Portland is one of the few mid-size metros where the overbuilders genuinely compete with the incumbent cable operator. Ziply Fiber bought the old Frontier wireline footprint and rebuilt large sections of the metro with fiber. Astound Broadband, the rebrand of Wave, has both fiber and coax in most commercial corridors. That means a 1 Gig business circuit downtown often clears under Tier B national midpoints. The catch is building access. A lot of Portland's commercial stock is older brick and timber, and on-net status varies block by block. Two addresses across the street can have very different pricing.
Portland is one of the more competitive business internet markets in the Pacific Northwest. Comcast Business has the dominant cable footprint. Astound Broadband (formerly Wave) has fiber and coax across the metro. Ziply Fiber rebuilt fiber across much of the city and the suburbs. CenturyLink (now Lumen) is on most blocks. T-Mobile fixed wireless is widely available.
The pricing problem in Portland is the assumption that the local fiber overbuilder is too small to take seriously. Ziply and Astound are usually the cheapest options in the city.
Portland's commercial blocks
Portland's commercial demand sits in three places. The Westside TIF District, covering downtown and the Pearl District west of the Willamette River, holds the legal, financial, and Class A office corridor of the city. The Central Eastside, the industrial-sanctuary corridor running along the east bank of the Willamette, has filled in over the past two decades with creative-office, technology, and adaptive-reuse warehouse tenancy. North Macadam (South Waterfront), the redeveloped riverfront district anchored by OHSU's south campus, holds healthcare, research, and Class A office tenants. Oregon Health and Science University and Portland State University are two of the largest commercial accounts in the metro and drive heavy enterprise telecom demand.
In 2026, Ziply Fiber said its 400 Gig Northern Link Route went fully live with connectivity to Portland as part of its Pacific Northwest to Chicago transport route, adding meaningful long-haul capacity for cloud and data center traffic in and out of the metro. One regulatory wrinkle: Portland updated its right-of-way code in 2024 to give companies operating in the ROW, including wireless providers, a single uniform license and clearer fee-recovery rules, creating a notable permitting and compliance variable for network operators.
What you should be paying
These are dedicated internet ranges from current carrier wholesale data, marked up to typical retail.
Portland dedicated internet, typical retail (mid 50%)
Monthly recurring charge, dedicated internet access (DIA). Numbers are derived from current carrier wholesale quotes.
| Speed | Typical retail (mid 50%) | Sample size |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Mbps | $660 – $800/mo | n = 1 |
If your bill sits above the high end of the band, you are likely overpaying.
Analyze My Bill FreeFor Comcast Business coax at 600 Mbps, the fair price is $150 to $230 a month for a single office. For Ziply Fiber at 1 Gbps, expect $130 to $200 a month, which is one of the better headline rates available in the metro.
Carriers worth quoting in Portland
Five carriers cover most addresses in the metro.
- Comcast Business. Coax everywhere, fiber in select buildings.
- Astound (Wave) Business. Strong fiber and coax footprint inside the city and on the eastside.
- Ziply Fiber Business. Aggressive on price, strong in the suburbs and parts of north Portland.
- CenturyLink (Lumen). Fiber where they have rebuilt, copper elsewhere.
- T-Mobile Business Internet. $85 a month for 200 to 300 Mbps. Useful benchmark.
If you have not had three of these on a quote sheet, you have not run a real comparison.
What to do this week
- Pull your most recent invoice. Find the contract end date and the side fees.
- Get one quote outside Comcast. Ziply Fiber publishes most rates online and is the fastest benchmark.
- Compare your base rate to the bands above. If you are 20 percent above the high end, the retention call is worth making.
See where your Portland bill sits against current rates
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Carriers worth a quote here
- Comcast Business
Dominant cable footprint across the metro, with coax in nearly every commercial building and fiber in the Pearl, downtown, and parts of the Central Eastside. Pricing is closer to rate card than what Ziply or Astound will quote, and the equipment rental and Broadcast TV-style surcharges show up on most bills.
