Internet in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Spectrum everywhere, AT&T fiber on half the city

The FCC's National Broadband Map places 83,191¹ homes and businesses inside Winston-Salem's city limits as drawn for the 2020 Census. Every provider with service on file for those locations on June 30, 2026 appears below (FCC file revision of November 10, 2026). "Available" in these filings means the company already serves the location or says it would install standard service there within ten business days; anyone can dispute an entry on the FCC National Broadband Map.

Spectrum is the only wired network found at practically every address: 96.7% of locations, almost all by cable, with fiber at 0.9%. AT&T reports service at 88.9%, but its fiber covers 50.0% of the city. Elsewhere it lists copper DSL or its own fixed wireless, so it offers 100/20 Mbps at only 52.8%¹.

T-Mobile is the second fiber company, at 16.6% of locations. That is a much smaller footprint than in nearby High Point, where T-Mobile reports fiber at 89.9%. Zirrus, absent from the June 2022 map, now reports fiber at 3.4% of Winston-Salem's locations. Kinetic reports fiber at 1.7% and Brightspeed at 0.9%¹, both with DSL alongside.

A third of the city has one wire

Wired service of at least 100/20 Mbps is reported at 97.4% of Winston-Salem's locations; only 2,191 lack it. Choice is the gap. At 30.0% of locations exactly one wired provider offers that speed, and at 29.4% that provider is Spectrum, with no fiber network on file. The single-wire share is 134th highest¹ among the 343 cities of 100,000 or more.

NoneOneTwoThree or more

Winston-Salem

Greensboro

High Point

Wilmington

North Carolina

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
Winston-Salem	2.6%	30.0%	61.6%	5.8%
Greensboro	2.7%	16.8%	53.0%	27.5%
High Point	4.3%	5.6%	86.0%	4.1%
Wilmington	2.6%	30.5%	61.4%	5.5%
North Carolina	5.8%	39.5%	40.3%	14.5%

Inside North Carolina it sets the city apart. Wilmington comes close at 30.5%, but the other two Triad cities sit far lower: Greensboro at 16.8% and High Point at 5.6%. Charlotte is at 15.2% and Raleigh at 7.1%. The statewide share is 39.5%, and Forsyth County as a whole sits at 32.3%¹.

Where fiber does arrive, it seldom arrives twice. Two or more fiber companies overlap at 5.6% of locations, against 17.4%¹ across the state.

Fiber's growth, then a pause

The single-wire share was 45.5% in the first FCC map, dated June 30, 2022. It fell as fiber spread: fiber reached 48.7% of locations then and 67.2% now, a rise of 18.4 percentage points. Copper went the other way, with DSL down from 57.9%² to 46.6%¹.

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

One wired choice30.0% −15.5 pts

Fiber available67.2% +18.4 pts

DSL available46.6% −11.3 pts

Fixed wireless 100/2051.4% +31.2 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)
One wired choice	45.5%	30.0%	30.0%	−15.5 pts
Fiber available	48.7%	66.8%	67.2%	18.4 pts
DSL available	57.9%	48.5%	46.6%	−11.3 pts
Fixed wireless 100/20	20.2%	55.2%	51.4%	31.2 pts

Almost all of that change came before the end of 2025. Between December 2025 and June 2026, fiber moved from 66.8% to 67.2% and the single-wire share did not change (30.0%³ to 30.0%). Shares, not counts, carry these comparisons, since the FCC redraws its location list every release: the city's count has changed by +2,528¹ since June 2022.

Gigabit downloads, gigabit uploads only on fiber

Practically every location in the city has a wired provider advertising a 1 Gbps download (97.3%), largely through Spectrum, whose cable tiers top out at 1 Gbps. Add an upload requirement and the picture splits. The FCC's 1,000/100 tier, gigabit down and at least 100 Mbps up, is advertised at 67.2% of locations, the same as the fiber share and 61st lowest¹ among large cities. Spectrum's cable plans upload far slower than they download, so the Spectrum-only third of the city sits outside that tier.

