How is the Internet
Market in Kentucky?

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Kentucky state

About the Kentucky State

This is a southeastern state bounded by the Appalachian Mountains in the east and by the Ohio River in the north. The state is within the three major physiographic regions of the U.S., namely: the Appalachian Plateau, the Coastal Plain and the Interior Lowlands.

Officially called the Commonwealth of Kentucky, it is a state bordered by Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri. Frankfort is the capital city of Kentucky, located in the central part of the state, called the bluegrass region. Louisville and Lexington, the two largest cities of the state, are also in this same region and are home to more than 20% of the Kentucky population.

The term “bluegrass” refers to a species of grass that was found in Kentuckian pastures and lawns that used to be supported by the horse industry. The state is still famous for the historical past in horse racing. Other the activities that are also commonly related to the Kentuckian culture and economy are bourbon, moonshine, historic state park, automobile manufacturing, tobacco, music, college basketball, fried chicken.

Overall, the Kentuckian state is affluent mostly in the manufacturing industry and periodically counts with a good agricultural basis. Trade, mining, tourism, and other services also are important sectors to the economy there.

Most Popular Providers in KY

In the horse race’s famous state about 70 internet service providers are currently offering plans for home and mobile internet connections. Types of technologies vary, from DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), Fiber and Satellite other services.

AT&T, CenturyLink, Spectrum, HughesNet, Cox Communications, EarthLink, and MetroNet are some of the most popular providers in the Kentucky internet market. These are also the brands with the widest coverage rates in the overall territorial area of the state. The presence of big companies can be better distributed throughout the state, tough.

When you compare Kentucky with the rest of the American States and the federal district in terms of broadband accessibility, it is possible to see there is a digital divide there. The technological gap makes it impossible for 142 million residents to buy internet plans in their area, for example.

Other 561 million Kentuckians do not have access to more than one internet service provider available in their ZIP Code, diminishing their possibility to change services or companies if necessary. In terms of pricing, only 39.3% of people living in Kentucky can access internet plans costing $60 or less, which is considered an affordable service nowadays.

Now see a brief list of some of the internet carriers working in the State, considering popularity and highest coverage rates:

DSL AND FIBER INTERNET

99%%

COVERAGE

DSL INTERNET

98%%

COVERAGE

GEO SATELLITE & SATELLITE INTERNET

51%%

COVERAGE

CABLE INTERNET

76%%

COVERAGE

DSL AND FIBER INTERNET

84%%

COVERAGE

Internet Connection in KY

internet_providers_woman-in-globe
Kentucky is the 40th American State in the broadband access ranking, and a considerable large part of its territory (81.8%) is covered by a broadband service, which means, by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) definition, any internet connection with speeds of at least 25 Mbps for download and 3 Mbps for upload.

Overall, the networks in this state occupy an unfavorable place in the national ranking when it comes to the services that are currently being offered through the country. Private and public data research that analyze the quality and potential of internet technologies in each place usually will consider factors such as speeds, affordability, equal divide, services’ customer assistance and evaluation, diversity, accessibility, availability, etc.

In Kentucky, although 92.2% of residents do have coverage for high-speed internet where they live, in many counties of the state this same coverage is too limited, showing inequality. Rosine, Slade, Rocky Hill, Alpha and Tolu are some of the cities with the worst connectivity indicators there.

Federal initiatives have been on going with the goal of expanding the broadband infrastructure of the state. Focused on high-speed, fiber optic and local services, a lot of punctual actions gradually try to minimize the gap in the state.

Internet Speeds by City

Check out the 5 top cities with the fastest internet connections!

One of the reasons the Kentucky ranks in the lowest part of the state’s list is that its average download speed is relatively slow (95.7 Mbps). Check bellow how internet speeds’ levels are accessed by the Kentuckians:
  • 92.2% have access to wired broadband with 25 Mbps speeds or more.
  • 91.5% have access to 100 Mbps or more.
  • 47.3% have access to 1 gigabit speeds.

Internet Speeds by City

Check out the 5 top cities with the fastest internet connections!

CITY
AVG. DOWNLOAD SPEED
1. Louisville
99.8 MBPS
2. Lexington
55.9 MBPS
3. Bowling Green
81.4 MBPS
4. Owensboro
79.7 MBPS
5. Paducah
155.4 MBPS

Types of Internet

The main types of network connections are fairly distributed throughout the state, configurating the scenario below:

82% Cable

89% DSL

45% Fiber Optic

44% Satellite

Best Cities to Connect

In 2019 the Federal Communications Commission estimated that about 20% of American had access to a 1 Gigabit internet, which is an ultra-fast speed. Plus, about 80% of them had access to a high-speed broadband (25 Mbps).

