Internet Providers in Buffalo, New York

Spectrum everywhere, three fiber networks in parts

Spectrum is the one provider present at almost every address: it reports service at 96.9% of Buffalo's 77,058 homes and businesses, nearly all of it over cable, with fiber at 1.2%. Verizon reports service at 87.1%: fiber at 37.9% of locations, and fixed wireless across the rest of its footprint. Two regional fiber companies follow, Greenlight Networks at 22.7% and GoNetspeed at 5.7%¹.

These are the providers' own reports to the FCC as of June 30, 2026, in the file revision of November 10, 2026. A report means the company says it can install service at the location within ten business days, and anyone can challenge it on the FCC map. The FCC counts locations, not homes: a two-family house or an apartment building is one location, which is why the city's 77,058¹ locations sit beside 120,510³ households in the Census Bureau's 2025 survey.

Copper off the map, fiber on it

The largest change in Buffalo since the first National Broadband Map is on the telephone network. In June 2022, DSL over copper lines was reported at 75.8% of the city's locations. In the June 2026 data it is reported at 0.0%, tied for the lowest share among the 343 cities of 100,000 or more. Across New York State, DSL fell from 39.9%² to 4.9%¹ over the same period.

Fiber moved the other way, from 23.0% to 59.9% of locations, a rise of 36.9 percentage points. Two of the fiber networks were small or absent here in 2022. Greenlight Networks reported fiber at only a small number of Buffalo locations then and reports 17,476 now; GoNetspeed reported none and now reports 4,402. The count of providers reporting fiber in the city went from 3² to 4¹.

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

DSL available0.0% −75.8 pts

Fiber available59.9% +36.8 pts

One wired choice39.3% −33.5 pts

Two or more fiber networks7.6% +7.4 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.

Show the numbers

Measure	June 30, 2022	December 31, 2025	June 30, 2026	Change (points)
DSL available	75.8%	0.0%	0.0%	−75.8 pts
Fiber available	23.0%	57.3%	59.9%	36.8 pts
One wired choice	72.8%	41.9%	39.3%	−33.5 pts
Two or more fiber networks	0.2%	6.9%	7.6%	7.4 pts

Fiber is still being added: it rose by 2.6 percentage points¹ between the December 2025 and June 2026 releases alone. The map records what providers report, not why their reports changed, so it does not say whether a copper line was retired or simply no longer reported as a broadband service.

Even after that growth, Buffalo's fiber share is below New York State's 70.0% and the national 62.6%, and 116th lowest among large cities. Overlapping fiber is still uncommon: two or more fiber networks reach 7.6%¹ of locations.

Gigabit downloads everywhere, gigabit uploads at fewer addresses

A 1 Gbps download is advertised at 97.3% of Buffalo's locations, because Spectrum's cable network reaches almost all of them. The FCC's gigabit tier also requires uploads of at least 100 Mbps, and cable uploads are far slower than downloads. Service meeting that 1,000/100 standard is advertised at 40.1% of locations, a share that ranks tied for 21st lowest among large cities, against 62.7%¹ for New York State.

Rochester, where Greenlight Networks reports service at 31.4% of locations, has 1,000/100 service at 97.1%; Syracuse, at 1.3%¹, is far lower.

Rochester97.1%

Yonkers96.0%

New York86.3%

United States72.3%

New York62.7%

Buffalo40.1%

Albany1.6%

Syracuse1.3%

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)
Rochester	97.1%
Yonkers	96.0%
New York	86.3%
United States	72.3%
New York	62.7%
Buffalo	40.1%
Albany	1.6%
Syracuse	1.3%

That share is lower than the fiber share. Symmetrical service of 100/100 Mbps or more is advertised wherever fiber is reported (59.9%), but at part of the fiber footprint the fastest advertised fiber download is under 1,000 Mbps, so those locations count toward the band from 940 Mbps up to 2 Gbps in the chart below but not toward the 1,000/100 tier. At the top end, the fastest advertised download is 2 Gbps or more at 39.2% of locations, up from 1.8%² in 2022. Greenlight Networks advertises up to 8 Gbps and GoNetspeed up to 6 Gbps¹. All of these are advertised maximums, not measured speeds.