On the fiber side the ceilings are higher. The fastest advertised download is 2 Gbps or more at 62.0% of locations, against 52.5% statewide. AT&T and T-Mobile each list up to 5 Gbps, and Zirrus up to 6 Gbps¹. Every speed here is the top tier a provider advertises in its FCC filing; none is a measurement.

Worcester, Massachusetts 0.7%Clarksville, Tennessee 100.0%

Source: FCC, National Broadband Map, data as of June 30, 2026. Each dot is a city. 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)
Chattanooga, Tennessee	100.0%
Clarksville, Tennessee	100.0%
West Valley City, Utah	99.9%
Sparks, Nevada	99.9%
Boulder, Colorado	99.9%
Lincoln, Nebraska	99.9%
Simi Valley, California	99.9%
Longmont, Colorado	99.9%
Reno, Nevada	99.8%
Pompano Beach, Florida	99.8%
Eugene, Oregon	99.8%
Aurora, Illinois	99.7%
Arvada, Colorado	99.7%
Salt Lake City, Utah	99.7%
Fishers, Indiana	99.7%
Hillsboro, Oregon	99.6%
Gresham, Oregon	99.6%
Manchester, New Hampshire	99.6%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	99.6%
Knoxville, Tennessee	99.5%
Independence, Missouri	99.5%
Hollywood, Florida	99.5%
Centennial, Colorado	99.5%
San Mateo, California	99.4%
Sandy Springs, Georgia	99.4%
Des Moines, Iowa	99.4%
Fairfield, California	99.3%
Greeley, Colorado	99.3%
Olathe, Kansas	99.3%
Overland Park, Kansas	99.3%
Miami Gardens, Florida	99.3%
Rochester, Minnesota	99.3%
Pasadena, Texas	99.2%
Hialeah, Florida	99.2%
Provo, Utah	99.2%
Visalia, California	99.2%
Miami, Florida	99.1%
Colorado Springs, Colorado	99.1%
Minneapolis, Minnesota	98.9%
Miramar, Florida	98.8%
Louisville, Kentucky	98.7%
Lexington, Kentucky	98.7%
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma	98.6%
Huntsville, Alabama	98.6%
Frisco, Texas	98.6%
Allen, Texas	98.6%
Cedar Rapids, Iowa	98.5%
Murfreesboro, Tennessee	98.5%
McKinney, Texas	98.5%
Hartford, Connecticut	98.5%
Peoria, Illinois	98.5%
Amarillo, Texas	98.4%
Sugar Land, Texas	98.4%
Conroe, Texas	98.3%
League City, Texas	98.3%
Cincinnati, Ohio	98.2%
Nashville, Tennessee	98.2%
Fort Collins, Colorado	98.1%
Waterbury, Connecticut	98.0%
Norfolk, Virginia	98.0%
Clovis, California	98.0%
Fremont, California	97.9%
Pembroke Pines, Florida	97.9%
Pearland, Texas	97.9%
Stockton, California	97.8%
Mesquite, Texas	97.7%
Arlington, Texas	97.7%
San Angelo, Texas	97.6%
Sacramento, California	97.5%
Fort Lauderdale, Florida	97.5%
Kansas City, Missouri	97.4%
West Jordan, Utah	97.4%
Baltimore, Maryland	97.2%
Abilene, Texas	97.2%
Springfield, Massachusetts	97.2%
Rochester, New York	97.1%
Fort Worth, Texas	97.0%
Lakewood, Colorado	97.0%
Plano, Texas	97.0%
North Las Vegas, Nevada	97.0%
Atlanta, Georgia	96.9%
St. Louis, Missouri	96.9%
Dallas, Texas	96.9%
Grand Prairie, Texas	96.9%
Vancouver, Washington	96.9%
Rio Rancho, New Mexico	96.9%
Richardson, Texas	96.9%
New Haven, Connecticut	96.9%
Oakland, California	96.9%
Spokane, Washington	96.8%
Las Vegas, Nevada	96.8%
Lee's Summit, Missouri	96.8%
Henderson, Nevada	96.8%
Bridgeport, Connecticut	96.7%
Westminster, Colorado	96.7%
Jackson, Mississippi	96.6%
Lynn, Massachusetts	96.6%
Little Rock, Arkansas	96.6%
Garland, Texas	96.5%
Wichita Falls, Texas	96.4%
Cape Coral, Florida	96.4%
Pueblo, Colorado	96.3%
