Summary Fiber Access Infrastructure All providers Low-income internet
San Francisco is the cradle of technology, but that technology doesn’t always reach everyone in the Bay Area. As recently as 2018, 1 in 8 San Francisco residents didn’t have home internet, and broadband access can be spotty in low-income areas — not to mention as a lifeline for the 8,000+ homeless population.
AT&T and Comcast Xfinity are the primary residential internet service options in San Francisco. Sonic provides a fiber service alternative, as well as resold service over AT&T lines. AT&T also has been building out fiber. Between Sonic and AT&T, fiber to the home internet is available to more than half of blocks within city limits.
However, due to issues with MDU (Multi-Dweller Unit) access and provider focus on higher-income areas, many buildings are — de facto — limited to 1–2 wired broadband providers. This issue is compounded by the wealth disparity in San Francisco, such that even when available, many households cannot afford dedicated internet service and opt for mobile-only.
Summary of internet access in San Francisco
We’ve found a total of 31 internet providers in San Francisco: 11 residential providers and 20 business-only providers.
However, only 11 of those companies offer service to more than 1% of the San Francisco population. 20 local companies offer niche business service to small coverage areas, mostly enterprise services in business districts.
Small business internet is commonly available from the same companies offering residential internet in San Francisco. 10 of the residential providers locally offer SMB (Small-Medium Business) services at this time.
Wired internet network coverage in San Francisco
Coverage by network type in San Francisco is as follows:
Local internet service options in San Francisco
AT&T and Xfinity are the main options for internet in San Francisco. Xfinity deals are the affordable option locally, while AT&T is focusing more on premium fiber to the home network builds in San Francisco and the Bay Area generally.
However, there are alternatives, depending on your location within the city.
Most internet alternatives to Comcast in San Francisco are resellers, meaning that the resell service over AT&T lines. This is the result of regulation that requires AT&T to share their lines with other providers on a least basis — Xfinity’s coaxial lines are not subject to this requirement.
As a result, if you want AT&T service without the AT&T customer service experience, you can choose from:
- Sonic: local providers who also offers owned and operated fiber service in some parts of San Francisco. Their customer service is extremely pleasant relative to AT&T.
- Raw Bandwidth Communications: another local service providers offering a similar deal, with a special focus on customers who need home business services like static IP addresses.
- Earthlink: this provider recently re-launched as an AT&T reseller in the Bay Area. What they are selling now is true DSL or IPBB service, not dialup. However, they are servicing the whole country over AT&T/CenturyLink lines. Therefore, the quality of service is likely to be lower than the local resellers.
Fixed 5G internet options in San Francisco
Fixed 5G has recently become a third option for internet in San Francisco, with startups like Common (ex-Square employees). Mobile service mainstays Verizon and T-Mobile are the major players in fixed home 5G — although service is typically not as reliable as wired cable or fiber internet.
Fixed wireless internet options in San Francisco:
| Provider brand name | Network | FW coverage | Maximum download | Maximum upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etheric Networks, Inc. | Fixed Wireless | 100% | 1000 Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
| Webpass, Inc. | Fixed Wireless | 9% | 1000 Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
2 Fixed Wireless Residential internet providers in San Francisco with at least 1% local coverage with their fixed wireless network. These providers may have other network types.
Fixed Wireless internet is mostly used for business service in San Francisco. However, Webpass (owned by Google) offers well-regarded residential service for MDUs.
Fiber internet options in San Francisco
| Provider brand name | Network | Fiber coverage | Maximum download | Maximum upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T California | Fiber | 36% | 1000 Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
| Webpass, Inc. | Fiber | 2% | 1000 Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
2 Fiber internet providers in San Francisco with at least 1% local coverage with their fiber network area. These providers may have other network types.
Sonic and AT&T provide FTTH (Fiber to the Home) service to more than half of San Francisco city blocks. As shown in the table above, each provider offers service to around a third of the area. Where available, fiber is the best internet option for most homes, as it offers low costs equivalent to cable/DSL service, and high download/upload speeds with unlimited data.
Infrastructure challenges to broadband internet access in San Francisco
San Francisco’s primary issue with internet access is the Digital Divide between high-income and low-income households. While the vast majority of homes in San Francisco have “access” to some form of internet service, the cost of that service is often prohibitive, particularly for robust service above 100 Mbps.
City studies and surveys have consistently found that while close to 98% of high-income households in San Francisco have broadband service access, 25% of low-income households do not have access. This situation has been improved somewhat in recent years thanks to the efforts of local startups like Common, but the issue has not been fully resolved. 1
Additionally, San Francisco has a large homeless population of close to 10,000 individuals, who for obvious reasons rely on mobile connectivity as a primarly lifeline for internet access. While numbers on how many homeless individuals have internet access are difficult to verify, nonprofits like ShelterTech and government programs like LifeLine are the largest means of connectivity. 2
All providers in San Francisco
| Provider brand name | Primary network | Primary network coverage | Maximum download | Maximum upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etheric Networks, Inc. | Fixed Wireless | 100% | 1000 Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
| AT&T California | DSL | 99% | 100 Mbps | 20 Mbps |
| Comcast | Cable | 99% | 987 Mbps | 35 Mbps |
| Raw Bandwidth Communications | DSL | 74% | 100 Mbps | 10 Mbps |
| Sonic | Fiber | 57% | 10000 Mbps | 10000 Mbps |
| Crown Castle Fiber | Fiber | 26% | 0 Mbps | 0 Mbps |
| Wave | Cable | 20% | 1000 Mbps | 20 Mbps |
| Webpass, Inc. | Fixed Wireless | 9% | 1000 Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
| PAETEC Communications, Inc. | DSL | 3% | 0 Mbps | 0 Mbps |
| Vast Networks | Fiber | 3% | 0 Mbps | 0 Mbps |
| TPx Communications | Fiber | 3% | 0 Mbps | 0 Mbps |
11 residential and business internet providers in San Francisco with at least 1% local coverage with their primary network type.
Low-coverage providers in San Francisco
| Provider brand name | Primary network | Primary network coverage | Maximum download | Maximum upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Communications | Fiber | 0.1888% | 1000 Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
| Exwire Inc. | Fixed Wireless | 0.0384% | 0 Mbps | 0 Mbps |
| Sidewinder Networks, LLC | Fixed Wireless | 0.0008% | 100 Mbps | 100 Mbps |
3 residential internet providers in San Francisco with less than 1% local coverage. These are unlikely to be serviceable.
Frequently Asked Questions
How bad is the digital divide in San Francisco?
1 in 8 San Francisco residents does not have broadband internet at home, according to polling conducted by the city in 2018. low-income residents are 25% more likely to forego internet at home in favor of a mobile connection or none at all, when compared with middle-class or wealthy San Francisco households.
Why is the internet so slow and expensive in San Francisco?
San Francisco has famously high costs, and that extends to internet service. Even when local internet providers like Sonic want to enter the market and compete, regulatory red tape around issues like microtrenching and pole access make it virtually impossible for private industry alternatives to turn a profit. As a result, startups have turned to fixed wireless 5G technologies to offer service alternative in areas that wired companies like Sonic have been unable to access.
Does San Francisco have fiber internet?
San Francisco has fiber internet in some neighborhoods. Sonic has the largest fiber footprint (39% within city limits), followed by AT&T (36%).
Are there any alternatives to Comcast in San Francisco?
Alternatives to Comcast internet in San Francisco include Sonic, Common, and Monkeybrains. See all Xfinity competitors in San Francisco here.
