.5% |
| Springfield | 41.1% |
| Worcester | 35.3% |
| Quincy | 9.0% |
| Cambridge | 0.5% |
What households subscribe to
The Census Bureau's 2025 survey counts 79,148 households in Worcester, far more than the FCC's count of locations, because a multi-family house or apartment building is one location however many units it holds. In that survey, 7.8% of households had no internet subscription (margin of error ±2.0 percentage points), down from 16.2% (±2.7 percentage points5) in 2019; the statewide share is 4.7%. Cable, fiber or DSL subscriptions accounted for 72.8% (±3.4 percentage points), and 15.3% (±3.2 percentage points4) relied only on a cellular data plan.
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) | 97.1% | |
| Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census) | 72.8% | ±3.4 |
| Households relying only on a cellular data plan | 15.3% | ±3.2 |
| Households with no internet subscription | 7.8% | ±2.0 |
Worcester County, which surrounds the city, is compared with the state's other counties on the Massachusetts page.
Questions about internet service in Worcester
What internet providers are available in Worcester, MA?
Spectrum reports cable service at 96.6% of Worcester's locations and Verizon reports fiber at 34.7%. T-Mobile (77.9%), Verizon and AT&T (46.9%1) report fixed wireless home internet. Ripple Fiber, SELCO and Xfinity report a few dozen locations or fewer. Satellite is reported everywhere.
Is Verizon Fios fiber available in Worcester?
In part of the city. Verizon reports fiber at 34.7% of locations as of June 30, 2026, and fiber from any provider reaches 35.3%, against 54.5% across Massachusetts and 62.6%1 nationally.
How many internet providers are there in Worcester?
6 wired providers report service somewhere in the city, up from 32 in 2022, but most of them report only a handful of addresses. At a typical location the count is one or two: 62.8% of locations have exactly one wired provider at 100/20 Mbps and 34.3%1 have two. No location has three.
Can I get gigabit internet in Worcester?
A download of about 1 Gbps is the top advertised tier at 97.0% of locations. Gigabit service with uploads of 100 Mbps or more (1,000/100) is advertised at only 0.7%1, the lowest share among the 343 cities of 100,000 or more. The section on speeds below explains why.
Checking one address in Worcester
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 Massachusetts
The state picture, county by county: internet in Massachusetts. Other large cities in the state: Boston, Springfield, Cambridge, Lowell, Brockton, Lynn, Quincy and New Bedford. Compare Worcester with any other city or state in the comparison tool.
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, data as of December 31, 2025; Availability as of December 31, 2025; released November 3, 2026. broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- 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
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.