Jersey City, New Jersey	96.3%
Wichita, Kansas	96.2%
San Jose, California	96.2%
Carrollton, Texas	96.2%
Grand Rapids, Michigan	96.2%
Buckeye, Arizona	96.1%
Denver, Colorado	96.0%
Yonkers, New York	96.0%
Gilbert, Arizona	96.0%
Houston, Texas	95.9%
Norman, Oklahoma	95.9%
Irving, Texas	95.9%
Lewisville, Texas	95.9%
Oceanside, California	95.8%
Boca Raton, Florida	95.8%
Seattle, Washington	95.7%
Naperville, Illinois	95.7%
Davenport, Iowa	95.6%
South Fulton, Georgia	95.6%
Everett, Washington	95.4%
Chula Vista, California	95.4%
Cary, North Carolina	95.1%
Lowell, Massachusetts	95.0%
Thornton, Colorado	94.9%
Irvine, California	94.9%
Palm Coast, Florida	94.8%
St. Paul, Minnesota	94.8%
Surprise, Arizona	94.6%
Fargo, North Dakota	94.6%
Elizabeth, New Jersey	94.5%
Warren, Michigan	94.4%
Kansas City, Kansas	94.2%
Daly City, California	94.2%
Roseville, California	94.2%
Vallejo, California	94.2%
Paterson, New Jersey	93.9%
Omaha, Nebraska	93.8%
Menifee, California	93.8%
Vacaville, California	93.6%
Bellevue, Washington	93.5%
Stamford, Connecticut	93.5%
Hayward, California	93.4%
Newark, New Jersey	93.3%
Concord, California	93.3%
Round Rock, Texas	93.2%
West Palm Beach, Florida	92.9%
Fayetteville, Arkansas	92.8%
Peoria, Arizona	92.7%
Temecula, California	92.6%
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	92.4%
Murrieta, California	92.3%
Berkeley, California	92.3%
Columbia, Missouri	92.3%
Port St. Lucie, Florida	92.3%
Santa Clara, California	92.2%
Memphis, Tennessee	92.1%
Lubbock, Texas	92.1%
Topeka, Kansas	91.8%
Fresno, California	91.8%
Lansing, Michigan	91.8%
Raleigh, North Carolina	91.6%
Lafayette, Louisiana	91.6%
Augusta, Georgia	91.5%
Scottsdale, Arizona	91.4%
Fort Wayne, Indiana	91.2%
Glendale, Arizona	91.2%
High Point, North Carolina	91.2%
El Cajon, California	91.1%
Tulsa, Oklahoma	91.0%
Rockford, Illinois	91.0%
Washington, District of Columbia	90.7%
Davie, Florida	90.6%
Edmond, Oklahoma	90.5%
Phoenix, Arizona	90.4%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	90.4%
Jacksonville, Florida	90.3%
Goodyear, Arizona	90.3%
Yuma, Arizona	90.0%
Elk Grove, California	90.0%
Honolulu, Hawaii	90.0%
Killeen, Texas	89.9%
Carmel, Indiana	89.9%
Elgin, Illinois	89.8%
Tyler, Texas	89.6%
Durham, North Carolina	89.5%
Chandler, Arizona	89.3%
Sioux Falls, South Dakota	88.9%
Richmond, California	88.8%
Avondale, Arizona	88.8%
Concord, North Carolina	88.7%
Antioch, California	88.6%
Mobile, Alabama	88.4%
Denton, Texas	88.2%
San Antonio, Texas	88.2%
Tampa, Florida	87.8%
Tuscaloosa, Alabama	87.6%
Fayetteville, North Carolina	87.4%
Gainesville, Florida	87.2%
Hesperia, California	87.1%
Alexandria, Virginia	86.9%
New Orleans, Louisiana	86.6%
Indianapolis, Indiana	86.4%
New York, New York	86.3%
Downey, California	86.2%
Spokane Valley, Washington	86.0%
Odessa, Texas	85.9%
Macon, Georgia	85.9%
Portland, Oregon	85.8%
Tacoma, Washington	85.7%
Baton Rouge, Louisiana	85.5%
Tucson, Arizona	85.4%
Mesa, Arizona	85.3%
Aurora, Colorado	85.3%
Escondido, California	85.1%
Tempe, Arizona	84.7%
Salinas, California	84.7%
Long Beach, California	83.9%
Charlotte, North Carolina	83.7%
Modesto, California	83.5%
Coral Springs, Florida	83.1%
Fort Myers, Florida	83.0%
