Fiber internet service is the gold standard of residential internet connections.

Considering that a fiber internet connection can be easily ten times as fast as a standard cable connection, it is no surprise that fiber optics are becoming more popular.

The latest Fiber to the Home (FTTH) deployments by Verizon Fios and AT&T Fiber are capable of 4K video conferencing, ultra-fast file uploads, and more.

The biggest benefit of fiber is that it can offer much faster speeds over much longer distances than traditional copper-based technologies like DSL and cable.

While fiber is the fastest home internet option by far, availability is still scattered. Due to the high cost of installing fiber service directly to homes, even major cities are still predominantly served by cable. Chicago, for example, only has 21% fiber availability as of 2020. Dallas has about 61% — and that's actually high availability compared to other major metros in the US.

For more details about the number of fiber optic providers and what communities they serve, we've compiled a full list of a every provider offering fiber optic internet service in the United States. We've also developed a ranking of cities with the most FTTH infrastructure.

Should You Get Fiber Optic Internet? If you're in a fiber-rich city like Atlanta (58%) or Denver (46%), fiber will generally provide the fastest speeds at a price point comparable to high-end cable service in fiber-poor areas. Fiber internet is particularly useful for large homes with multiple users, and for work-from-home setups.

Benefits of Fiber Optic Broadband Transfer lots of data quickly. Because fiber broadband is the fastest internet available, you can transfer large amounts of data quickly and seamlessly. This means that whether you are watching a movie on Netflix or video chatting with family in Asia or Europe your connection will be seamless and quick (provided they are on fiber too). Next Generation Technology Because fiber-optics uses light instead of electricity to transmit data, the frequencies that are used are much higher and the data capacity is much greater. The fiber-optic cable itself is made from glass or plastic which is not susceptible to electromagnetic interference like metal cables. This allows data to flow over great distances without degrading. Interference and energy loss is the limiting factor for all types of communication transmissions and fiber optics handles these factors much better than other modes of transmission. In the future, more and more of our world will be connected via fiber optics as we outgrow older copper-based infrastructures. Cities like Brooklyn New York and Kansas City have already moved nearly all homes onto fiber networks. Even though Google Fiber has struggled to maintain profits and withdrawn from some cities in recent years, incumbent providers like AT&T and Verizon are still expanding fiber footprints in markets like Richmond and San Diego.