Editorial Policy

How I Test

Minimum hands-on time before a write-up: 30 days. Minimum active use per week: 5 days. At least one logged observation per week during the testing period. These are self-imposed rules. They exist because ISP performance during a promotional period often looks nothing like the service in month 13, and shorter tests miss that gap entirely.

Speed readings go into the log by time of day: early morning before the neighborhood gets online, midday, and the 5-to-7 PM window when node congestion tends to show up. Each reading notes what was running in the background, because a speed test taken while a large backup is uploading tells a different story than one taken on an idle connection. Every write-up closes with a Real-Address Speed Log: testing window, time of day, and background load for each reading.

Install-day friction gets its own section in every review. Appointment windows, whether the tech arrived on time, equipment state when they left, and any follow-up support contacts during the first 30 days. A provider can have fast median speeds and a painful install experience, and both belong in the same write-up.

How I Make Money

Some links are affiliate links. When someone signs up through them, the ISP pays a referral fee. The reader's price does not change. The comparison list order does not shift based on commission rates. Coverage is limited to providers I have personally subscribed to or that someone I know is currently running on at their address.

Scope of These Reviews

One address, one log. ISP performance is hyper-local: two houses on the same block with the same provider can report meaningfully different delivered speeds depending on node load and distance from infrastructure. Validate anything important against the FCC Broadband Map and BroadbandNow before committing to a contract, and run your own speed tests across multiple days before the return window closes.

Corrections

Provider plan structures and pricing change frequently. If something in a published article is factually wrong or outdated, use the contact page. A correction request that includes a source gets addressed faster.