Under 25 Mbps or none25–99100–249250–499500–939940–1,9992,000 or more

Buffalo

New York

United States

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.

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Area	Under 25 Mbps or none	25–99	100–249	250–499	500–939	940–1,999	2,000 or more
Buffalo	0.1%	0.1%	2.0%	0.2%	0.0%	58.4%	39.2%
New York	2.0%	0.7%	0.6%	0.5%	0.2%	44.0%	51.9%
United States	2.4%	1.6%	1.8%	1.4%	0.9%	31.0%	61.0%

One fast wire at four addresses in ten

Wired service of 100/20 Mbps or more is reported at 97.6% of locations, so the question in Buffalo is how many wires, not whether there is one. At 39.3% of locations exactly one wired provider offers 100/20 Mbps, and Spectrum is the only wired 100/20 provider at 38.6%¹. In June 2022 the single-wire share was 72.8%².

NoneOneTwoThree or more

Buffalo

New York

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
Buffalo	2.4%	39.3%	51.1%	7.2%
New York	3.7%	35.8%	56.3%	4.2%
United States	7.8%	36.6%	44.6%	11.1%

Two or more wired choices at that speed now cover 58.4% of locations, up 36.0 percentage points since 2022, the 59th highest increase among large cities. Statewide the share is 60.5%. Three or more wired providers are reported at 7.2%¹ of Buffalo's locations.

Wireless home internet: three carriers and a local network

Fixed wireless is reported at 99.4% of locations, but at lower advertised speeds than the wired networks. T-Mobile reports it at 90.7% of locations, with 100/20 Mbps at 17.8%. AT&T, which reported no service in Buffalo in the June 2022 data, now reports fixed wireless at 84.4%, with 100/20 Mbps at 6.9%. Verizon's fixed wireless fills in where it has no fiber. Licensed fixed wireless at 100/20 Mbps or more, from any of the three, is reported at 42.4%¹ of locations.

The fourth network is local. Impact Internet, which reported no service in 2022, now reports unlicensed fixed wireless at 80.9% of locations, with a fastest advertised download of 100 Mbps and 100/20 Mbps at 0.0%. Fixed wireless capacity is shared by everyone on a tower sector, so a reported location is not a guarantee that a new customer can sign up. Satellite is reported at every location; only 1¹ location in the city has no other option.

Buffalo beside the state's other large cities

New York's upstate cities took different paths after 2022. DSL disappeared from Albany's and Syracuse's maps as it did from Buffalo's, but in Rochester it is still reported at 13.9% of locations. Syracuse has fiber at 69.7%, above Buffalo. Albany has fiber at 2.0% and a single wired choice at 96.1% of locations. Buffalo sits between them: copper gone from the map, fiber at most addresses, and a single wired choice at 39.3%¹.

The New York page maps every county, including Erie County, where Buffalo sits and where fiber is reported at 68.7%¹ of locations.

Fewer Buffalo households without a subscription

In the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, 91.4% of Buffalo households had a broadband subscription of any type (margin of error ±1.6 percentage points), up from 81.4% in 2019 (±2.2 percentage points). The share with no internet subscription fell from 18.6%⁵ to 8.2% (±1.6 percentage points). Buffalo still trails the state, where 93.6% of households subscribe, and its broadband share is tied for 25th lowest³ among large cities.

Wired 100/20 Mbps available (FCC, share of locations)97.6%

Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census)73.5% ±3.0

Households relying only on a cellular data plan15.6% ±2.6

Households with no internet subscription8.2% ±1.6

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)	97.6%
Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census)	73.5%	±3.0
Households relying only on a cellular data plan	15.6%	±2.6
Households with no internet subscription	8.2%	±1.6

Wired subscriptions are less universal than wired availability: 73.5% of households subscribed to cable, fiber or DSL (±3.0 percentage points), and 15.6% relied only on a cellular data plan (±2.6 percentage points³). The survey counts households over a year and the FCC counts locations on one date, so the two describe the same city in different units.