- Ziply Fiber Business
Took over the Frontier wireline territory and rebuilt fiber across much of Portland and the suburbs. Aggressive on price for 1 Gig and 10 Gig DIA, especially in residential-adjacent commercial corridors and the suburbs west of the Willamette.
- Astound Business
Formerly Wave Broadband, with fiber and coax across downtown, the Central Eastside, and inner east neighborhoods. Often the cheapest option in the older mixed-use buildings where Comcast is on-net but priced high.
- Lumen Business
The CenturyLink ILEC footprint is on most blocks in Portland, with fiber concentrated downtown, in North Macadam, and along the long-haul routes. Hungry for renewals right now, more negotiable than usual on DIA and waves.
- AT&T Business
Not an ILEC in Oregon, so off-net in most Portland buildings. Shows up in RFPs for multi-site customers who need national MPLS or SD-WAN, but rarely the price leader for a single Portland address.
- T-Mobile Business
Fixed wireless is widely available across the metro and is a real backup option for sub-$100 secondary circuits. Not a primary DIA replacement for anything bandwidth-sensitive, but useful as a diverse path.
- Crown Castle Fiber
On-net in a meaningful slice of Class A buildings downtown and in North Macadam. Worth quoting for dark fiber and wavelength between OHSU-adjacent sites and the downtown core.
- Verizon Business
Off-net for wireline in Portland and dependent on local loop resale, so DIA pricing rarely competes with Ziply or Astound. Stronger fit for customers who need it for national wireless or as part of a multi-region contract.
What internet costs in Portland, Oregon right now
Portland, Oregon market notes
Common questions about business internet in Portland, Oregon
Is Ziply Fiber actually reliable for a business in Portland?
Yes. Ziply rebuilt the old Frontier plant with new fiber and runs a real business NOC with SLAs. The reliability concern people remember is Frontier copper, which is a different network. Where Ziply is on-net, it's usually one of the two cheapest 1 Gig options in the metro and worth quoting against Comcast and Astound.
Why is Comcast Business so much more expensive in Portland than the competing fiber quotes?
Comcast prices close to rate card and rarely matches a hungry overbuilder unless you push. In Portland, Ziply and Astound have on-net fiber in enough buildings that Comcast knows it can lose deals on price. If you have a competing fiber quote, send it to your Comcast rep before renewal. The discount available is usually 30 to 50 percent off the renewal number.
Can I get true diverse redundancy in downtown Portland?
Yes, but verify the physical path. Two carriers entering the same building can share a local loop or a riser. For real diversity, ask each carrier for the conduit entry point and the building riser they use, then confirm they're on opposite sides of the building. Lumen, Ziply, and Crown Castle have separate downtown fiber rings, so true diversity is available if you specify it.
Is T-Mobile fixed wireless good enough as a primary internet connection for my office?
For a small office with light cloud use, sometimes. For anything with VoIP, video conferencing at scale, or SaaS-heavy workflows, no. Use it as a diverse backup path behind a real fiber circuit. The cost is low enough, around $50 to $100 a month, that it's a cheap insurance policy against a fiber cut.
How long does new fiber install really take in Portland?
On-net: 15 to 30 days. Off-net with a short build: 60 to 90 days. Off-net in older Central Eastside or Pearl buildings with riser access issues: 90 to 120 days, sometimes more. The 30-day quote on the order form is the carrier's best case, not a commitment. Plan your contract end date with the slower number in mind.
What surcharges on my Portland internet bill are real and which are negotiable?
Real pass-throughs: USF (if your circuit crosses state lines), Oregon franchise and ROW recovery fees, and 911 fees on voice lines. Negotiable or removable: administrative fees, cost recovery fees, modem and router rental, and unused static IP charges. The carrier-invented fees are usually 5 to 15 percent of your MRC and most of them come off at contract renewal if you ask.