Rural Internet

Rural internet in South Carolina

0.7% of locations in South Carolina have no fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps. The state median rural county sits at 0.8% unserved and 69.7% fiber coverage. Pick your county below for the specific picture.

20 of South Carolina's 46 counties are classed as rural by the USDA. Across the whole state the FCC records 15,993 locations with no fixed broadband, out of 2,224,501.

South Carolina at a glance

Abbeville County, SC: 0.4%, 53 of 12,309 locationsAiken: not publishedAllendale County, SC: 4.7%, 214 of 4,528 locationsAnderson: not publishedBamberg County, SC: 1.6%, 115 of 7,137 locationsBarnwell County, SC: 2.8%, 296 of 10,570 locationsBeaufort: not publishedBerkeley: not publishedCalhoun: not publishedCharleston: not publishedCherokee County, SC: 1.1%, 275 of 25,221 locationsChester: not publishedChesterfield County, SC: 0.8%, 184 of 22,164 locationsClarendon County, SC: 0.1%, 11 of 17,538 locationsColleton County, SC: 0.5%, 94 of 20,560 locationsDarlington: not publishedDillon County, SC: 1.9%, 257 of 13,724 locationsDorchester: not publishedEdgefield: not publishedFairfield: not publishedFlorence: not publishedGeorgetown County, SC: 0.3%, 109 of 34,000 locationsGreenville: not publishedGreenwood County, SC: 1.2%, 351 of 29,940 locationsHampton County, SC: 1.2%, 113 of 9,260 locationsHorry: not publishedJasper: not publishedKershaw: not publishedLancaster: not publishedLaurens: not publishedLee County, SC: 0.4%, 34 of 8,160 locationsLexington: not publishedMcCormick County, SC: 0.4%, 25 of 5,744 locationsMarion County, SC: 1.0%, 160 of 15,433 locationsMarlboro County, SC: 0.2%, 22 of 12,378 locationsNewberry County, SC: 2.7%, 540 of 20,098 locationsOconee County, SC: 1.4%, 577 of 41,623 locationsOrangeburg County, SC: 1.9%, 776 of 41,772 locationsPickens: not publishedRichland: not publishedSaluda: not publishedSpartanburg: not publishedSumter: not publishedUnion: not publishedWilliamsburg County, SC: 2.9%, 475 of 16,411 locationsYork: not published

Share of addresses with no fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps

  • 0.0% to 0.3%
  • 0.3% to 0.4%
  • 0.4% to 1.0%
  • 1.0% to 1.2%
  • 1.2% to 1.9%
  • 1.9% to 2.8%
  • 2.8% and above
  • not published

Darker means a larger share of addresses with no fixed broadband. Select any county to open it.

The ten hardest-served rural counties in South Carolina

Ranked by the share of locations with no fixed service at 25/3 Mbps or better.
CountyLocationsUnservedShare unservedFiber share
<a href="/south-carolina/allendale-county-internet/">Allendale County</a>4,5282144.7%89.4%
<a href="/south-carolina/williamsburg-county-internet/">Williamsburg County</a>16,4114752.9%77.3%
<a href="/south-carolina/barnwell-county-internet/">Barnwell County</a>10,5702962.8%84.9%
<a href="/south-carolina/newberry-county-internet/">Newberry County</a>20,0985402.7%84.7%
<a href="/south-carolina/dillon-county-internet/">Dillon County</a>13,7242571.9%28.7%
<a href="/south-carolina/orangeburg-county-internet/">Orangeburg County</a>41,7727761.9%57.6%
<a href="/south-carolina/bamberg-county-internet/">Bamberg County</a>7,1371151.6%77.7%
<a href="/south-carolina/oconee-county-internet/">Oconee County</a>41,6235771.4%65.2%
<a href="/south-carolina/hampton-county-internet/">Hampton County</a>9,2601131.2%81.5%
<a href="/south-carolina/greenwood-county-internet/">Greenwood County</a>29,9403511.2%85.9%

Every rural county in South Carolina

What people actually measure in South Carolina

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.
NetworkMedian downloadMiddle half of testsMedian uploadLatencyTests
Charter Communications141 Mbps50.4 Mbps to 295 Mbps11.1 Mbps29 ms58,954
AT&T Enterprises110 Mbps27.6 Mbps to 326 Mbps58.5 Mbps26 ms43,220
Comcast Cable Communications116 Mbps44.7 Mbps to 248 Mbps12.3 Mbps39 ms24,284
Horry Telephone Cooperative153 Mbps53.8 Mbps to 286 Mbps34.5 Mbps33 ms11,804
Comporium136 Mbps54.8 Mbps to 286 Mbps25.3 Mbps28 ms11,780
Hargray Communications Group103 Mbps48.5 Mbps to 209 Mbps21.4 Mbps27 ms9,187
Verizon Business32.8 Mbps9.4 Mbps to 65.6 Mbps4.6 Mbps44 ms7,295
Home Telephone Company99.8 Mbps42.0 Mbps to 258 Mbps52.9 Mbps33 ms5,887
Spirit Communications73.7 Mbps23.9 Mbps to 123 Mbps54.3 Mbps27 ms5,635
CarolinaConnect Cooperative155 Mbps55.0 Mbps to 312 Mbps134 Mbps26 ms4,325
WideOpenWest Finance107 Mbps46.5 Mbps to 237 Mbps18.6 Mbps41 ms3,908
NORTHLAND CABLE TELEVISION107 Mbps45.5 Mbps to 191 Mbps22.9 Mbps43 ms3,826
West Carolina Communications161 Mbps56.6 Mbps to 292 Mbps109 Mbps22 ms3,787
Breezeline101 Mbps45.6 Mbps to 219 Mbps18.8 Mbps34 ms2,961

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.
NetworkMedian downloadMiddle half of testsMedian uploadLatencyTests
T-Mobile USA38.7 Mbps8.2 Mbps to 124 Mbps6.7 Mbps47 ms7,684

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.

Options that work statewide

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

See Starlink

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.

See T-Mobile Home Internet

5G home internet

Verizon Home Internet

The same idea on Verizon’s network, offered as 5G Home or LTE Home depending on what reaches your address.

Best for
Addresses with Verizon coverage where T-Mobile is weak
Watch out
LTE Home and 5G Home behave very differently. Confirm which one your address actually qualifies for.

See Verizon Home Internet

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.

Sources

Page last updated 2026-09-01. The date moves when the underlying data moves, not when the site is rebuilt.