Fort Worth Builds Fiber Network to 74% Coverage, Tops Speed at 7,000 Mbps

FORT WORTH, Texas, More than seven out of every 10 homes in Fort Worth now have access to fiber-optic internet, a milestone that positions the city as one of the most connected large metros in the country. According to broadband mapping data analyzed in early 2026, fiber coverage across the city stands at 74 percent, with AT&T Fiber alone covering between 71.6 and 93 percent of addresses and offering speeds up to 5 Gbps.

The numbers are not just a technical footnote. They reflect hundreds of millions of dollars in private capital deployed over the past decade by carriers betting that Fort Worth’s sprawling geography and growing population would deliver a return. And the bet appears to be paying off: median download speeds in the city hit 364.22 Mbps as of January 2026, with upload speeds averaging 252.48 Mbps, according to crowd-sourced speed-test data compiled by BroadbandMap.com.

Frontier and the 7,000 Mbps Threshold

The most striking recent move came from Frontier Communications, which now offers a symmetrical 7,000 Mbps fiber plan, 7 gigabits per second both ways, that earned a 99 out of 100 speed score in independent testing by FindBetterInternet.com. That product is currently the fastest residential tier available in Fort Worth, and Frontier’s pricing on lower tiers has also caught attention: the company is rated as both the fastest and cheapest provider overall in the market.

AT&T Fiber remains the dominant player by sheer footprint, but the arrival of a 7-gig symmetrical product forces every competitor to defend its value proposition. Spectrum, the city’s largest cable operator with coverage spanning 87 to 93 percent of Fort Worth, still offers a 2 Gbps cable plan starting at $30 per month, a price point that undercuts fiber rivals on entry-level cost but cannot match the symmetrical upload speeds fiber provides.

The Money Behind the Lines

None of this build-out happened by accident. The fiber expansion in Fort Worth mirrors a broader national trend in which private equity and infrastructure funds have poured into middle-mile and last-mile networks, particularly in Sun Belt cities with favorable permitting environments and population growth. Fort Worth’s annexation-friendly history and relatively low pole-attachment fees have made it a preferred market for multiple carriers to overbuild each other.

That competition is visible in the coverage maps. Nextlink Internet, a fixed-wireless and fiber provider, now reaches 90 percent of the city with speeds up to 5 Gbps, according to SmartMove data. Starlink covers 100 percent of Fort Worth as a satellite backup option, though at higher latency and lower consistency than fiber or cable. The array of choices means most Fort Worth households can pick from at least three competing providers, a level of choice uncommon even in larger markets.

What comes next depends largely on take rates. The capital already sunk into Fort Worth’s fiber ducts and utility poles is sunk; the returns now hinge on how many households upgrade from 1 Gbps or 2 Gbps plans to the 5 Gbps and 7 Gbps tiers. So far, the data suggests residents are willing to pay for speed. The 364 Mbps median download figure indicates that a significant portion of households are already subscribing to gigabit-class service, even if they are not yet maxing out the available bandwidth.

For anyone shopping for internet in Fort Worth today, the choice is no longer about whether fiber is available, it is about which flavor of fiber, at what price point, and with what customer service record. The investment story is already written. The usage story is still being drafted.