Rebecca Palmer
Senior Staff Writer
Rebecca Palmer has been writing about tech and consumer finance since 2010. Her work has been featured in the Deseret News, Idaho Business Review, TopTenReviews.com, and more. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and lives in Salt Lake City with her exceptionally delightful pup, Nymeria.
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Rebecca Palmer4/10/23
YouTube TV is a refreshing option for cable or satellite TV cord cutters. It feels just like a traditional TV service, but without the hidden fees or equipment rental. Shows and games are easy to find and record, simultaneous streams are a breeze, and the interface felt familiar and intuitive on every device we tested.
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Rebecca Palmer2/9/23
Parents have dozens of video streaming services to choose from, and it seems like new options crop up every day. But Netflix was one of the first, and it’s still the most popular by subscriber count. (1) Netflix is also our editor’s choice for a streaming service for kids and families because of its library with something for everyone, trusted parental controls, and freedom from ads on almost every plan.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Almost all homes in the Gastonia area can get access to high speed internet, and the top providers in the region are
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
The majority of High Point residents have access to fiber internet from the small regional provider
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Rebecca Palmer3/29/23
As more and more internet providers start offering multi-gig or hyper-gig speeds (anything faster than 1 Gbps), the Switchful team got curious about whether these speeds are helpful for residential users.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
When you’re shopping for home internet in Lawrence, there’s a good chance you can choose a fiber-to-the-home connection from
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If you can get fiber internet from Optimum , you'll get great all-around service with fast speeds and reasonable pricing. If you can get only cable internet, you'll get slower max speeds and may see different pricing. Both options are decent, but watch out for third-year price hikes and potential customer service hassles.
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Our expert reviewers scored each of the top TV providers in the US on more than 30 carefully defined metrics, charting everything from channel availability to DVR capability, parental controls, picture quality, and much more. Then, we watched a whole lot of live TV on each service (where possible) and tried out the latest and greatest features from each provider. We rounded out our research by reading real customer reviews from around the internet. With all the data in,
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
You’re lucky enough to get a choice of internet providers in Brookfield, with offerings from a fiber internet provider, a cable provider, and multiple fixed wireless and satellite providers. Cable internet from
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
When you need to get connected in Huntersville, North Carolina, you have options for home internet. Most homes have access to a variety of internet service providers (ISPs), including very fast fiber-optic internet from
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Rebecca Palmer5/9/23
The three best internet providers in Racine are
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Rebecca Palmer2/9/23
Internet that won’t connect can be very frustrating. The problem could be as big as a widespread internet outage or as small as a loose cable connection.
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Xfinity is a fantastic provider overall. It offers fast speeds, reliable service, and reasonable prices. Some plans still require contracts, and others still have data limits. Watch out for Xfinity’s hidden fees and spotty customer service record, but it may not be as bad as it once was.
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Rebecca Palmer2/2/23
Our team of speed hounds analyzed max internet speeds from providers in the US, and we found the fastest (and most reliably fast) options out there. These internet plans can handle dozens of simultaneous streams, VR chat, live gaming, and even massive video conference calls.
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Dave Schafer, Rebecca Palmer2/10/23
AT&T offers one of the best values in internet service—fast fiber internet speeds at reasonable prices, plus some of the best support in the business and rock-solid reliability. With no contracts, no data caps, and no monthly equipment fee, AT&T is
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
If you live in Wauwatosa, you have a choice of internet providers (and internet connection types) for home internet. If you can get
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
The Kansas City metro area is renowned for fantastic home internet options. Within Kansas City, almost all addresses have access to either fiber internet or cable internet, both offering extraordinarily fast internet speeds at competitive prices.
