Internet in Richardson, Texas
Fiber is available at 89.2% of the 30,838 homes and businesses the FCC counts in Richardson, and wired broadband of at least 100/20 Mbps at 96.9%. 88.1% of locations have a choice of two or more wired providers at that speed; at 8.9% there is only one.1
FCC National Broadband Map, availability as of June 30, 2026 (data revised November 10, 2026), as reported by providers.
Richardson in Texas
Richardson is wired by two networks that cover nearly all of it: AT&T's fiber, reported at 87.7% of the city's homes and businesses, and Spectrum's cable, at 96.1%. The fiber was largely in place by 2022. What changed since then is speed: symmetrical 100/100 Mbps service is now reported at 96.9%1 of locations, more than fiber alone reaches.
Spectrum and AT&T at nearly every address
As of June 30, 2026, the FCC's National Broadband Map lists 30,838 homes and businesses inside Richardson's 2020 city limits. Two companies reach almost all of them with a wire: Spectrum at 96.1% and AT&T at 95.2%1. The mobile carriers follow with fixed wireless, and a group of small fiber and wireless operators fill in particular buildings and blocks.
| Spectrum | Fiber Cable | 96.1% | 96.1% | 1 Gbps | 8.1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | Fiber DSL Licensed wireless | 95.2% | 89.4% | 5 Gbps | 0.8% |
| Verizon | Licensed wireless | 84.0% | 26.2% | 300 Mbps | – |
| T-Mobile | Licensed wireless | 82.6% | 46.0% | 100 Mbps | – |
| Element8 | Fixed wireless | 5.0% | 5.0% | 500 Mbps | – |
| Rise Broadband | Fixed wireless | 1.4% | 0.0% | 55 Mbps | – |
| Frontier | Fiber | 0.4% | 0.4% | 7 Gbps | – |
| Blue Stream | Fiber | 0.2% | 0.2% | 2.5 Gbps | – |
| Hotwire Communications | Fiber | 0.2% | 0.2% | 8 Gbps | – |
| Astound | Fiber | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.5 Gbps | 0.0% |
| Optimum | Cable | 0.0% | 0.0% | 940 Mbps | – |
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 (Starlink, HughesNet, Viasat) report service at nearly every location and are left out of the table.
A provider's share means the share of locations where it reports that it provides, or could provide within ten business days, a standard installation. It is a claim the provider files with the FCC and that anyone can challenge, not a check of a single address.
AT&T's fiber, unlike its neighbors
Fiber reaches 89.2% of Richardson's locations, and AT&T accounts for nearly all of it, with fiber at 87.7%. That sets the city apart from the suburbs around it. In Plano and Garland most fiber is Frontier's, and AT&T reports fiber at only 15.4% and 10.1% of locations. Richardson's pattern is closer to Dallas, where AT&T's fiber reaches 81.8%1.
The count of fiber companies, 6, ranks tied for 64th highest among the 343 cities of 100,000 or more, but it overstates the choice. Spectrum reports fiber at 1.1% of locations, Frontier at 0.4%, and Blue Stream and Hotwire Communications at 0.2% each. Two or more fiber networks overlap at 0.5%1 of locations.
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 |
|---|---|
| Garland | 91.6% |
| Plano | 90.7% |
| Carrollton | 90.3% |
| Richardson | 89.2% |
| Dallas | 84.4% |
| Texas | 74.4% |
| United States | 62.6% |
Two wires at almost every address
Because AT&T's fiber and Spectrum's cable overlap so widely, exactly two wired providers offer 100/20 Mbps at 87.7% of locations, a share that ranks tied for 20th highest among large cities. A third wired option is rare, at 0.4%. Across Texas, 66.2% of locations have two or more wired providers at that speed; in Richardson the figure is 88.1%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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richardson | 3.1% | 8.9% | 87.7% | 0.4% |
| Plano | 3.0% | 7.9% | 77.2% | 11.9% |
| Dallas | 2.9% | 14.1% | 81.9% | 1.1% |
| Texas | 9.6% | 24.2% | 48.8% | 17.4% |
| United States | 7.8% | 36.6% | 44.6% | 11.1% |
Where AT&T has no fiber, Spectrum is usually the only fast wire: it is the sole wired provider at 100/20 Mbps for 8.1% of locations. AT&T's older DSL lines are still reported at 8.3%1 of locations, down from 9.0%2 in 2022.
