Lewis County is genuinely hard to serve. 52.9% 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 Lewis County sits in Idaho
Share of addresses with no fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps
0.0% to 0.0%
0.0% to 0.7%
0.7% to 6.3%
6.3% to 17%
17% to 23%
23% to 43%
43% 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 Lewis County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 2,410 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber4 · 0.2%
Cable0 · 0.0%
Licensed fixed wireless559 · 23%
Unlicensed fixed wireless775 · 32%
DSL over copper0 · 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
795
33.0%
Underserved
340
14.1%
Unserved
1,275
52.9%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Lewis County as a completely rural county, or one with an urban population under 5,000, adjacent to a metro area (continuum code 8).
About 3,715 people live across those locations, roughly 1.5 people per serviceable address.
More than half of Lewis County, 1,275 of 2,410 locations, has no fixed service reaching 25/3 Mbps. Very few counties in the country are in this position.
Another 340 can get something, but not the 100/20 Mbps the FCC now treats as the benchmark.
The most widely available technology here is unlicensed fixed wireless, reaching 775 locations (32.2%); next is licensed fixed wireless at 23.2%.
Practically no fiber has been built here. The filings show 4 locations reached.
Filings come from 11 providers, of which 1 offer fiber and 4 licensed fixed wireless.
Served locations rose 99.75% year on year.
Lewis County is harder-served than the typical Idaho county, where the median unserved share is 8.9%.
Fiber lags the rest of Idaho, where the median county is at 50.8%.
What people actually measure in Idaho
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
CABLE ONE
120 Mbps
53.9 Mbps to 209 Mbps
18.0 Mbps
67 ms
44,149
CenturyLink Communications
42.9 Mbps
14.3 Mbps to 97.6 Mbps
9.8 Mbps
45 ms
22,679
Charter Communications
116 Mbps
54.3 Mbps to 202 Mbps
11.1 Mbps
60 ms
7,184
Wholesail networks
47.3 Mbps
9.1 Mbps to 157 Mbps
25.8 Mbps
15 ms
6,374
TDS TELECOM
173 Mbps
76.9 Mbps to 254 Mbps
125 Mbps
12 ms
4,602
Direct Communications Rockland
71.9 Mbps
21.3 Mbps to 109 Mbps
40.5 Mbps
25 ms
4,087
FyberCom
43.7 Mbps
17.5 Mbps to 83.5 Mbps
16.6 Mbps
41 ms
3,736
Cox Communications
132 Mbps
68.8 Mbps to 187 Mbps
11.9 Mbps
50 ms
3,383
Silver Star Communications
72.0 Mbps
23.6 Mbps to 115 Mbps
32.6 Mbps
58 ms
3,015
Verizon Business
35.8 Mbps
10.0 Mbps to 96.5 Mbps
6.2 Mbps
50 ms
2,425
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
36.3 Mbps
9.0 Mbps to 93.5 Mbps
5.7 Mbps
66 ms
33,289
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.
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Your realistic options in Lewis 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