Internet in Norfolk, Virginia
Fiber is available at 89.6% of the 61,296 homes and businesses the FCC counts in Norfolk, and wired broadband of at least 100/20 Mbps at 98.6%. 85.0% of locations have a choice of two or more wired providers at that speed; at 13.6% there is only one.1
FCC National Broadband Map, availability as of June 30, 2026 (data revised November 10, 2026), as reported by providers.
Norfolk in Virginia
Norfolk was rewired in four years. In June 2022 fiber reached 2.2% of its homes and businesses and Cox was the only fast wired provider at 97.9%2 of them; by June 2026 Metronet reported fiber at 88.7%, and 85.0%1 of locations could choose between at least two wired providers at 100/20 Mbps.
Two wires at almost every address
Norfolk has 61,296 homes and businesses on the FCC's location list for June 30, 2026 (file revision of November 10, 2026), counted within the city's boundary as drawn for the 2020 Census. Two companies report wired 100/20 Mbps service at most of them. Cox reaches 94.3%, over cable at most addresses and over fiber at 10.4%, with downloads advertised up to 2 Gbps. Metronet reports fiber at 88.7%, advertised up to 5 Gbps1. The other large names are wireless carriers: T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon.
| Cox | Fiber Cable | 94.3% | 94.3% | 2 Gbps | 9.4% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metronet | Fiber | 88.7% | 88.7% | 5 Gbps | 4.2% |
| T-Mobile | Licensed wireless | 85.3% | 14.4% | 100 Mbps | – |
| Verizon | Fiber Licensed wireless | 63.1% | 23.2% | 2.3 Gbps | 0.0% |
| AT&T | Licensed wireless | 60.1% | 5.5% | 100 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 (HughesNet, Viasat, Starlink) report service at nearly every location and are left out of the table.
Each percentage means a provider told the FCC it serves those locations now or could install service within ten business days. Anyone can challenge a filing on the FCC National Broadband Map, which also shows what is filed for a single home. No prices are part of these filings.
A fiber network built from nothing since 2022
At the first national map, as of June 30, 2022, fiber reached 2.2%2 of Norfolk's locations. In June 2026 it reaches 89.6%, above Virginia's 70.3% and the national 62.6%. Measured against all 343 US cities with 100,000 people or more, that gain of 87.5 percentage points is the 6th highest. Nearly all of the new fiber is Metronet's: the company reported no Norfolk locations in 2022 and 54,3941 in 2026. Most of the build predates the newest release: by December 2025 the citywide fiber share stood at 89.3%3.
Norfolk is also, in the FCC data, Metronet's entire presence in the state. The company reports 54,395 locations across Virginia, 1.9%1 of the state's total, and all but one of them are inside the city.
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 | 2.2% | 89.3% | 89.6% | 87.5 pts |
| One wired choice | 97.9% | 14.0% | 13.6% | −84.3 pts |
| Two wired choices | 1.7% | 83.0% | 82.3% | 80.6 pts |
| DSL available | 83.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | −83.0 pts |
Cox stopped being the only choice
Wired 100/20 Mbps service was already near-universal in 2022, and it still is, at 98.6% of locations. What changed is how many companies offer it. In June 2022 a single wired provider, nearly always Cox, offered that speed at 97.9%2 of locations. In June 2026 the single-provider share is 13.6%; statewide it is 33.0%. Locations with a choice of two or more fast wired providers make up 85.0% of the city, and the gain of 83.3 percentage points since 2022 puts Norfolk 5th highest1 among large cities.
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
| Large city | Two or more wired choices: change since June 30, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Norfolk, Virginia | 83.3 pts |
| Alexandria, Virginia | 77.8 pts |
| Suffolk, Virginia | 66.5 pts |
| Chesapeake, Virginia | 23.4 pts |
| United States | 18.9 pts |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | 15.3 pts |
| Hampton, Virginia | 1.3 pts |
| Richmond, Virginia | 0.5 pts |
| Newport News, Virginia | −2.3 pts |
The new choice is mostly a choice between two. A pair of wired 100/20 providers, and no third, is what 82.3% of locations have (37th highest among large cities); a third appears at just 2.6%. Cox is still alone at 9.4% of locations, Metronet at 4.2%. A small remainder has neither: 887 locations lack any wired 100/20 provider, and 521 have satellite alone.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | 1.5% | 13.6% | 82.3% | 2.6% |
| Virginia | 8.1% | 33.0% | 55.8% | 3.2% |
| United States | 7.8% | 36.6% | 44.6% | 11.1% |
Where fiber meets fiber
Metronet is not the only fiber in the city. Cox reports fiber at 10.4% of locations and Verizon at 3.1%, and 3 companies report fiber somewhere in Norfolk. Overlapping fiber, where a home can pick between two fiber companies, covers 7,729 locations (12.6%1); in 2022 it covered none. At most addresses the pairing is still fiber against cable rather than fiber against fiber.
Uploads caught up with downloads
A 1 Gbps download was advertised at 99.5% of locations in June 2022, so the city's top download speed was never the gap. Uploads were. Gigabit service in the FCC's definition means 1,000 Mbps down with uploads of 100 Mbps or more, and in 2022 only 0.4%2 of locations had it. In 2026, 98.0% do, and the gain of 97.6 percentage points places Norfolk 3rd highest1 among large cities.
