TDS Telecom vs Spectrum
These two overlap in 99 metro areas and 252 towns and cities, so for a lot of people this is a real choice rather than a hypothetical one. The first question is not which is better. It is which of them can reach you.
TDS Telecom vs Spectrum at a glance
| Measure | TDS Telecom | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Main technology | Fiber | Cable |
| Residential locations on that technology | 851,451 | 33,900,003 |
| Single technology or mixed | Mixed | Mixed |
| Full coverage detail | Coverage page coming | Where Spectrum is available |
We do not publish speeds or prices here. Both providers change them constantly and by market, and a stale number is worse than no number. Coverage is the part that is federally reported and verifiable.
Where you can get both
Metro areas where both TDS Telecom and Spectrum report service, ranked by how well covered the less available of the two is because that is what decides whether you genuinely get a choice.
These percentages count each operator's whole reported network. 60.9% of what TDS Telecom files with the FCC is fiber. The FCC publishes that split nationally and never per metro, so a high number here means the operator reaches the metro, not that it reaches it on that technology.
| Metro area | TDS Telecom | Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Coeur d'Alene, ID Metro Area | 60% | 75% |
| Appleton, WI Metro Area | 54% | 89% |
| Wausau-Weston, WI Metro Area | 40% | 71% |
| Stevens Point, WI Micro Area | 39% | 64% |
| Madison, WI Metro Area | 36% | 86% |
| Eau Claire, WI Metro Area | 36% | 79% |
| Platteville, WI Micro Area | 40% | 34% |
| Butte-Silver Bow, MT Micro Area | 32% | 84% |
| Green Bay, WI Metro Area | 31% | 79% |
| Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area | 30% | 84% |
| Willmar, MN Micro Area | 27% | 58% |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metro Area | 25% | 92% |
| Manitowoc, WI Micro Area | 20% | 30% |
| Whitewater, WI Micro Area | 20% | 82% |
| Billings, MT Metro Area | 19% | 75% |
| Sheboygan, WI Metro Area | 19% | 88% |
| Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield, WI Micro Area | 18% | 74% |
| Brainerd, MN Micro Area | 17% | 38% |
| Baraboo, WI Micro Area | 16% | 54% |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metro Area | 16% | 78% |
| Menomonie, WI Micro Area | 16% | 51% |
| Great Falls, MT Metro Area | 16% | 73% |
| Fond du Lac, WI Metro Area | 14% | 88% |
| Helena, MT Micro Area | 13% | 71% |
| Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI Micro Area | 13% | 86% |
Showing 25 of 99 metro areas where both operate.
Where only one of them reaches
TDS Telecom reports service in 30 states and Spectrum in 42, and they share 28 of them. Overlap is the exception, not the rule, so if you are outside the table above this is the part that answers your question.
48 metro areas have TDS Telecom and not Spectrum
- Bend, OR Metro Area 93% covered
- St. George, UT Metro Area 92% covered
- St. Marys, GA Micro Area 84% covered
- Hobbs, NM Micro Area 84% covered
- Ruidoso, NM Micro Area 75% covered
- Carlsbad-Artesia, NM Micro Area 61% covered
- Alamogordo, NM Micro Area 58% covered
- Prineville, OR Micro Area 56% covered
414 metro areas have Spectrum and not TDS Telecom
- Kill Devil Hills, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Akron, OH Metro Area 96% covered
- Jacksonville, NC Metro Area 96% covered
- Morehead City, NC Micro Area 96% covered
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area 96% covered
- Kapaa, HI Micro Area 96% covered
- Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area 95% covered
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area 94% covered
States where only TDS Telecom reports service: Oklahoma, Utah. States where only Spectrum reports service: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas and 2 more.
Showing the eight best covered of each. Ranked by reported coverage within the metro, from the same FCC filing as the table above. Providers self report and overstate, so read these as a ceiling on where a company will sell to you, not a promise about your street.
Which should you pick?
Honestly, in most of the places above only one of them will actually reach your building, and that settles it. Where both do reach you, the useful question is the technology rather than the brand.
That is the case here: TDS Telecom is mainly fiber and Spectrum is mainly cable. The practical difference is upload speed and consistency rather than headline download speed, we explain what that means here.
See which one reaches your address →
What we will not do is tell you one is better because it pays us more. See the affiliate disclosure for how that works.