The map since 2022: same wires, faster speeds
Richardson's fiber share was already 87.4% on June 30, 2022, and it rose by only 1.8 percentage points by 2026, a change that ranks tied for 37th lowest among large cities. The speeds reported over the same wires moved much more. Gigabit service with uploads of 100 Mbps or more (the FCC's 1,000/100 tier) went from 86.8% of locations to 96.9%, and symmetrical 100/100 Mbps wired service from 86.8%2 to 96.9%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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber available | 87.4% | 88.9% | 89.2% | 1.8 pts |
| Gigabit (1,000/100) | 86.8% | 96.7% | 96.9% | 10.1 pts |
| Wired 100/100 Mbps | 86.8% | 96.7% | 96.9% | 10.1 pts |
| 2 Gbps or more | 55.1% | 79.5% | 79.6% | 24.5 pts |
Both speed shares are now higher than the fiber share. Symmetrical 100/100 counts only wired service, and Spectrum is the only cable provider in the city, so at the locations without fiber those 100 Mbps uploads are reported over its cable network. At the top, the fastest advertised download is 2 Gbps or more at 79.6% of locations, up from 55.1%2 in 2022; AT&T advertises up to 5 Gbps on fiber and Spectrum up to 1 Gbps1. These are advertised maximums filed with the FCC, not measured speeds.
Fixed wireless: the carriers and local networks
T-Mobile reports fixed wireless home internet at 82.6% of locations, with 100/20 Mbps at 46.0%; Verizon reports 84.0%, with 100/20 Mbps at 26.2%. The number of licensed fixed wireless providers grew from 2 in 2022 to 3, and the share of locations where licensed fixed wireless reaches 100/20 Mbps from 42.0%2 to 58.5%1. Capacity on each tower sector is shared, and the carriers decide eligibility address by address, so a location in their footprint is not a promise of service.
Unlicensed fixed wireless, carried on shared radio spectrum by smaller operators, went from 0.0%2 of locations to 6.4%. Most of it comes from Element8, at 5.0%1 of locations.
Households: few rely on a phone plan alone
The FCC counts locations, and an apartment building is one location however many units it holds. That is why the Census Bureau's 2025 survey counts about 46,161 Richardson households against 30,8381 FCC locations. On the subscription side, 6.1% of households relied only on a cellular data plan (margin of error ±1.9 percentage points), the 4th lowest share among large cities by point estimate and less than half the Texas share of 13.1%. Households without any internet subscription were 2.4% (margin of error ±1.2 percentage points4).
| Area | Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL | Households relying only on a cellular data plan | Households without an internet subscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richardson, Texas | 89.0% ±7.1 | 6.1% ±1.9 | 2.4% ±1.2 |
| Plano, Texas | 89.4% ±2.0 | 6.8% ±1.7 | 2.4% ±1.0 |
| Garland, Texas | 69.8% ±3.6 | 22.8% ±3.5 | 5.0% ±2.4 |
| Carrollton, Texas | – | – | – |
| Dallas, Texas | 76.0% ±1.6 | 14.1% ±1.4 | 6.2% ±1.0 |
| Texas | 76.8% ±0.3 | 13.1% ±0.2 | 5.4% ±0.1 |
Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year detailed tables. Period: 2025. ± is the 90% margin of error.
The wired subscription estimate, 89.0%, carries a wide margin of error (±7.1 percentage points4), so its rank among cities is not firm.
Very few locations are left out. The FCC data show 14 locations with no wired or licensed fixed wireless service at 25/3 Mbps, and 31 where satellite is the only option. The Texas page has every county and the state's broadband program.
Questions and answers
What internet providers are available in Richardson, Texas?
Spectrum (96.1% of locations, fiber and cable) and AT&T (95.2%, mostly fiber) report the widest wired service. T-Mobile (82.6%) and Verizon (84.0%1) report fixed wireless home internet, and smaller fiber and wireless companies serve parts of the city.
Does Richardson have fiber internet?
Yes: at least one provider reports fiber at 89.2% of locations, against 74.4% for Texas. Nearly all of it is AT&T's. Two or more fiber networks overlap at only 0.5%1 of locations.
How many internet providers are in Richardson?
11 companies report land-based service somewhere in the city, 7 of them over wires. At a given address the number is usually two: exactly two wired providers offer 100/20 Mbps at 87.7% of locations, and three or more at 0.4%1.
Checking one address in Richardson
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 Texas
The state picture, county by county: internet in Texas. Other large cities in the state: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Plano, Lubbock, Laredo and Irving. Compare Richardson 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
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.