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.
Show the numbers
| Area | Under 25 Mbps or none | 25–99 | 100–249 | 250–499 | 500–939 | 940–1,999 | 2,000 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 98.5% |
| Virginia | 4.5% | 2.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 35.3% | 56.2% |
| United States | 2.4% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 31.0% | 61.0% |
Symmetrical wired service, 100 Mbps or more each way, went from 2.2% to 98.0% of locations. That is higher than the fiber share, so some of Cox's cable filings also meet the 100/100 line. The fastest advertised download is 2 Gbps or more at 98.5%1 of locations, up from 0.4%2. All of these are maximum speeds that providers advertise, not measurements.
Copper gone, wireless added
DSL over telephone lines was reported at 83.0%2 of Norfolk's locations in June 2022. In June 2026 it is reported at 0 locations, 0.0% and tied for the lowest1 among large cities. The FCC data record which filings exist, not why one ends.
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 | Norfolk | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber | 89.6% | 70.3% |
| Cable | 83.9% | 78.0% |
| DSL (copper) | 0.0% | 8.7% |
| Licensed fixed wireless (incl. 5G home) | 96.7% | 79.7% |
| Unlicensed fixed wireless | 0.0% | 4.0% |
Fixed wireless took a different path. AT&T had no Norfolk filings in 2022; it now lists 36,830 locations for licensed fixed wireless, offers 100/20 Mbps at 5.5% of the city and advertises no more than 100 Mbps. T-Mobile's home internet covers 85.3% of locations but reaches 100/20 at just 14.4%; Verizon, combining its fiber and wireless filings, reaches 100/20 at 23.2%1. A tower sector's capacity is split among everyone using it, which is why carriers cap sign-ups address by address; a reported location is not a guaranteed connection.
Norfolk and its neighbors
The Hampton Roads cities arrived at high fiber coverage by different routes. In 2022, fiber already covered 92.3% of Newport News and 68.2% of Virginia Beach; Norfolk, at 2.2%, started near the bottom with Suffolk (0.1%2). The table shows where each stands on the June 2026 release and how far it moved.
| Area | Fiber available | Fiber available: change since June 30, 2022 | Two or more wired choices | Gigabit (1,000/100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk, Virginia | 89.6% | 87.5 pts | 85.0% | 98.0% |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | 84.8% | 16.5 pts | 83.4% | 71.8% |
| Chesapeake, Virginia | 88.2% | 26.3 pts | 84.1% | 67.5% |
| Newport News, Virginia | 92.9% | 0.6 pts | 89.8% | 77.2% |
| Hampton, Virginia | 70.8% | 3.7 pts | 67.8% | 73.2% |
| Suffolk, Virginia | 74.9% | 74.8 pts | 66.8% | 69.7% |
| Virginia | 70.3% | 22.0 pts | 58.9% | 60.1% |
| United States | 62.6% | 25.4 pts | 55.6% | 72.3% |
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.
The Virginia page maps every county and independent city in the state, including the BEAD plan for its unserved locations.
Subscriptions since 2019
Availability is one measure; what households pay for is another. In 2025, according to Census Bureau survey estimates, 6.8% of Norfolk households had no internet subscription of any kind (±1.6 percentage points). A wired plan (cable, fiber or DSL) was reported by 76.0% (margin of error ±3.1 percentage points), and a mobile data plan with nothing else by 13.8%4. In the 2019 survey the share without a subscription was 17.0% (±2.1 percentage points5), a difference well outside both margins. Survey households and FCC locations are different units collected over different periods, so one cannot be subtracted from the other.
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) | 98.6% | |
| Households subscribing to cable, fiber or DSL (Census) | 76.0% | ±3.1 |
| Households relying only on a cellular data plan | 13.8% | ±2.1 |
| Households with no internet subscription | 6.8% | ±1.6 |
Norfolk internet questions
What internet providers are available in Norfolk, Virginia?
Two wired networks reach most of the city as of June 30, 2026: Cox at 94.3% of locations, mostly cable, and Metronet fiber at 88.7%. T-Mobile (85.3%), AT&T (60.1%) and Verizon (63.1%) report fixed wireless home internet, and Verizon also reports fiber at 3.1%1. HughesNet, Viasat and Starlink report satellite service almost everywhere.
Is Metronet available in Norfolk?
Metronet reports fiber at 54,394 of Norfolk's 61,296 homes and businesses, 88.7%, with downloads advertised up to 5 Gbps1. It reported no service in the city in June 2022.
How many internet providers are there in Norfolk?
3 wired providers report service somewhere in Norfolk, up from 22 in June 2022; the third, Verizon, reports fiber at only 3.1% of locations. At a typical address the choice is Cox or Metronet: exactly two wired providers offer 100/20 Mbps at 82.3% of locations, and three or more at 2.6%1.
Is 5G home internet available in Norfolk?
Licensed fixed wireless, which includes 5G home internet, is reported at 96.7% of locations by T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. At 100/20 Mbps or faster it is reported at 34.0%1. Each carrier decides whether a given address can sign up.
Checking one address in Norfolk
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 Virginia
The state picture, county by county: internet in Virginia. Other large cities in the state: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Richmond, Newport News, Alexandria, Hampton and Suffolk. Compare Norfolk 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.