Nelson County is better served than most rural counties. Fiber already reaches 100.0% of locations, so the first question is not what to buy but whether fiber has reached your road.
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 Nelson County sits in North Dakota
Share of addresses with no fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps
0.0% to 0.0%
0.0% to 0.0%
0.0% to 0.0%
0.0% and above
NaN% and above
NaN% and above
NaN% 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 Nelson County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 2,265 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber2,265 · 100%
Cable0 · 0.0%
Licensed fixed wireless651 · 29%
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
2,265
100.0%
Underserved
0
0.0%
Unserved
0
0.0%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Nelson County as a completely rural county, or one with an urban population under 5,000, adjacent to a metro area (continuum code 8).
About 3,054 people live across those locations, roughly 1.3 people per serviceable address.
No location in Nelson County is recorded as entirely without fixed service at 25/3 Mbps, which is unusual for a rural county.
The most widely available technology here is fiber, reaching 2,265 locations (100.0%); next is licensed fixed wireless at 28.7%.
Fiber already reaches 100.0% of the county (2,265 locations), which puts Nelson County well ahead of most rural America.
Filings come from 9 providers, of which 2 offer fiber and 4 licensed fixed wireless.
What people actually measure in North Dakota
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
Midcontinent Communications
135 Mbps
52.0 Mbps to 275 Mbps
40.8 Mbps
23 ms
13,713
CABLE ONE
106 Mbps
45.4 Mbps to 150 Mbps
19.8 Mbps
34 ms
1,870
SRT Communications
88.7 Mbps
37.5 Mbps to 203 Mbps
66.5 Mbps
57 ms
1,657
CenturyLink Communications
18.2 Mbps
6.7 Mbps to 41.2 Mbps
1.6 Mbps
62 ms
1,306
Consolidated Telcom
111 Mbps
61.6 Mbps to 192 Mbps
88.5 Mbps
30 ms
913
Fidium
49.7 Mbps
18.0 Mbps to 91.8 Mbps
11.1 Mbps
17 ms
864
Reservation Telephone Coop
85.7 Mbps
36.3 Mbps to 121 Mbps
52.5 Mbps
37 ms
811
West River Telecommunications Cooperative
85.2 Mbps
58.3 Mbps to 173 Mbps
82.7 Mbps
30 ms
692
702 Communications
56.5 Mbps
15.1 Mbps to 104 Mbps
29.6 Mbps
16 ms
670
BEK Communications Cooperative
92.5 Mbps
58.4 Mbps to 167 Mbps
85.7 Mbps
30 ms
638
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 Nelson 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.
Fixed wireless
A local fixed-wireless provider
A regional operator beaming service from a tower or ridge to an antenna on your roof. In much of rural America this is the fastest thing available.
Best for
Counties where the FCC data shows large licensed fixed-wireless coverage, which this page tells you
Watch out
Needs line of sight. Quality varies enormously between operators; ask neighbours, not the sales page.
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.