A comprehensive review of Rise Broadband and their internet services throughout Illinois. Rise Broadband's plans, pricing and internet service coverage throughout Illinois.

What You Need to Know About Rise Broadband and Other Internet Providers in Illinois

There's nothing quite like living in the greatest state in the nation, home of the Cubs and the White Sox, beautiful cornfields, and some of the most amazing diversity in the nation.

Despite its location in the Midwest, Illinois is far from a remote country. Some of the best internet providers in Illinois keep its residents connected to places across the globe

No wonder Illinois is the 21st most connected state in the country. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about broadband providers in Illinois. 

What is Broadband Internet? 

To fully appreciate the diversity of internet options in Illinois, you first need to understand the diversity of the internet in general. 

Broadband Internet service is used more than any other type of service in the United States. People prefer it because of its high access speeds. You can find broadband in five different forms: DSL, fiber-optic, cable, fixed wireless, and satellite. 

If you're old enough to remember what dial-up internet is, know that it does not qualify as a broadband type of internet. Yes, dial-up is the cheapest form of internet, but you can barely function digitally with this type of connection. Thus, most people choose the broadband. 

How DSL Works

DSL stands for digital subscriber liner. The internet service provider will send signals through unused telephone wires in your home. So, this internet may look like it goes through a landline, but it does not. 

The speed for DSL will vary depending on how far you are from a switching station. 

How Cable Works

Cable internet comes from a local cable TV provider, who pumps the signal through the cable hookup at your home. The speed with cable internet varies based on how many people are using the service at the same time. Geography can play a part as well since the more people you have on a system, the slower speed you will experience. 

So at peak times of usage, you will experience slower internet. 

How Fiber Optic Internet Works

Fiber-optic is one of the fastest internet connections available. It's one of the newest types of internet, so the jury is still out on it being the best. It requires service technicians to lay down fiber-optic cables, and this takes a while. 

Typically, fiber-optic cable service price competes with DSL and cable, and it provides a faster connection. It's not widely available, however. 

Both cable and fiber optic are costly to install, and it requires some major labor. Technicians have to drill holes in your wall, and they need to do things to your yard and the street to bring the cable in. 

How Satellite Internet Works

The satellite internet falls under the label of broadband as well. It is one of the latest but also slowest broadband services available. 

With satellite, your wireless receiver in your home shoots a signal up to a satellite in the sky which then shoots a signal back to your provider. It's nice because you can truly get the internet anywhere in the United States, but it is much slower and less reliable than cable and fiber optics. So, for individuals in rural areas, it works well. 

Installation costs more for satellite as well. 

What Is Fixed Wireless Internet? 

Fixed wireless is one of the newest forms of internet. Rise Broadband internet is one of the main providers for fixed wireless. 

With fixed wireless, your receiver at home is sending a wireless signal. However, unlike satellite which shoots the signal up, fixed wireless like Rise Broadband internet sends the signal to another receiver within a line of sight a few miles away. 

This means the weather does not affect the wireless signal, and it moves faster than it would through a cable or fiber optic. 

Illinois Broadband Service

As mentioned before, Illinois is connected. Each county has anywhere from 11 to 33 different service providers, making Illinois a highly wired state. 

All total, there are 353 different internet providers in Illinois connected 727,000 people to the internet capable of 25 Mbps of download speed. 

Approximately 866,000 people have access to just one wired provider, which gives them no option to switch companies. And then another 334,000 people have no wired internet providers available. 

So wireless internet is the future of Illinois residents. 

Of those who have internet, approximately 94 percent have access broadband of 25 Mbps. Approximately 93 percent have access to broadband of 100 Mbps, and 22 percent have access to 1 gigabit of broadband.

Plus, Illinois has received some nice federal funding to help them with internet service. Illinois's Broadband Initiative has brought in over 6.5 million dollars of federal grants since 2010. This has resulted in increased speed for Illinois residents overall. Since 2011, more people have received access to a wired connection of at least 10 Mbps. 

Internet Providers in Illinois

Illinois thus has a variety of broadband internet providers. Though not all residents have the choice of providers, most do. They can pick from the following top providers: 

• Rise Broadband: the number one fixed-wireless provider in the state. 
• AT&T and RCN: the top two fiber internet providers in the state. 
• CenturyLink: the top DSL provider. 
• Viasat and HughesNet: the two top satellite internet providers
• Xfinity and Spectrum: the top two cable internet provider

Plus, Illinois internet providers offer optimal speed for residents. The fiber optic and cable plans offer speed of up to 1 Gbps. The DSL plans offer speeds of up to 300 Mbps, and the satellite providers offer speeds of up to 100 Mbps. 

Illinois residents thus have a myriad of internet options in Illinois. They do not have to look far to find the best internet deals of the day. 

Largest Competition in Illinois

The largest competition for the internet in Illinois lies among the cable providers of AT&T, Xfinity, WOW!, and RCN, but Rise Broadband is not far behind. 

Speeds for Major Providers in Illinois

Major providers are boasting of some hefty speeds as well. Xfinity from Comcast claims 98.5 Mbps, while AT&T internet is saying they can give up to 67 Mbps. Everywhere Wireless says they have 63.7 Mbps, Frontier Communications 9.0 Mbps, and Rise 7.3 Mbps. 

Slow Down to Speed Up

When you're looking for the best internet providers in Illinois, take a moment to slow down and look at your options. Your cost of the internet will vary by the type of internet you want and the speed that you need. 

For all of your internet search needs, take some time to learn about us. We'd love to help you with your search.