Boston, Massachusetts	82.8%
Thousand Oaks, California	82.8%
Tallahassee, Florida	82.7%
Joliet, Illinois	82.7%
Midland, Texas	82.6%
Lancaster, California	82.5%
Austin, Texas	82.4%
Salem, Oregon	82.2%
Providence, Rhode Island	82.1%
Victorville, California	82.0%
Greensboro, North Carolina	81.8%
Ontario, California	81.5%
Pomona, California	81.4%
Savannah, Georgia	81.4%
West Covina, California	80.7%
San Francisco, California	79.6%
Santa Maria, California	79.5%
South Bend, Indiana	79.1%
Charleston, South Carolina	78.7%
Brockton, Massachusetts	78.6%
Detroit, Michigan	78.6%
Corpus Christi, Texas	78.1%
Cambridge, Massachusetts	78.0%
Ann Arbor, Michigan	77.9%
Shreveport, Louisiana	77.8%
Fullerton, California	77.7%
Newport News, Virginia	77.2%
Sunnyvale, California	76.8%
Deltona, Florida	76.4%
Nampa, Idaho	75.8%
New Braunfels, Texas	75.1%
Green Bay, Wisconsin	74.4%
North Charleston, South Carolina	73.3%
Hampton, Virginia	73.2%
Torrance, California	72.7%
Springfield, Illinois	72.7%
Anchorage, Alaska	72.3%
Dearborn, Michigan	72.2%
Huntington Beach, California	72.1%
Meridian, Idaho	72.0%
Virginia Beach, Virginia	71.8%
New Bedford, Massachusetts	71.6%
Madison, Wisconsin	71.6%
Columbia, South Carolina	70.4%
Moreno Valley, California	70.0%
St. Petersburg, Florida	69.9%
Suffolk, Virginia	69.7%
Orlando, Florida	69.5%
Milwaukee, Wisconsin	69.5%
Waco, Texas	69.2%
Brownsville, Texas	69.2%
San Bernardino, California	69.1%
Wilmington, North Carolina	68.9%
Santa Rosa, California	68.7%
Chicago, Illinois	68.4%
Kent, Washington	68.0%
Sterling Heights, Michigan	67.9%
Chesapeake, Virginia	67.5%
Garden Grove, California	67.4%
Winston-Salem, North Carolina	67.2%
Beaumont, Texas	65.6%
Renton, Washington	65.3%
Laredo, Texas	65.2%
Evansville, Indiana	63.6%
St. George, Utah	63.4%
Albuquerque, New Mexico	63.4%
Tracy, California	63.3%
San Diego, California	63.1%
Lakeland, Florida	62.9%
Palm Bay, Florida	62.6%
El Paso, Texas	62.0%
Dayton, Ohio	61.8%
Columbus, Georgia	61.3%
Montgomery, Alabama	60.7%
Allentown, Pennsylvania	60.5%
Oxnard, California	60.2%
Edinburg, Texas	58.6%
Quincy, Massachusetts	57.8%
Athens, Georgia	57.4%
Clearwater, Florida	57.0%
Cleveland, Ohio	56.2%
Akron, Ohio	55.1%
College Station, Texas	55.1%
Santa Ana, California	54.8%
Chico, California	54.6%
Birmingham, Alabama	53.5%
Los Angeles, California	53.3%
Inglewood, California	52.9%
Toledo, Ohio	52.8%
Burbank, California	52.5%
Costa Mesa, California	49.4%
Columbus, Ohio	46.1%
Pasadena, California	45.6%
Springfield, Missouri	45.5%
Billings, Montana	44.3%
McAllen, Texas	43.7%
Las Cruces, New Mexico	42.9%
Glendale, California	40.2%
Buffalo, New York	40.1%
Bakersfield, California	40.1%
Riverside, California	38.3%
Anaheim, California	37.9%
Georgetown, Texas	37.4%
Boise, Idaho	37.2%
Palmdale, California	36.9%
Carlsbad, California	36.0%
Bend, Oregon	35.1%
El Monte, California	34.1%
Richmond, Virginia	32.9%
Orange, California	32.6%
Fontana, California	30.5%
Jurupa Valley, California	27.8%
Ventura, California	23.8%
Rancho Cucamonga, California	21.8%
Rialto, California	20.7%
Santa Clarita, California	18.4%
Corona, California	13.6%
Albany, New York	1.6%
Syracuse, New York	1.3%
Worcester, Massachusetts	0.7%

