The Best Internet Providers in Idaho Falls

These are the words that tourist guides use to describe Idaho Falls—one of the largest cities in the state of Idaho outside the Boise metropolitan area. The guides are on to something. Because Idaho Falls is the cultural, commercial, and health care hub of eastern Idaho. And, the city is known for providing unparalleled access to the outdoors.

According to tourist guides, locations in Idaho Falls are not just destinations. They are a combination of old and new human sensibilities. Whether one is visiting the Collector’s Corner Museum or taking a stroll through Yellowstone National Park, a memorable experience is guaranteed.

A Brief History of Idaho Falls

Idaho Falls owes its existence to the Snake River and the railroad. The Snake River runs through southern Idaho and serves as the lifeblood of the agricultural industry. Idaho Falls is primarily known for diverse and plenty of agriculture, but there’s another factor which has contributed to the growth of this region—the Idaho National Laboratory.

The Idaho National Laboratory, known as the site, among the locals, was founded in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station. The facility was set up to provide an isolated location where authorities could conduct tests on different types of nuclear reactors. Over the years, 52 nuclear reactors have been built at the site. The site played a central role in providing nuclear energy to the nearby town of Arco in 1955, making it the first community in history to be powered by nuclear energy.

In addition to the site, Idaho Falls serves as a home for several other popular destinations.

Idaho Falls River Walk & Greenbelt

Snake River is an important part of Idaho Falls, so it is only natural that it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. The Idaho Falls river walk and greenbelt surround the Snake River and highlight the city’s scenic views.

Since it is a popular tourist destination, special care is taken to ensure it is well maintained throughout the year. Head over to this location at any time of the day, and you are likely to see runners and cyclists use the route for commuting.

The river walk also connects all major attractions of the city, such as the Art Museum Of Eastern Idaho and Sportsman Park.

Museum of Idaho

The Museum of Idaho boasts more than 25,000 artifacts and specimens with roots in history, culture, and biology. It attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually and is well known for rotating exhibits and displaying in-depth information.

The museum holds various events for children as well as an After Dark special for adults. It also offers educational opportunities such as classes, camps, and discovery trunks.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. It is spread out over 2 million acres of land. And is known for its encompassing geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and growing numbers of bison.

The west entrance of Yellowstone National park is less than 2 hours away from Idaho Falls. It leads to immediate access to some of the best campgrounds in Yellowstone National Park.

Some other tourist destinations in Yellowstone National Park include West Thumb Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, and Grand Prismatic Spring.

Eastern Idaho’s Business Hub

Idaho Falls is home to several popular tourist destinations, and that is one of the reasons people from different parts of the country flock towards it. However, there’s a lot more the city has to offer.

As we said earlier, Idaho Falls is known as a town that traditionally relied on agriculture—and has served as the region’s hub for travel, health care, and business. With the construction of the Idaho National Laboratory, the town progressively became dependent on the site to provide high-income jobs. However, opportunities in the retail, entertainment, and restaurant sectors have also shown growth over the years.

The city houses the headquarters of United Potato Growers of Idaho and District 7 of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Moreover, Idaho falls is home to various small and medium-sized businesses such as North Wind, Press-A-Print, and Melaleuca. In 2010, Forbes ranked Idaho Falls among some of the best small places for business and careers.

Idaho Falls earned this distinction owing to the rising per capita income & sales numbers, as well as the presence of a large number of mid-sized companies in the region. A young educated workforce paired with established industry, and lower unemployment rates, are additional factors that have known to make Idaho Falls appealing for businesses and career-seekers.

The city has a robust internet infrastructure that ensures the availability of high-speed internet to local businesses. There is plenty of internet providers in Idaho Falls, and we’ll take a look at them shortly. Before that, let us look at internet availability in the region overall.

Internet in Idaho Falls

The authorities in Idaho Falls seem to be well aware of the importance of high-speed internet. In 2016, over 400 commercial locations in Idaho Falls had access to fiber-optic connectivity in Idaho Falls at the time.

For those who may not know, Fiber optic internet is a type of connection in which data is transmitted from one point to another in the form of light pulses. Optical fibers are akin to very thin strands of glass or plastic, thinner than the human hair. They are bundled together to form an optical cable. The data transferred in the form of light pulses is encrypted and transferred at a high speed over long distances. Once it reaches the source, it is decoded and displayed on the user’s computer screen. The entire process is incredibly fast and takes just a few seconds.

Back in 2016, business owners were part of the 5.4% in Idaho Falls who had access to fiber-optic internet. Since then, authorities have taken initiatives to ensure wider availability of fiber internet to businesses, and residents as well. The City Council hired a consultancy team for a feasibility study related to the costs of setting up a fiber-optic infrastructure in the city. It was a challenging process since it required the installation of new fiber-optic infrastructure. In 2019, the long-awaited fiber optic pilot program officially began. The pilot project included four local internet providers that were looking to expand their services in the region and provide internet connections in areas where people didn’t have access to fast internet. As part of this initiative, Idaho Falls Power also launched the Idaho Falls Fiber Network website. The pilot project concluded successfully in September 2019 and managed to connect over 1200 homes. Today 73% of people in Idaho Falls have access to a fiber internet service.

About 7,000 residents of Idaho Falls still do not have access to more than one internet provider. They have no choice, but to continue with the available service even if not satisfactory. Also, around 3000 people in the region do not have access to wired internet at all. This is however not a widespread phenomenon. The average household in Idaho Falls does get about 5-6 providers to choose from. It is hoped in due time the Idaho Falls Fiber project would be able to address remaining concerns regarding the availability of high-speed internet, and the city will have uniformly spread access to fiber-optic internet.

