Lincoln County is genuinely hard to serve. 30.1% 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 Lincoln County sits in Nevada
Share of addresses with no fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps
0.0% to 3.4%
3.4% to 10%
10% to 16%
16% to 21%
21% to 30%
30% to 38%
38% 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 Lincoln County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 2,419 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber720 · 30%
Cable0 · 0.0%
Licensed fixed wireless0 · 0.0%
Unlicensed fixed wireless0 · 0.0%
DSL over copper134 · 5.5%
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
821
33.9%
Underserved
869
35.9%
Unserved
729
30.1%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Lincoln 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 4,525, which works out to about 1.9 people for every address on the list.
729 locations, 30.1%, or better than one address in five, have no fixed service reaching 25/3 Mbps. That is a large gap even by rural standards.
A further 35.9% of the county sits in the middle: served, but below the 100/20 Mbps mark.
The most widely available technology here is fiber, reaching 720 locations (29.8%); next is dsl over copper at 5.5%.
Fiber reaches 720 locations, 29.8% of the county.
6 providers file coverage in Lincoln County: 1 with fiber, 0 with cable, 2 with licensed fixed wireless.
In twelve months fiber went from 476 locations to 720 here.
Served locations rose 42.29% year on year.
Lincoln County is harder-served than the typical Nevada county, where the median unserved share is 12.1%.
What people actually measure in Nevada
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
Cox Communications
127 Mbps
40.9 Mbps to 318 Mbps
23.2 Mbps
17 ms
130,934
Verizon Business
32.1 Mbps
7.3 Mbps to 106 Mbps
5.3 Mbps
30 ms
41,059
Charter Communications
138 Mbps
54.8 Mbps to 299 Mbps
11.3 Mbps
27 ms
38,722
AT&T Enterprises
71.9 Mbps
21.1 Mbps to 244 Mbps
13.3 Mbps
10 ms
20,775
CenturyLink Communications
76.6 Mbps
19.9 Mbps to 214 Mbps
34.3 Mbps
17 ms
16,694
FranTech Solutions
3.1 Mbps
1.3 Mbps to 8.0 Mbps
2.5 Mbps
195 ms
3,591
M247 M247 Europe SRL
19.4 Mbps
2.8 Mbps to 75.3 Mbps
5.1 Mbps
32 ms
3,544
WeLink Communications
173 Mbps
84.1 Mbps to 314 Mbps
89.3 Mbps
21 ms
3,072
isp.net
36.5 Mbps
13.3 Mbps to 66.5 Mbps
8.4 Mbps
21 ms
1,891
Valley Electric Association
22.1 Mbps
8.7 Mbps to 34.3 Mbps
8.1 Mbps
21 ms
1,729
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
17.1 Mbps
3.9 Mbps to 69.4 Mbps
2.9 Mbps
37 ms
51,196
COMMNET WIRELESS
13.1 Mbps
5.7 Mbps to 31.5 Mbps
4.8 Mbps
40 ms
272
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 Lincoln 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