Internet in Lubbock, Texas

Three wires reach most of Lubbock

As of June 30, 2026, the FCC's data for Lubbock list 6 wired internet providers, but three of them account for almost all of the city's 96,633 homes and businesses. Optimum reports service at 92.1% of locations, nearly all of it over cable. AT&T reports 91.6%, with fiber at 74.9% and older DSL or fixed wireless at much of the rest. Metronet reports fiber at 74.6%. The other wired filers are tiny: Kinetic reports 179 locations, South Plains Telephone Cooperative 28 and ICS Advanced Technologies 1¹.

A provider counts here when it reports that it can install service within ten business days of a request; the reports can be challenged on the FCC map, which also shows what is listed at a single address. Satellite providers report every location in the city and are left out of the counts above.

Metronet arrived after 2022

In the FCC's first National Broadband Map, as of June 30, 2022, Metronet reported no locations in Lubbock. Fiber then reached 70.1% of locations, and only 12.6%² had two fiber networks. By June 30, 2026, Metronet reported 72,092 locations, the share with two or more fiber networks had risen by 45.4 percentage points to 58.0% (26th highest among the 343 cities of 100,000 or more), and fiber of any kind reached 92.2%. Across Texas, 18.2%¹ of locations have two or more fiber networks.

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

Two or more fiber networks58.0% +45.3 pts

Three or more wired choices57.2% +42.4 pts

One wired choice8.9% −15.2 pts

DSL available32.6% −17.0 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)
Two or more fiber networks	12.6%	46.3%	58.0%	45.3 pts
Three or more wired choices	14.8%	45.7%	57.2%	42.4 pts
One wired choice	24.1%	12.0%	8.9%	−15.2 pts
DSL available	49.6%	33.4%	32.6%	−17.0 pts

The second fiber network changed how many choices a typical address has. The share of locations with three or more wired providers at 100/20 Mbps went from 14.8% to 57.2%, and the share with a single wired option fell from 24.1% to 8.9%. Optimum is now the only wired provider at that speed for 5.3% of locations, Metronet for 3.0%. AT&T's copper has retreated in the same period: DSL is reported at 32.6% of locations, down from 49.6%². These are shares of each release's location list, which changed by +4,967¹ locations over the four years, so they compare like with like.

Cable stops just short of a gigabit

Lubbock is unusual in one speed measure. A download of 1 Gbps or more is advertised at 92.1% of locations, the 9th lowest share among large cities and practically the same share that fiber reaches. The reason is in the provider reports: Optimum's fastest advertised download in Lubbock is 940 Mbps¹, just under the gigabit line, so the 1 Gbps share is set by fiber alone.

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

Lubbock

Texas

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
Lubbock	0.0%	0.2%	0.6%	1.2%	0.4%	22.0%	75.6%
Texas	1.8%	1.1%	2.1%	2.1%	2.2%	27.8%	63.0%
United States	2.4%	1.6%	1.8%	1.4%	0.9%	31.0%	61.0%

Where fiber is present the top tiers are high. AT&T and Metronet both advertise up to 5 Gbps, and a fastest advertised download of 2 Gbps or more is reported at 75.6% of locations, up from 36.6%² in June 2022. Symmetrical service of 100/100 Mbps or more is available at 92.2%¹. All of these are maximum speeds providers advertise, not measurements.

Wireless networks and the gaps they fill

Fixed wireless is reported at every location in the city, from two kinds of networks. Verizon and T-Mobile use their licensed mobile spectrum: Verizon's home internet, almost entirely added since 2022, now covers 81.1% of locations, with 100/20 Mbps at 45.1%. Telespan (77.6%) and Rise Broadband (50.3%) use unlicensed radio; Rise advertises up to 641 Mbps¹. Capacity on a fixed wireless tower is shared, so these figures show where the carriers report service, not where every home could sign up at once.

For a small group of locations wireless is the only fast option. Wired service of 100/20 Mbps is reported at 97.6% of locations (tied for 119th lowest among large cities), which leaves 2,362 homes and businesses without it. At 2,069 of them, 2.1% of the city, fixed wireless is the only service at 100/20 Mbps; on that measure Lubbock ranks tied for 34th highest among large cities. The FCC classes 329 locations as unserved, without 25/3 Mbps by wire or licensed wireless, a share that rose by 0.3 percentage points¹ since June 2022.

Lubbock among West Texas cities

Metronet also reports fiber across much of Amarillo and Abilene, and the three cities now look alike: wide fiber coverage and two fiber networks at many addresses. Midland and Odessa, in the Permian Basin, have fiber at most locations too, but rarely from two networks.

Subscriptions have risen since 2019

Availability is measured at locations, subscriptions in households, by a different agency. In the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, 78.7% of Lubbock households subscribed to cable, fiber or DSL (margin of error ±1.6 percentage points), compared with 67.9% (margin of error ±2.9 percentage points) in 2019. The share with no internet subscription fell from 16.8%⁵ to 5.6%, a difference well outside both margins of error. 14.1% of households relied only on a cellular data plan (margin of error ±1.9 percentage points⁴).

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

Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census)78.7% ±1.6

Households relying only on a cellular data plan14.1% ±1.9

Households with no internet subscription5.6% ±1.1

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)	78.7%	±1.6
Households relying only on a cellular data plan	14.1%	±1.9
Households with no internet subscription	5.6%	±1.1

The figures cover the city of Lubbock within its 2020 Census boundaries. The Texas page covers Lubbock County and every other county in the state.