Valley County is genuinely hard to serve. 33.3% 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 Valley 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 Valley County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 13,158 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber2,196 · 17%
Cable5,593 · 43%
Licensed fixed wireless982 · 7.5%
Unlicensed fixed wireless0 · 0.0%
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
7,431
56.5%
Underserved
1,343
10.2%
Unserved
4,384
33.3%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Valley County as a completely rural county, or one with an urban population under 5,000, not adjacent to any metro area (continuum code 9).
About 12,241 people live across those locations, roughly 0.9 people per serviceable address.
4,384 locations, 33.3% of the county, have no fixed service reaching 25/3 Mbps. That is more than a third of every address here.
Another 1,343 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 5,593 locations (42.5%); next is fiber at 16.7%.
Fiber reaches 2,196 locations, 16.7% of the county.
Cable reaches 42.5% of locations, more than fiber does, and it will be concentrated in the built-up parts of the county.
Filings come from 11 providers, of which 5 offer fiber and 1 licensed fixed wireless.
Fiber reached 1,931 more locations in Valley County over the last twelve months, a 14.7% swing in the county's total.
Served locations rose 26.81% year on year.
Valley 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 Valley 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