Spokane is a two-horse fiber race with a third entrant ramping up. Ziply rebuilt the old Frontier Northwest plant aggressively and is on-net in a lot of buildings most buyers don't realize. Comcast Business owns the cable footprint and most businesses sign with them by default. TDS Fiber started a $60M to $70M build in 2024 that will reshape pricing in residential-adjacent commercial corridors over the next few years. The quirk: this is a Tier C metro on paper, but Ziply's fiber density in the urban core delivers Tier A or B pricing if you actually quote them. Most Spokane businesses never do.
Spokane is mostly a Comcast and Ziply market. Comcast Business has the dominant cable footprint. Ziply Fiber rebuilt fiber across much of the metro after acquiring the Frontier Northwest properties. CenturyLink (Lumen) has fiber in parts of the city. T-Mobile fixed wireless is widely available.
The pricing problem in Spokane is the assumption that Ziply is too small to take seriously. They are usually the cheapest fiber-to-the-building option in the metro, but most businesses default to Comcast without a comparison.
Spokane's commercial weight
Spokane's commercial demand sits in three places. Downtown Spokane holds the legal, financial, and government corridor centered on Riverside Avenue and the surrounding Class A office stock that anchors the metro's daytime workforce. The University District, the academic and research-office cluster east of downtown anchored by WSU Spokane and Gonzaga, has filled in with university-adjacent office, healthcare, and creative-tech tenancy over the past two decades. Playfair Commerce Park, the master-planned commercial cluster on the city's east side, anchors a growing concentration of light-industrial, logistics, and back-office tenancy outside the urban core. Gonzaga University, the city's largest private institutional anchor, and Providence Holy Family Hospital, among Spokane County's largest employers with more than 1,000 staff, are two of the largest commercial accounts in the metro and drive heavy enterprise telecom demand.
In June 2024, the Spokane Journal of Business reported that TDS Fiber had started a $60 million to $70 million build-out across Spokane and Spokane Valley, with the City of Spokane saying the schedule called for reaching 70 percent of the city's residential units within five years, putting another fiber-to-the-building competitor on the city's blocks. One pricing wrinkle: Spokane uses Parking and Business Improvement Areas as special assessment districts, and the city says the downtown Spokane BID is financed through assessments on businesses, multifamily projects, and mixed-use developments inside the district, often passed through in commercial leases.
What you should be paying
These are dedicated internet ranges from current carrier wholesale data, marked up to typical retail.
Spokane dedicated internet, typical retail (mid 50%)
Monthly recurring charge, dedicated internet access (DIA). Numbers are derived from current carrier wholesale quotes. Shown as a metro-tier band where city-level data is thin.
| Speed | Typical retail (mid 50%) | Sample size |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Mbps | $630 – $1,060/mo | n = 6 |
| 500 Mbps | $955 – $1,660/mo | n = 6 |
| 1 Gbps | $1,195 – $2,000/mo | n = 7 |
| 10 Gbps | $1,560 – $6,250/mo | n = 6 |
If your bill sits above the high end of the band, you are likely overpaying.
Analyze My Bill FreeFor Ziply Fiber Business at 1 Gbps, expect $130 to $200 a month for a single office. For Comcast Business coax at 600 Mbps, the fair price is $150 to $230 a month.
Carriers worth quoting in Spokane
Five carriers cover most addresses in the metro.
- Ziply Fiber Business. Strong fiber footprint across the metro.
- Comcast Business. Coax everywhere, fiber in select buildings.
- CenturyLink (Lumen) Business. Fiber where they have rebuilt, copper elsewhere.
- T-Mobile Business Internet. $85 a month for 200 to 300 Mbps. Useful benchmark.
- Verizon 5G Business Internet. $99 a month at 400 Mbps.
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 from Ziply if they reach your address.
- 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 Spokane bill sits against current rates
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Carriers worth a quote here
- Ziply Fiber Business
On-net across most of downtown, the University District, and into Spokane Valley after rebuilding the former Frontier Northwest plant. Usually the cheapest fiber-to-the-building quote in the metro, and willing to sharpen pricing against a Comcast incumbent quote.
- Comcast Business
The default for SMBs on Spokane's North Side, downtown multi-tenant office, and Playfair Commerce Park. Dominant coax footprint with fiber available in larger buildings. Rarely flexible on price without a competing Ziply or Lumen quote on the table.
- Lumen Business
Legacy CenturyLink ILEC with fiber in pockets of downtown and along the Riverside corridor. Currently hungry for business and more negotiable than usual, but coverage is uneven block to block. Worth a serial check before assuming they're not on-net.
- T-Mobile Business
Fixed wireless 5G is widely available across Spokane and Spokane Valley as a low-cost secondary or failover circuit. Not a DIA replacement, but a real option for small offices and a useful piece of a diverse design.
- Astound Business
Limited but real presence in parts of the metro through legacy regional cable assets. Worth quoting in mixed-use buildings where Ziply hasn't lit and Comcast is the only obvious answer.
What internet costs in Spokane, Washington right now
Spokane, Washington market notes
Common questions about business internet in Spokane, Washington
Is Ziply Fiber actually a serious option for business internet in Spokane?
Yes. Ziply rebuilt the former Frontier Northwest fiber plant across most of the metro and is on-net in more commercial buildings than most buyers assume. They're usually the cheapest fiber-to-the-building quote in Spokane, but you have to ask. Most businesses default to Comcast without ever pulling a Ziply quote, and they overpay by 20 to 40 percent as a result.
How much should I pay for 1Gbps DIA in downtown Spokane?
On-net in a multi-tenant downtown building, expect $1,195 to $1,800 a month on a 36-month term. Ziply tends to come in at the low end, Comcast and Lumen toward the middle. If you're getting quotes above $2,000 for an on-net 1Gbps DIA, you're either off-net, on a short term, or talking to a rep who hasn't sharpened the deal yet.
Will the TDS Fiber build affect my pricing?
Eventually, yes. TDS started a $60M to $70M build in 2024 targeting 70 percent of residential units within five years, and commercial corridors near those routes will see pricing pressure. If your address is within a year of a TDS pass, sign shorter terms now (12 months) so you can quote them when they light. Don't lock into 36 months on a block about to get a third fiber option.
Is Comcast Business worth it over Ziply for an SMB?
Only if Ziply isn't on-net at your address. Comcast's coax broadband is reliable for most small offices, but Ziply fiber at a similar price point gives you symmetric speeds, better latency, and a cleaner SLA path if you upgrade later. The honest test: get both quotes for the same speed tier and compare total monthly cost including equipment rental.
Does T-Mobile fixed wireless work as a primary circuit in Spokane?
For a small office with five to ten users and no real SLA needs, sometimes. The 5G coverage across Spokane and Spokane Valley is solid. But it's a best-effort service with no uptime guarantee, and throughput varies by tower load. Better use case: a $50 to $100 a month failover behind your primary fiber circuit. That's a high-value design for the price.
Why does my Comcast Business bill keep going up in Spokane?
Three usual suspects. First, your promotional rate rolled off at the 12 or 24 month mark. Second, the Broadcast TV Surcharge and Regulatory Recovery Fee are carrier-set line items that creep up quarterly. Third, equipment rental on the modem and any leased router. Pull your current bill, compare the MRC to your contract, and the gap is almost always one of those three.