In Kentucky, the prediction applies, as 92.2% of residents can access broadband service and 47.3% of them have access to ultra-fast services (1 gigabit internet).

According to the US News, and considering indicators of access and subscriptions per speeds, the Kentuckian state is in the 17th position of the States ranking in terms of access to internet services. The research also pointed out that the state is the 42nd when it comes to broadband subscription rate in comparison with the other 49 American States and in 6th in terms of access to gigabit internet.

Now see below the best 6 cities in Kentucky that shows the highest internet service providers coverage (and their respective availability averages):
Oregon State
  • Radcliff (99.5%)
  • Covington (100.0%)
  • Fort Thomas (100%)
  • Hebron (100%)
  • Newport (100%)
  • Louisville (100%)
Also looking at the internet average speeds in the Kentuckian territory, some other 4 fast cities there are:
  • Franklin (50 Mbps)
  • Paducah (26 Mbps)
  • Radcliff (23 Mbps)
  • Newport (19 Mbps)

Best Providers by Activity

Overall

Streaming Services

Online Gaming

More about Kansas and internet

Have you ever heard the nickname “Bluegrass state”? If so, you have probably wondered: how did a type of grass become so important in order to define a whole state?

The answer is: the legendary Kentucky thoroughbreds horses. The state is known not only for hosting major horse races, but also for being home to some of the most valuable horses in the world.

Kentucky has also a strong Indigenous presence and heritage. In the 16th century, at least 5 different groups lived in the region: Iroquoian, Sioux, Algonquian, Muskogean and Yuchi.The horses were brought to the region by the Spanish, but then used by the Native American tribes.

The combination, plus the famous bluegrass and the soil conditions that favored pastures, created one of the most important horse traditions in the world. But the pastures are not used only for horse creation. The state, actually, is nationally ranked 5 th in goat farming and 8 th in beef cattle production.

The Kentucky horse tradition can not be remembered without the bourbon tradition. And here, bourbon means the whiskey, but also the “America’s Native Spirit”, the idea that surrounds both the horse and the bourbon culture in the state.

If on one hand the state is responsible for 95 percent of the world’s bourbon, as far as internet broadband is concerned, Kentucky has still room to improve.

The state is only the 40 th best in broadband access in the United States, with an average download speed of 115 Mbps. One other problem is that just 40% of the state’s addresses have access to low price internet (plans that cost $ 60 per month at maximum), a figure below the national average of 50%.

Fiber connections are the future of the internet. The technology is newer, capable of transmitting more data in less time and also is much more durable. That said, fiber internet is still being implemented in the United States and is not available everywhere yet.

And when it comes to fiber internet, the state of Kentucky is ok: 50% of Kentuckians have access to it.

Meanwhile only 54% of its residents have internet speeds of 1 Mbps or more (the called 1 gigabit internet) available for them, over 92% have at least 100 Mbps available at their houses.

Kentucky has received, since 2010, over $ 5.000.000 towards the Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of Technology, and the local government promises to improve the access to high speed and fiber connections.

The key issue in the state is that, while big cities have access to fast internet, many places do not, such as rural areas, which constitutes an important part of the region that for many years have had its economy based on agriculture and farming.

So, let’s take a deeper look at how the broadband situation is in some major Kentucky cities.

Louisville

Let’s begin with the largest city in the state, Louisville.

Almos 100% (yes, almost everyone) of people who live in the city have access to two or more Internet Services Providers (ISP), which is a very high figure and that helps to create a more competitive market in the region, bringin prices down and improving services quality.

And 62% of the city’s addresses have access to fiber connections, also a good figure considering that, as we saw before, this kind of technology is still being implemented in the United States.

The average download speed in the city is 119 Mbps, which is not bad, but not outstanding as well. But if you want more good news, here are two. The first is that there are three different providers that offer fiber internet, two of them with large availability. AT&T is the top one, with a starting price of $ 35 per month. If the starting price for EarthLink is higher ($ 50), the most expensive plan is cheaper than AT&T’s ($ 100 against $ 130). They both combine to have good alternatives at almost every location in the city.

The other good news for Louisville is that Spectrum is available almost everywhere. Although this provider does not offer fiber internet, it does have plans for gigabit internet.

