Modoc County is genuinely hard to serve. 49.2% of locations here have no fixed broadband at all, so for a lot of addresses the real choice is satellite or a cellular home-internet gateway, not a wired provider.
Everything below comes from the FCC's Broadband Data Collection, the filings providers are legally required to make about where they offer service. It describes the county; your own address can differ, and that is exactly why the technology mix matters.
Where Modoc County sits in California
Share of addresses with no fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps
0.0% to 4.7%
4.7% to 7.4%
7.4% to 9.9%
9.9% to 16%
16% to 35%
35% to 55%
55% and above
not published
This county is outlined. Darker means a larger share of addresses with no fixed broadband. Select any county to open it.
What reaches homes in Modoc County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 5,447 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber1,408 · 26%
Cable1,748 · 32%
Licensed fixed wireless1,435 · 26%
Unlicensed fixed wireless0 · 0.0%
DSL over copper1 · 0.0%
Served, underserved, unserved
The FCC's three categories. "Served" means at least 100/20 Mbps is available; "underserved" means at least 25/3 but below 100/20; "unserved" means below 25/3 or nothing at all.
Category
Locations
Share of county
Served
2,381
43.7%
Underserved
384
7.0%
Unserved
2,682
49.2%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Modoc County as a completely rural county, or one with an urban population under 5,000, adjacent to a metro area (continuum code 8).
Population is around 8,661, which works out to about 1.6 people for every address on the list.
2,682 locations, 49.2% of the county, have no fixed service reaching 25/3 Mbps. That is more than a third of every address here.
A further 7.0% of the county sits in the middle: served, but below the 100/20 Mbps mark.
The most widely available technology here is cable, reaching 1,748 locations (32.1%); next is licensed fixed wireless at 26.3%.
Fiber reaches 1,408 locations, 25.8% of the county.
Cable reaches 32.1% of locations, more than fiber does, and it will be concentrated in the built-up parts of the county.
14 providers file coverage in Modoc County: 3 with fiber, 1 with cable, 5 with licensed fixed wireless.
In twelve months fiber went from 1,259 locations to 1,408 here.
Served locations rose 16.15% year on year.
Modoc County is harder-served than the typical California county, where the median unserved share is 3.3%.
What people actually measure in California
Median of real speed tests run on each network during 2024, from M-Lab. This is measured performance, not an advertised plan speed, and not a customer review. The middle-half column shows how consistent a network is: a wide spread means your experience depends heavily on where and when.
Network
Median download
Middle half of tests
Median upload
Latency
Tests
Comcast Cable Communications
124 Mbps
46.4 Mbps to 308 Mbps
15.9 Mbps
11 ms
1,071,162
Charter Communications
170 Mbps
57.2 Mbps to 332 Mbps
11.6 Mbps
11 ms
822,147
AT&T Enterprises
84.9 Mbps
25.5 Mbps to 298 Mbps
34.7 Mbps
7 ms
708,950
Verizon Business
36.2 Mbps
8.9 Mbps to 100 Mbps
5.0 Mbps
23 ms
327,928
Cox Communications
141 Mbps
48.1 Mbps to 320 Mbps
27.4 Mbps
9 ms
241,463
Frontier Communications of America
167 Mbps
56.2 Mbps to 414 Mbps
99.8 Mbps
6 ms
216,384
Sonic Telecom
150 Mbps
47.4 Mbps to 359 Mbps
101 Mbps
8 ms
87,912
ZSCALER
71.0 Mbps
21.9 Mbps to 160 Mbps
20.3 Mbps
1 ms
55,409
Wave Broadband
112 Mbps
45.4 Mbps to 288 Mbps
11.5 Mbps
11 ms
24,830
Optimum
101 Mbps
37.5 Mbps to 229 Mbps
14.6 Mbps
14 ms
16,447
Cellular networks, measured
The same measurement for the mobile networks behind 5G home internet. These tests come from phones as well as home gateways, so treat them as an indication of network health in the state rather than a home-internet plan speed.
Network
Median download
Middle half of tests
Median upload
Latency
Tests
T-Mobile USA
32.8 Mbps
6.8 Mbps to 105 Mbps
4.6 Mbps
34 ms
457,155
Latency is the number that decides whether video calls and gaming feel right, and it is where satellite differs most from everything else. Measured data is statewide: below county level there are usually too few tests to report an honest number.
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up for a service or buy equipment through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which options we list or the order we rank them in, and we do not accept payment for a better placement.
Your realistic options in Modoc County
Satellite
Starlink
Low-earth-orbit satellite. Latency is low enough for video calls and most gaming, unlike older satellite services.
Best for
Anywhere with a clear view of the sky and no wired option
Watch out
Hardware costs money up front, and heavy tree cover or a north-facing obstruction will cost you throughput