A New Report Shows That Most People Are Happy With Fiber Internet, but Here's Why 5G Is Turning Heads

CNET

20-05-2025

The American Customer Satisfaction Index released its annual survey, based on over 27,000 customer interviews, revealing how customers really feel about internet service providers. For the first time, we're seeing certain non-fiber providers, such as T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, match in customer satisfaction with fiber leader AT&T. This trend probably has a lot to do with the quality of fiber internet deteriorating in the past year, despite most people being happier with this service. More on that in a bit.
The good news for ISPs -- things are trending up... slightly. Overall, ISPs scored 72 on the ACSI's 100-point scale -- a one-point increase from last year, four points over 2023 and the highest score since the ACSI started measuring ISPs in 2013. The 2025 report includes benchmarks for new industries such as Smartwatches. This provides an overarching idea of how internet providers compare with other industries -- and it doesn't look good. Overall, internet service providers still rank at the bottom of the index, just ahead of US Postal Service and subscription TV services, but below notably unpopular industries such as airlines, energy utilities, food delivery and social media companies.
Fiber customer satisfaction at a glance
Americans with fiber internet service are more satisfied than those using other connection types, based on the ACSI's latest data.
ASCI
If you dig into the numbers -- and we have, given that we incorporate them into our methodology for reviewing internet providers -- they tell a more nuanced story. The ACSI first broke out customer satisfaction into fiber and non-fiber categories in 2023, and that continues in 2025. Unsurprisingly, ISPs that offer fiber internet service, which is faster and more consistent than other types of internet connections, scored significantly higher, notching a 75 compared with 70 for non-fiber ISPs. Still, as of June 2024, only over 46% of households have access to fiber, according to the latest data from the Federal Communications Commission. Fiber has been steadily growing over the past couple of years. In a recent report published by the FCC (PDF), as of June 2024, over 73,000 locations in the US are equipped with fiber in the home. While national and regional telecoms continue to expand their reach, fiber's rollout has been more concentrated in larger cities and metro areas.
Back to the latest ACSI report: While AT&T Fiber went down by three points compared with the previous year, it did not break its three-year-long streak as the ISP with the highest customer satisfaction score, topping popular service Google Fiber and Verizon Fios, tied in second and third place with a score of 76. These findings align closely with our perspective: Verizon Fios, Google Fiber and AT&T top our overall list of fiber providers, though our recommendations vary by specific location. We have, after all, reviewed internet service providers in over 400 cities in the US.
CNET has found fiber to be more reliable, less susceptible to disruptions during peak usage times and, most importantly, extremely fast for uploading and downloading data. In fact, many national ISPs now boast multi-gigabit plans, and Ziply Fiber even has a 50-gigabit tier. I don't know that anyone needs service that fast, but it sure sounds cool.
Locating local internet providers
Though fiber plans tend to be more expensive than cable internet service, the price gap is closing. Cable internet service plans usually start around $25 to $30 per month; fiber plans typically start at approximately $50 but can be considerably more expensive. That noted, fiber generally delivers a lower cost per megabit than other connection types.
Is fiber internet still the gold standard of broadband?
Users complain that the quality of fiber internet has decreased in the past year.
ACSI
Here at CNET, we consider fiber to be the gold standard of broadband, offering you high-speed and consistent internet. Though the latest data from the ACSI suggests that the quality of fiber may not be as satisfactory to customers. Home internet customers are complaining about their service at a higher rate, as seen at 27% for fiber customers and 26% for non-fiber customers. The image above shows that the quality of fiber internet has slightly gone down in terms of reliability, ability to limit disruptions and network outages and performance during peak outages -- few of which are what fiber promises. Naturally, we can attribute these complaints to the rising costs of home internet. In 2024, customers reported paying an average of 63% more for their internet service. If fiber promises to distinguish itself as the gold standard of broadband, then ISPs have to lower costs and improve service quality.
Non-fiber customer satisfaction is trending up
For the first time ever, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet tied in score with AT&T Fiber.
ACSI
There's all this talk about fiber internet in the world of broadband, but customer satisfaction numbers among non-fiber providers are trending up. This has mostly to do with the increased popularity of 5G Home Internet. We're looking at you, T-Mobile. This 5G provider scored three points higher than it did in the past year, matching it with AT&T Fiber with a score of 78. Verizon 5G Home Internet is no slouch either, coming in second. While fiber providers generally lead with an overall better score, 5G satisfaction scores are not that far behind. The ACSI report highlights that non-fiber customers are more satisfied with the way their complaints are resolved in comparison to fiber providers. The 2024 JD Power survey also shows that customers are choosing 5G Home Internet due to its affordability and accessibility. The two companies' 5G fixed wireless services consistently rank among the best services in many of the hundreds of cities CNET has evaluated as well. While fiber connections are currently scarce throughout the country, 5G becomes an alternative for those without access to wired internet. The two companies' 5G fixed wireless services consistently rank among the best services in many of the hundreds of cities CNET has evaluated as well.
Regional provider Brightspeed finally appeared in this year's ACSI numbers. But it performed at the very bottom with the lowest ACSI score in 2025, a whopping 53 out of 100. It's hard to tell exactly why it scored so low, but the ACSI findings note that call center satisfaction was the lowest-rated area among all ISPs, so that certainly figured into the poor ranking.
Fiber vs. non-fiber internet: What do users think?
ACSI
The latest ACSI numbers corroborate that fiber internet providers generally lead in customer satisfaction. However, the image above suggests that the gap between non-fiber and fiber Wi-Fi experience has narrowed. This can be seen with the recent 5G home internet boom, with providers like T-Mobile and Verizon becoming an enticing option for customers. Even more so, the quality of service among non-fiber providers has improved in the past year.
Although improved from last year, ISPs' customer satisfaction numbers still live near the bottom of the latest ACSI rankings by industry.
ACSI
As always, the ACSI isn't the only benchmark for customer satisfaction. We'll continue to monitor how ISPs are doing with customers throughout the year, including Ookla's findings on the second half of 2024 and the J.D. Power annual survey. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)