Chicago is one of the best business internet markets in the country. More carriers. More fiber. More room to negotiate. If you run a business in the Loop, in River North, or out in the suburbs, you have real options. Most people do not know that. So they pay the first quote.
Here is the lay of the land.
Who actually serves Chicago
Four carriers do most of the work in the metro. A few others matter in specific buildings.
Comcast Business. They cover almost every commercial address in the city and most of the suburbs. Their cable product is fast and cheap. Their fiber product (Comcast Business Enterprise Solutions) is in a lot more buildings than people realize. If your building is lit, ask.
AT&T Business. They have fiber across the Loop, River North, the West Loop, and most of the office corridors. AT&T Business Fiber tops out at 5 Gbps in many spots. Pricing is competitive when there is a Comcast quote on the table.
Everstream. Regional fiber carrier. They lit a lot of Chicago over the last five years, and they price aggressively to win new buildings. If Everstream is in your building, you have an edge. (Yes, a real edge. The kind that lowers your bill.)
Crown Castle Fiber. Big metro fiber footprint, especially downtown and along the major commercial streets. Often the cheapest 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps quote in a building where they compete head to head with Comcast.
Then there are the smaller players. WOW! Business in parts of the suburbs. Lumen and Zayo in carrier hotels and large office towers. Starry was in the residential market and is gone. Verizon does some wireless backup but not much wireline business service here.
What you should pay
Real numbers from quotes we have seen in the Chicago metro this year.
500 Mbps cable, Comcast Business: $180 to $260 a month. Anything over $300 is a renegotiation.
1 Gbps fiber, dedicated, with a real SLA: $550 to $900 a month in most commercial buildings downtown. Suburban buildings run a bit higher because there is less competition.
10 Gbps fiber, dedicated: $1,400 to $2,200 a month in a building with two or more carriers. In a single carrier building, you can see $3,500 or more.
Static IPs: $15 a month for a single IP is fair. A block of 5 should be under $50. If you see $90 for 5 IPs, push back.
Installation: in a lit building, install should be free or close to it on a 3 year term. If a carrier wants $5,000 to install in a building they already serve, they are testing you.
How to actually get the best rate
The play is simple. It works almost every time.
- Find out which carriers are lit in your building. Ask your property manager. They have the list.
- Get a quote from each one. Same speed. Same term. Same SLA.
- Send the lowest quote to the carrier you actually want to use, and ask them to match it or beat it.
- Sign a 3 year term, not a 5 year. The market is moving fast. You do not want to be locked in at today's price in 2029.
That is it. No tricks. Carriers in Chicago have room to move because they are fighting each other for the same buildings.
One more thing. Put your contract end date in your calendar the day you sign. The renewal window is 90 days out. Miss it and you may roll forward at a worse rate.
If you want a second set of eyes on a Chicago quote, upload your bill. We will tell you what is fair and what is not.
Related reading
→ Comcast Business pricing and what to push back on → AT&T Business Fiber: where it competes and where it does not → Chicago business internet market data → See a sample bill review