Stone County is genuinely hard to serve. 18.0% 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 Stone County sits in Missouri
Share of addresses with no fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps
0.0% to 1.1%
1.1% to 2.1%
2.1% to 4.8%
4.8% to 8.7%
8.7% to 15%
15% to 28%
28% 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 Stone County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 21,596 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber9,479 · 44%
Cable9,432 · 44%
Licensed fixed wireless3,071 · 14%
Unlicensed fixed wireless7,317 · 34%
DSL over copper6 · 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
14,779
68.4%
Underserved
2,936
13.6%
Unserved
3,881
18.0%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Stone County as a nonmetro county with an urban population of 5,000 to 20,000, adjacent to a metro area (continuum code 6).
About 31,548 people live across those locations, roughly 1.5 people per serviceable address.
18.0% of addresses here, 3,881 of them, fall below 25/3 Mbps or have no fixed option at all.
Another 2,936 can get something, but not the 100/20 Mbps the FCC now treats as the benchmark.
The most widely available technology here is fiber, reaching 9,479 locations (43.9%); next is cable at 43.7%.
Fiber reaches 9,479 locations, 43.9% of the county.
Filings come from 16 providers, of which 6 offer fiber and 3 licensed fixed wireless.
Fiber reached 9,094 more locations in Stone County over the last twelve months, a 42.1% swing in the county's total.
Served locations rose 13.74% year on year.
Stone County is harder-served than the typical Missouri county, where the median unserved share is 4.8%.
Fiber lags the rest of Missouri, where the median county is at 62.7%.
What people actually measure in Missouri
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
Charter Communications
146 Mbps
61.0 Mbps to 311 Mbps
11.2 Mbps
14 ms
113,069
AT&T Enterprises
74.9 Mbps
24.9 Mbps to 249 Mbps
19.8 Mbps
25 ms
94,768
Verizon Business
25.4 Mbps
6.0 Mbps to 63.7 Mbps
4.4 Mbps
36 ms
37,752
Brightspeed
24.1 Mbps
8.1 Mbps to 93.2 Mbps
3.0 Mbps
45 ms
21,330
Mediacom Communications
120 Mbps
49.3 Mbps to 282 Mbps
18.4 Mbps
31 ms
15,391
Optimum
104 Mbps
36.9 Mbps to 234 Mbps
15.4 Mbps
41 ms
10,815
Comcast Cable Communications
131 Mbps
47.6 Mbps to 296 Mbps
18.9 Mbps
27 ms
9,787
Fidelity Communication International
80.7 Mbps
24.5 Mbps to 163 Mbps
16.9 Mbps
30 ms
6,782
CABLE ONE
123 Mbps
56.1 Mbps to 191 Mbps
18.8 Mbps
56 ms
6,051
Socket Holdings
112 Mbps
51.4 Mbps to 235 Mbps
67.1 Mbps
30 ms
5,568
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
61.4 Mbps
16.9 Mbps to 144 Mbps
7.2 Mbps
41 ms
72,849
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 Stone 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