As far as wired internet is concerned, Idaho Falls relies upon DSL and cable broadband, besides fiber optic internet. Satellite internet and fixed wireless options are also accessible. Let’s take a brief look at how these types of internet connections work before we move on to talking about the most reliable Idaho Falls internet providers:

DSL

A DSL connection uses a phone wall jack connected to a pre-existing telephone network in order to connect you to the internet. Since DSL technology employs higher frequency bands of data than used to carry the voice signal, the internet via a DSL connection and the phone line can work simultaneously. DSL filters on each non-DSL outlet block off any high-frequency interference to facilitate the usage of voice service.

There are many types of DSL connections, but asymmetrical DSL is employed more frequently—which gives different download and upload speeds in line with common usage patterns. In terms of speed, a DSL connection may not give you a lot. Because your distance from the central ISP hub plays a critical role in how fast a speed reaches you. However, one big advantage of DSL internet is that you get a dedicated line and no one eats on your bandwidth. Plus, DSL connections are cheaper than other options.

Cable Broadband

Cable broadband technology allows ISPs to employ pre-existing coaxial cable TV lines. The ISP uses this cable network to send data to your modem, which then converts it to Ethernet and connects your device(s). Most cable systems run on dedicated frequencies for video/audio signal and the cable box has its own dedicated bandwidth, quite like a modem. So just as the phone continues to work alongside the internet on a DSL connection, cable TV service runs with cable broadband service simultaneously, without mutual interference of signals.

Cable networks are widely available across the U.S. and can provide fast internet between 10-500 Mbps on average. Your line is shared with your neighbor but there is more bandwidth available, and higher speeds too, so it is usually only at peak times that you face a lag. In recent years, most nationwide cable service providers in the U.S. have upgraded their networks with DOCSIS 3.1 technology—paired with a stronger fiber optic backbone supporting their infrastructure, this enables them to provide speeds as high as 1,000 Mbps to subscribers.

Satellite Broadband

Satellite internet technology transfers data wirelessly between you and the ISP. The signal travels from your end to the orbiting satellite in the space, is sent to the ISP's central hub on earth, and moves along a wired landline network to connect you to the internet. The loop is complete when the signal travels back to you via the same wireless route.

Satellite connections have widespread coverage by default. You do not get ultra-fast speeds, and there is a latency issue too, but due to ready availability, a satellite connection makes the best high-speed option in rural and remote regions of the U.S. That by no means implies satellite broadband providers do not compete in the urban or suburban markets with other types of internet services.

Internet Providers in Idaho Falls

Now that we have an idea of the internet landscape in Idaho Falls, it’s time to take a look at the most popular internet providers serving the city—both carry a good repute nationwide.

CenturyLink Idaho Falls

CenturyLink is one of the biggest telecommunications company in the United States. It is a Fortune 500 Company and one of the most popular internet providers in Idaho Falls.

CenturyLink has an extensive fiber network with over 70% coverage in the city and ensures 99% reliability. It is also the 3rd largest DSL provider in the United States. And, provides over 95% coverage in Idaho Falls. The speed of a CenturyLink DSL connection can go up to 100 Mbps, while Fiber gets you Gigabit internet.

People who consider CenturyLink internet plans in Idaho Falls get plenty of plans to choose from.

There’s more to CenturyLink in Idaho Falls than just high-speed internet and a variety of plans. The provider offers consistent pricing, that saves you from a price hike after the promo period ends. Also, DSL packages come with a Price For Life guarantee, so you can continue to pay the same price as long as you continue with your subscribed plan and do not relocate. Customers have the option of bundling CenturyLink internet with home phone and Direct TV too. Above all, there are no contracts involved.

HughesNet in Idaho Falls

HughesNet is one of the most popular satellite internet providers in the United States. A market leader in providing satellite internet service, HughesNet packages are quite appealing for people who need a reliable internet connection to keep up to speed with a fast-paced digital lifestyle. The fact it is readily available anywhere under the clear southern sky is a big plus. That makes it a prime choice for rural America in particular. With HughesNet Gen5 latency has been cut down too, and given the prices are not as excessive as generally thought, HughesNet Gen5 plans make a solid option for urban and suburban audiences as well.

HughesNet plans are based on data allowance per month rather than variations of download speed. All plans give you 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds.

HughesNet plans to place restrictions on data usage, but customers don’t have to worry but paying extra if they exceed their limit. HughesNet just limits the internet speed to 1-3 Mbps, and you stay online. HughesNet also gives subscribers 50GB data free every month, which can be utilized to schedule heavy downloads between 2 am and 8 am. This helps streamline the consumption of your monthly data allowance better.

The Final Word

Century Link and HughesNet are well-reputed countrywide internet providers operating in Idaho Falls. You are bound to get your money’s worth by opting for either of the two services. For further details call at 1-855-349-9328 and get expert advice on what may be the best choice for you in Idaho Falls, given your unique set of requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are popular connection types in Idaho Falls?

Idaho Falls relies upon DSL and cable broadband, besides fiber optic internet. Satellite internet and fixed wireless options are also accessible.

Can I find Fiber internet in Idaho Falls?

CenturyLink has an extensive fiber network with over 70% coverage in the city and ensures 99% reliability. It is also the 3rd largest DSL provider in the United States. And, provides over 95% coverage in Idaho Falls.