5G home internet as the second option

Where Spectrum is the only wire, the most common alternative is fixed wireless from the mobile carriers. Licensed fixed wireless, which includes 5G home internet, is reported at 97.5% of locations by 3 carriers. Verizon reports it at 87.9%, a far larger footprint than in the June 2022 map, with 100/20 Mbps at 39.4% and a top advertised tier of 300 Mbps. T-Mobile pairs its fiber with fixed wireless across most of the remaining city. X1 Communications reports fixed wireless on unlicensed spectrum at 5.9%¹.

Counting wireless as well as wire, 41.9% of locations have three or more land-based providers at 100/20 Mbps, up from 13.6%² in June 2022 but down from 45.6% in December 2025. The dip coincides with one in the fast wireless tier: licensed fixed wireless at 100/20 Mbps reached 55.2%³ of locations in December and 51.4%¹ in June. Wireless capacity is finite on each tower, which is why carriers check eligibility one address at a time.

No subscription: the highest estimate among the state's big cities

Subscriptions come from a different source: the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which samples households rather than counting locations. In its 2025 one-year estimates, 8.2% of Winston-Salem households had no internet subscription of any kind (margin of error ±2.3 percentage points). That is the highest point estimate among North Carolina's ten largest cities and ranks tied for 31st highest among large US cities. The margin is wide, though: the state's share is 5.9% (±0.2 percentage points⁴), and nearby cities in the ranking may not differ significantly. The five-year estimate for 2020–2024, from a larger sample, is 11.5% (±1.1 percentage points⁵).

Winston-Salem8.2% ±2.3

Wilmington5.9% ±2.1

North Carolina5.9% ±0.2

High Point5.6% ±1.9

Greensboro5.0% ±1.1

Durham4.9% ±1.7

Raleigh4.7% ±1.2

Charlotte4.3% ±0.7

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year detailed tables. Whiskers show the 90% margin of error. Period: 2025.

Show the numbers

Area	Households without an internet subscription	MOE
Winston-Salem	8.2%	±2.3
Wilmington	5.9%	±2.1
North Carolina	5.9%	±0.2
High Point	5.6%	±1.9
Greensboro	5.0%	±1.1
Durham	4.9%	±1.7
Raleigh	4.7%	±1.2
Charlotte	4.3%	±0.7

The change since 2019 is clearer than the comparison between cities. Households without a subscription fell from 16.7% (±2.3 percentage points) to 8.2%, and those relying only on a cellular data plan from 16.0% (±2.5 percentage points) to 11.1% (±2.1 percentage points). Subscriptions to cable, fiber or DSL rose from 64.5% (±2.7 percentage points⁶) to 78.8% (±3.4 percentage points⁴). In all three cases the margins of error do not overlap. Reasons for going without are not part of the survey, and a household in it cannot be linked to a particular FCC location.

Winston-Salem beside the state's largest cities

The table puts the city's fiber reach, single-wire share, gigabit-upload share and subscriptions beside its Triad neighbors and the state's largest cities, from the same FCC release and survey year.

The North Carolina page maps every county, Forsyth included, and covers the state's BEAD plan. Greensboro and High Point are the other Triad cities; Charlotte is the state's largest.