There’s been a lot of talk about internet speed lately. From various company taglines — “Don’t take slow for an answer” — to the latest news about Japan’s internet data transmission record, it’s all about the speed. This week, Ookla released its Speedtest Connectivity Report for the first six months of 2025, and AT&T Fiber topped the list as the country’s fastest fixed internet service provider. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
What does that mean? Does it tell us that AT&T offers the fastest internet plan available to customers nationwide? No. This report doesn’t look at an ISP’s top speed (the fastest plan the company offers), but instead considers the average internet speed that subscribers experience across all levels of the provider’s plans. Many variables exist (including the internet connection type), so when you sign up for internet service, you shouldn’t assume AT&T will always be your fastest option.
That said, Ookla’s report shows AT&T Fiber at the top of its charts, registering a median download speed of just over 363 megabits per second in tests collected by Ookla from January through June 2025. It’s the third Ookla speedtest report in a row (going back to the first half of 2024) in which AT&T Fiber has claimed the pole position.
Overall, AT&T Fiber led Ookla’s report with a 78.33 Speed Score, a unique metric the company uses to consider a provider’s download and upload speeds and latency. Frontier Fiber, which is in the process of being purchased by Verizon, came close to nudging AT&T out of first place, recording a median download speed of 359Mbps and notching a Speed Score of 78.30. Third place was held by Verizon Fios, the company’s own fiber internet service, while the cable internet providers Cox, Xfinity and Spectrum rounded out the rest of Ookla’s list.
Ookla is an internet speed-test company that collects data via its Speedtest.net tool, which gathers insights from millions of daily customer uses. CNET frequently uses those findings to help inform our internet service provider reviews, as well as our city and state geo pages.
Why do we care about speed tests?
In CNET’s ISP reviews, we stress that speed test data can be a helpful diagnostic tool — a snapshot of your internet connection performance at any given moment. For example, it can help you pinpoint when and where your connection may be laggy. But it’s not an exact science. Many things can affect a speed test, including whether or not you’re using Wi-Fi or a hardwired Ethernet connection, the time of day you’re running the test and so on.
To be included in Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity Report, an ISP must appear in 3% or more of the data collected during the six-month window. That means some fiber-optic internet providers across the country might perform especially well, but if they’re more regional and unable to hit that 3% minimum share of the national market, they won’t appear in the top. Google Fiber is a good example. It was the fastest provider in nine of the country’s top 100 cities (second only to AT&T Fiber), but it didn’t reach enough households to meet Ookla’s mark for national inclusion.
Yes, nabbing the top spot is certainly something a company like AT&T can brag about. Last year, after the first of its three wins in a row, CEO John Stankey said in a press release, “The Ookla results confirm what we already knew in the market: the fiber experience wins by a mile. Pair our award-winning fiber with the largest wireless network in North America, and AT&T is the clear choice to connect customers anytime, anywhere.”
But just because a company wins kudos as the fastest ISP in the country — or a particular state or city — doesn’t automatically make it the best internet provider for you. Though AT&T Fiber places highly in CNET’s overall ISP rankings (and is tied with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet for the highest score among all internet providers in the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index report), it might not be available in your area. There may also be a smaller or more regional provider that might make more sense for you. Speed test results can be important factors when choosing a broadband provider, but they shouldn’t be your only consideration.
