Fiber is actively arriving in Nevada County. It reached 3,576 more locations here in the last twelve months. Check whether your own address is inside a build before committing to anything with a contract.
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 Nevada 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 Nevada County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 49,617 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber6,893 · 14%
Cable33,652 · 68%
Licensed fixed wireless29,609 · 60%
Unlicensed fixed wireless1 · 0.0%
DSL over copper21 · 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
44,218
89.1%
Underserved
3,053
6.2%
Unserved
2,346
4.7%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Nevada County as a nonmetro county with an urban population of 20,000 or more, adjacent to a metro area (continuum code 4).
About 103,487 people live across those locations, roughly 2.1 people per serviceable address.
Only 2,346 locations, 4.7%, are recorded with nothing at 25/3 Mbps or better.
Another 3,053 can get something, but not the 100/20 Mbps the FCC now treats as the benchmark.
The most widely available technology here is cable, reaching 33,652 locations (67.8%); next is licensed fixed wireless at 59.7%.
Fiber reaches 6,893 locations, 13.9% of the county.
Licensed fixed wireless covers 59.7% of the county. It does not reach as far as cable does here, but it reaches places cable does not.
Cable reaches 67.8% of locations, more than fiber does, and it will be concentrated in the built-up parts of the county.
Filings come from 23 providers, of which 6 offer fiber and 6 licensed fixed wireless.
Fiber reached 3,576 more locations in Nevada County over the last twelve months, a 7.2% swing in the county's total.
Fiber lags the rest of California, where the median county is at 30.6%.
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 Nevada County
Fiber
Fiber, if it has reached you
The best outcome by a distance: symmetric speed, low latency, no weather sensitivity, no data ceiling in practice.
Best for
Anyone whose address is inside a fiber build. Always check this first.
Watch out
Coverage stops abruptly at the edge of a build. Being a mile from fiber is the same as being fifty.
5G home internet
T-Mobile Home Internet
Home internet over T-Mobile’s cellular network. A gateway box you plug in yourself; no truck roll, no dish.
Best for
Rural addresses that still get a usable T-Mobile signal, often near a highway or a town
Watch out
Availability is decided address by address, not by town. Speed varies with how busy the local tower is.