Clarendon County is better served than most rural counties. Fiber already reaches 84.6% 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 Clarendon County sits in South Carolina
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
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 Clarendon County
Locations covered by each technology, out of 17,538 broadband serviceable locations. An address can be reached by more than one technology, so these add up to more than 100%.
Fiber14,829 · 85%
Cable7,359 · 42%
Licensed fixed wireless4,564 · 26%
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
17,498
99.8%
Underserved
29
0.2%
Unserved
11
0.1%
What that means if you live here
The USDA classes Clarendon County as a completely rural county, or one with an urban population under 5,000, adjacent to a metro area (continuum code 8).
About 31,024 people live across those locations, roughly 1.8 people per serviceable address.
Only 11 locations, 0.1%, are recorded with nothing at 25/3 Mbps or better.
The most widely available technology here is fiber, reaching 14,829 locations (84.6%); next is cable at 42.0%.
Fiber already reaches 84.6% of the county (14,829 locations), which puts Clarendon County well ahead of most rural America.
Filings come from 11 providers, of which 3 offer fiber and 3 licensed fixed wireless.
Fiber reached 1,844 more locations in Clarendon County over the last twelve months, a 10.5% swing in the county's total.
Served locations rose 9.40% year on year.
Fiber is further along here than in most of South Carolina, where the median county reaches 69.7%.
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.
Network
Median download
Middle half of tests
Median upload
Latency
Tests
Charter Communications
141 Mbps
50.4 Mbps to 295 Mbps
11.1 Mbps
29 ms
58,954
AT&T Enterprises
110 Mbps
27.6 Mbps to 326 Mbps
58.5 Mbps
26 ms
43,220
Comcast Cable Communications
116 Mbps
44.7 Mbps to 248 Mbps
12.3 Mbps
39 ms
24,284
Horry Telephone Cooperative
153 Mbps
53.8 Mbps to 286 Mbps
34.5 Mbps
33 ms
11,804
Comporium
136 Mbps
54.8 Mbps to 286 Mbps
25.3 Mbps
28 ms
11,780
Hargray Communications Group
103 Mbps
48.5 Mbps to 209 Mbps
21.4 Mbps
27 ms
9,187
Verizon Business
32.8 Mbps
9.4 Mbps to 65.6 Mbps
4.6 Mbps
44 ms
7,295
Home Telephone Company
99.8 Mbps
42.0 Mbps to 258 Mbps
52.9 Mbps
33 ms
5,887
Spirit Communications
73.7 Mbps
23.9 Mbps to 123 Mbps
54.3 Mbps
27 ms
5,635
CarolinaConnect Cooperative
155 Mbps
55.0 Mbps to 312 Mbps
134 Mbps
26 ms
4,325
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
38.7 Mbps
8.2 Mbps to 124 Mbps
6.7 Mbps
47 ms
7,684
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.
Your realistic options in Clarendon 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.