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HughesNet has the cheapest broadband satellite internet plans, with speeds up to 25 Mbps and data limits up to 100 GB. You'll pay a lot of money for not a lot of speed and not much data, but it's a workable way to connect for folks in rural areas. Where available, consider other connection types or satellite internet providers if you don’t want to be held back.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
If you’re shopping for home internet in West Allis, Wisconsin, you’re in luck! According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), (1) every household in the area has the option to buy cable internet from Spectrum. Many homes can also get fiber internet from AT&T, which offers speeds that are much faster than what cable internet can handle. If you want to save money and don’t need lightning-fast speeds, T-Mobile fixed wireless is a great option.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Home internet is a necessity if you’re working or studying from home, or even if you just want to stream Netflix or Prime Video in your off hours. Lucky for you, most homes in New Berlin, Wisconsin, have a choice of internet providers. If you can get fiber internet,
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Rebecca Palmer4/10/23
The Fubo live streaming service is a solid option for sports enthusiasts. In our tests, we loved the international soccer (football) coverage. We also liked the interface and overall sports lineup, but were a little disappointed to miss out on TNT and CNN. We were also bummed by hidden regional sports fees, but highly recommend the seven-day trial.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
You have multiple options for home internet in Waukesha—nearly as good as what you’ll find in Milwaukee proper—with a decent choice of internet types and internet providers. Our expert team of reviewers recommends
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Local internet service providers (ISPs) sometimes lack a certain something. They might be expensive or fail to reach the speeds of national providers. Omni Fiber wants to buck that trend with speedy internet at an affordable price and the promise of local customer service, but can it deliver? Spoiler alert—yes, it seems it can.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
High-speed internet is available to almost all of Indian Trail and surrounding areas, and there’s a good chance you can choose between fiber internet from
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Rebecca Palmer4/10/23
Spectrum TV is good if you’re bundling and on a budget, and we love the $500 contract buyouts. Better yet, Spectrum doesn’t force you into a contract, so you can give the cable TV service a try with relatively little risk. We don’t love the
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Fast internet is readily available in Milwaukee, and our nationally top-ranked provider
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
If you live in the Burlington area, you can get fast home internet from a choice of providers.
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Vidgo costs nearly as much as the top streaming services we reviewed, but it’s harder to use and missing a lot of top channels. It’s the best way to watch One America News plus original programming from Bill O’Reilly, though, and one of the best ways to catch college sports.
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Rebecca Palmer2/9/23
The best streaming service for news junkies is DIRECTV STREAM because it offers all your local channels, all the top cable news channels, and an optional 10-digit remote. Each of our top options offer all the local and national news you expect, plus a few nice extras and freedom from contracts and installation headaches.
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Rebecca Palmer4/10/23
DIRECTV is our top choice for regional sports networks and offers channels for every appetite, but watch out for second-rate DVR tech and hidden fees.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Our top choice for home internet in Olathe is
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Households in Mooresville usually have options when choosing an internet service provider (ISP). Fast fiber internet from
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
The city of Salisbury was an early leader in providing fast home internet to its residents, and there’s still plenty of competition among internet service providers (ISPs) in the area. If you want the fastest possible speeds, there’s a good chance you can get
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Shawnee has two good fiber internet providers, two good cable internet providers, and a handful of fixed mobile or 5G home internet options. Our top pick in the area (and nationwide) is
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Home internet services throughout most of Kansas City, Kansas, are fast, reliable, and affordable. Our top recommendation in the area is
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Rebecca Palmer4/10/23
DISH offers a sweet three-year price guarantee and one of the best DVRs available, but picture quality is unreliable, and you’ll miss out on regional sports networks.
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Rebecca Palmer, Cara Haynes2/10/23
Fiber is faster and more reliable than cable, but cable is much more available and usually cheaper than fiber. Fiber is the clear winner when it comes to speed and performance, but its limited availability makes it off limits for most folks. That said, fiber and cable are the two best internet types out there, so really you’ll be happy with either—as long as you get
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Kinetic by Windstream aims to bring better internet to rural and remote areas. While it offers one of the best values in internet service anywhere, it’s hampered by a mediocre customer experience.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Achieving high download speeds and a reliable internet connection is easy in Lee’s Summit, with two incredible fiber options and a cable option that covers over 80% of the area. (1)
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Rebecca Palmer3/30/23
Internet providers throughout the US are selling plans with speeds faster than 1 Gbps—also known as multi-gig or hyper-gig internet. Multi-gig internet is theoretically fast enough for dozens of simultaneous video streams or hundreds of video conference calls.
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Rebecca Palmer3/29/23
Even if you’re paying for speeds of 1 Gbps or faster for home internet, you probably won’t see those speeds on your devices. Just like that old TV game show from 20 years ago, it’s all about the weakest link.
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Rebecca Palmer, Dave Schafer4/10/23
Optimum offers exceptional value. You get tons of channels, a solid DVR, and a good selection of sports and premium channels for a very reasonable price. Despite some additional fees, Optimum is an excellent choice.
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Rebecca Palmer, Dave Schafer4/10/23
Xfinity TV offers a lot of features and strong channel prices, as well as powerful internet to bundle up with. High fees hamper the experience, but Xfinity remains one of the cheapest cable TV options on the market—and it’s also one of the most widely available.
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Starlink uses new low-orbit technology to deliver satellite internet to customers around the globe. The company got its start offering faster speeds and much lower latency than other satellite providers, but now offers download speeds comparable to those offered by other satellite providers. Starlink still offers decently low latency for satellite, but it can’t compete against fiber or cable internet providers.
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To determine the best cheap cable TV providers, we considered a few factors. Cost of service was important, but we also looked at the number of channels you get for that cost, availability, fees, quality of bundling options, and overall quality of service offered.