Not having fiber is an issue, of course. Spectrum uses cable connections, which is broadly more available than fiber, but is older, more prone to wear by time and, even though it supports download speeds as fast as 1000 Mbps, it can not offer similar download and upload speeds (something that only fiber does).

But do not be afraid. If you have no fiber available for you or if you do not wish to pay much for your plan, cable connections are still a good alternative nowadays.

It can offer just what you need to live in Kentucky fashion: watching a great movie while drinking some whisky the day after you have won the bet on the Kentucky Derby!

Yes, the most famous horse race in the state and one of the most important in the world is hosted in Louisville.

But the city might be most famous not for its horses, its bourbon or even by the world-wide known KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

The city is probably most known for its more famous citizen: the legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali.

Born with the name of Cassius Clay, he entered amateur boxing at 12 and won the Olympic gold medal at 18, in 1960. But he made history not just as a boxer (he is considered by many the greatest of all time), but as an activist as well.

He became a Muslim, changed his name to Muhammad Ali, refused to be drafted into the military and to go to the Vietnam War and became an icon in the fight for civil rights, human rights and against racism.

Some top internet providers in Louisville

PROVIDER
AVG. DOWNLOAD SPEED
AVAILABILITY
FIBER AVAILABLE?
AT&T
940 Mbps
95.1%
yes
Spectrum
1,000 Mbps
100%
no
T-Mobile
115 Mbps
43.4%
no
Viasat
100 Mbps
100%
no
HughesNet
25 Mbps
100%
no
Ultra
100 Mbps
43.4%
no
EarthLink
940 Mbps
96.6%
yes
Windstream
1000 Mbps
3.2%
yes

Lexington

But if we are talking about the Bluegrass state, we can not leave Lexington behind.

The city is the heart of the bluegrass region and, as for today, is the second largest in the state.

But it was not always like this. The city was founded in the late 18th century and was made mostly by farms. In the 1970s and 1980s, the population exploded.

In the 1960s, the city’s population was around 62.000. This figure rose to more than 225.000 by the end of the 1980 decade.

Lexington now has more than 322 thousand residents, all according to the US Decennial Census, and although the average internet speed is not good, the city can be proud of having approximately 100% of fiber coverage (that is right, the new internet technology gets everywhere).

The average download speed in the city is 68 Mbps, much behind other big cities in the state, all of them having an average faster than 100 Mbps.

But not only fiber connections reach everywhere, almost all the city residents do not have more than two different Internet Services Providers (ISP) available at their homes.

The 100% fiber coverage comes thanks to Windstream and Metronet, services that are widely available.

Both offer the same maximum download speed. Windstream has a lower starting price plan ($ 25 against $ 50), but Metronet's most expensive plan costs $ 90 per month, while Windstream’s costs $ 97.

The other alternative for very fast internet is Spectrum, which also offers 1000 Mbps download speed, but with cable, not fiber connection.

Some top internet providers in Lexington

PROVIDER
AVG. DOWNLOAD SPEED
AVAILABILITY
FIBER AVAILABLE?
Spectrum
1,000 Mbps
99.2%
no
Windstream
1,000 Mbps
99.6%
yes
Metronet
115 Mbps
99.7%
yes
T-Home
100 Mbps
24.8%
no
ViaSat
100 Mbps
100%
no
HughesNet
25 Mbps
100%
no
Ultra
100 Mbps
24.8%
no

Frankfort

The state’s capital is both not one of the best cities in the state to connect and not one of the largest cities in Kentucky.

Frankfort is the 4th smallest capital city in the United States and over 14% of its population have access to only one or zero Internet Services Providers (ISP).

Fiber connections are only available in 26% of the state and the only provider that offers it is AT&T.

In fact, no other provider offers very fast internet. The fastest other one is FPB, with an interesting 250 Mbps plan —a good speed for many users, but far from the benefits of 1 gigabit internet, such as multiple 4K movie streams, live game streams and more.

The average download speed for the city is also very slow: 48 Mbps, a figure that gets even worse when you remember that Frankfort is the state’s capital.

Some top internet providers in Frankfort

PROVIDER
AVG. DOWNLOAD SPEED
AVAILABILITY
FIBER AVAILABLE?
AT&T
940 Mbps
82.5%
yes
Windstream
200 Mbps
2.9%
no
FPB
250 Mbps
97.4%
no
All Points Broadband
25 Mbps
75.5%
no
T-Home
115 Mbps
46.4%
no
Viasat
100 Mbps
100%
no
HughesNet
25 Mbps
100%
no
Ultra
100 Mbps
46.4%
no

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