Best Internet Providers in Topeka, Kansas

Topeka residents have several solid internet options, but AT&T Fiber is a cut above the rest. Cox and T-Mobile Home Internet are OK, but only AT&T Fiber gives you upload speeds nearly as fast as your download speeds. That’s why it earned CNET’s pick as the best internet provider in the entire country. 

Our team considers speeds, pricing, customer service and overall value to recommend the best internet service in Topeka across a variety of categories. Our evaluation includes referencing a proprietary database built over years of reviewing internet services. We validate that against provider information by spot-checking local addresses for service availability. We also do a close read of providers’ terms and conditions and, when needed, will call ISPs to verify the details.

Our process has some limitations you should know about. Pricing and speed data are variable: Certain addresses may qualify for different service tiers, and monthly costs may vary, even within a city. The best way to identify your particular options is to plug your address into a provider’s website. 

Note that the prices, speeds and other information listed above and in the provider cards below may differ from what we found in our research. The cards display the full range of a provider’s pricing and speeds across the US, according to our database of plan information provided directly by ISPs. At the same time, the text is specific to what’s available in Topeka. The prices referenced within this article’s text come from our research and include applicable discounts for setting up automatic payments each month — a standard industry offering. Other discounts and promotions might also be available for things like committing to a contract or bundling with a cellphone plan. 

To learn more about how we review internet providers, visit our full methodology page.

Top internet providers in Topeka

Topeka residents have several good options for internet in the area. Fiber connections from AT&T are available to about half of the city, while nearly everyone has access to Cox’s cable internet. According to FCC data, an impressive 99.9% of residents have access to 250Mbps download and 25Mbps upload speeds — well above the 87% figure for the country as a whole. 

Overview of Topeka internet providers

Provider	Internet technology	Monthly price range	Speed range	Monthly equipment costs	Data cap	Contract	CNET review score
AT&T Fiber	Fiber	$55-$180	300-5,000Mbps	None	None	None	7.4
AT&T Internet	DSL	$55	768Kbps-100Mbps	None	1.5TB	None	7.4
Cox	Cable	$50-$110	100-1,000Mbps	$14 (optional)	1.25TB	Optional	6.2
T-Mobile Home Internet	Fixed wireless	$50 ($30 with eligible mobile plans)	72-245Mbps	None	None	None	7.4

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data

What other internet options are there in Topeka?

There are a few other internet providers with service in Topeka, but they all come with significant drawbacks:

• KwiKom: KwiKom offers fixed wireless internet to 19% of Topeka, but you’ll pay a lot for slower speeds. Plans start at $55 per month for download speeds of 5Mbps — AT&T Fiber offers 300Mbps for the same price — and go up to $105 for 50Mbps. We recommend only going with KwiKom if your other options are satellite or a slower DSL plan. 
• Mercury Broadband: Mercury Broadband also offers fixed wireless internet in Topeka, but its plans are much more appealing than KwiKom’s. You can get 30Mbps for $50 a month, 75Mbps for $65 or 150Mbps for $99. That can’t compete with wired connections like AT&T Fiber and Cox, but it’s still a significant step up from satellite or DSL.
• Satellite internet: It can be accessed almost anywhere in the country, but it’s slow and expensive. HughesNet and Viasat are the traditional satellite options; both come with two-year contracts, slow speeds, low data caps and high latency. Starlink is a newer satellite provider from SpaceX that delivers faster speeds and lower latency, but service is currently unavailable in Topeka. (Starlink says it “expects to expand service” to the area in 2023.)

Pricing info on Topeka home internet service

Internet prices in Topeka are on the high side. No plans are available for less than $50 per month (unless you bundle T-Mobile Home Internet with an eligible cellphone plan). On average, the starting price for internet in Topeka is $52 per month — higher than Tulsa ($49) but lower than Kansas City ($53) and Wichita ($54). 

Cheapest internet plans in Topeka

Provider	Starting price	Max download speed	Monthly equipment fee	Contract
Cox	$50	100Mbps	None	None
T-Mobile Home Internet	$50 ($30 with eligible mobile plans)	245Mbps	None	None
Mercury Broadband	$50	30Mbps	None	None
AT&T Fiber	$55	300Mbps	None	None
KwiKom	$55	5Mbps	None	None

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data

How fast is Topeka broadband?

According to FCC data, 45% of Topeka residents have access to gig speeds — over 1,000Mbps download — and 99.9% can get at least 250Mbps. That’s well above the national average of 33% for gig speeds and 87% for 250Mbps. In Topeka, AT&T Fiber and Cox offer gig speed plans, with AT&T going up to 5,000Mbps in some parts of the city.

Fastest internet plans in Topeka

Provider	Max download speed	Max upload speed	Starting price	Data cap	Contract
AT&T Fiber	5,000Mbps	5,000Mbps	$180	None	None
AT&T Fiber	2,000Mbps	2,000Mbps	$110	None	None
Cox 1 Gig	1,000Mbps	35Mbps	$100 ($110 with no contract)	1.25TB	Optional
AT&T Fiber	940Mbps	880Mbps	$80	None	None

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data

What’s the final word on internet providers in Topeka?

There’s a clear No. 1 when it comes to internet in Topeka: AT&T Fiber offers the best combination of fast speeds and affordable prices. If you can’t get AT&T Fiber at your address, Cox and T-Mobile Home Internet are both worthy backups, but they both come with some significant drawbacks. Cox has complicated pricing and data caps on most plans, while T-Mobile’s speeds are more unpredictable and could slow down during peak hours. 

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Topeka

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every internet service provider in a given city. So what’s our approach? For starters, we tap into a proprietary database of pricing, availability and speed information that draws from our own historical ISP data, partner data and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov. 

This guide leverages an in-house artificial intelligence tool called RAMP, which is trained on our own writing and uses our database to generate content about specific internet service providers that our writers can use in determining and presenting our picks for a given guide. Check CNET’s AI policy for more information about how our teams use (and don’t use) AI tools. 

Because our database is not exhaustive, we go to the FCC’s website to check the primary data for ourselves and make sure we’re considering every ISP that provides service in an area. Plans and prices also vary by location, so we input local addresses on provider websites to find the specific options available to residents. To evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service, we look at sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of the time of our pre-publication fact-check.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions: 

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds? 
2. Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying? 
3. Are customers happy with their service? 

While the answer to those questions is often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. To explore our process in more depth, you can visit our How we test ISPs page.

Topeka internet FAQs