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Rebecca Palmer4/10/23
The DIRECTV STREAM experience is very similar to traditional TV, but we love that it requires no contracts or equipment rentals. Our tests surfaced issues with audio, screen size, and casting on mobile and browsers, but we liked channel surfing and catching games on bigger screens.
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The story of Frontier internet is one of two services: a slow and expensive DSL network and a fast and affordable fiber network. Which one you get makes all the difference.
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CenturyLink offers excellent fiber internet, but it’s available only in limited markets. If you can't get fiber, you may be able to get a DSL connection but you'll pay nearly as much.
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Our choice for the best satellite internet provider is Viasat. It’s one of only two satellite internet providers that offers service nearly everywhere in the US. And it’s the better choice because it offers plans with higher speeds and more high-speed data. If you're looking for more providers that serve remote areas, check out our
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Rebecca Palmer5/9/23
Greensboro residents are lucky to have a choice of three good internet providers that serve nearly every address in the city.
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Viasat (formerly also Exede internet) can’t keep up with cable or fiber, but it’s a relatively fast and widely available choice for satellite internet. Viasat offers more speed and data than HughesNet, but can't match Starlink for upload speed and latency.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Choosing a great home internet provider starts with finding out what’s available for you. There can be some variation based on your specific address, but the best providers are
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Our expert team’s pick for the best internet provider in Independence is
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In 2023, the regular 18-week NFL season kicks off September 7. But things kick off with the draft at the end of April, and the pre-season starts August 3.
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Our pick for the best DSL provider is Kinetic by Windstream. It offers broadband speed across more of its DSL service area than any of our other top choices. Kinetic by Windstream also has low pricing and unlimited data.
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Rebecca Palmer2/9/23
The most important factor in how much internet speed you need at home is how many devices are connecting at once. Most apps don’t use very much
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Residents of Lenexa are incredibly lucky when it comes to internet access. Many homes can choose between
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Rebecca Palmer5/9/23
Good home internet is easy to get in Overland Park, with two fantastic fiber internet providers and a very solid cable internet option. We steer people toward
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Rebecca Palmer4/10/23
Hulu + Live TV has something for everyone to watch, including one of the best on-demand libraries we reviewed. It’s hard to use on the go, though, and its interface was a bit confusing in our tests. You get great original content, but you can find lower prices and a more conventional viewing experience elsewhere.
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Making the jump from cable to streaming TV is a choice a lot of people are making these days: every major cable TV provider reported more customers cutting the cord than ever before. (1)
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Rebecca Palmer, Dave Schafer4/10/23
Verizon Fios TV offers an excellent value TV service. The customizable Your Fios plan is particularly attractive, but all tiers offer a lot of TV for the money. Add in outstanding internet, and it’s hard to go wrong with Verizon.
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Rebecca Palmer2/9/23
Gamers need decent speeds, no questions about it. But even more important, they need fast ping and rock solid reliability. Our first internet service provider (ISP) pick for gaming is
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Rebecca Palmer4/11/23
Philo is a great value if you love feel-good movies, reality TV, and shows about home and family, but you’ll miss out on sports, news, and local channels. We put it to the test on browsers, phones, and streaming sticks, and we think it’s a fair contender for the softer side of live TV.
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Rebecca Palmer1/20/23
Having internet access is more important than ever, and there are many ways to get online for free or cheap. Between a new federal initiative, programs from internet providers themselves, and widespread mobile connectivity, you have a lot of options.
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Home internet customers in Winston-Salem can choose between fiber internet, cable internet, or fixed wireless 5G internet, with different speeds and prices available for each. Our top choice throughout most of the Piedmont Triad is AT&T because its speeds are fast and reliable, and the pricing is straightforward. If you want to spend less and don’t have a busy, connected household, a budget plan from Spectrum might be the right fit.
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Spectrum offers speedy, reasonably priced cable internet service, and a strong budget plan. We wish there were fewer fees attached, though.
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Rebecca Palmer, Dave Schafer5/10/23
Verizon Fios offers fast, reliable fiber internet, along with one of the best overall customer experiences in the business. Verizon Fios is highly recommended, and it's
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Rebecca Palmer5/8/23
Competition for your internet dollar is fierce in Concord, North Carolina.
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Our team of experts compared the biggest providers out there, and the clear winner for home internet in 2023 is AT&T. We love its screaming-fast upload and download speeds, its free national hotspot network, and its excellent customer service.
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Rebecca Palmer, Dave Schafer4/10/23
Mediacom offers a decent value in TV, but it’s far from perfect. First, you must bundle it with internet—standalone TV isn’t available. A thin sports selection and lots of fees also hurt. That said, Mediacom internet isn’t bad, so if you’re going with that, it probably makes sense to go with Mediacom TV, too.