That's the median of 123 direct contracts at Bay Area school and library sites, with most between $575 and $1,181. It's close to what businesses pay nationally ($901 median). The statewide median looks much lower, $348, because one cable operator's flat E-Rate offer dominates the rest of the state.
Bay Area prices by speed
Bar, and Low to High in the table = 10th to 90th percentile. Marker = median. Pre-discount monthly price for fiber internet with the circuit included. The most recent contract at each site, direct contracts only (consortium purchases excluded).
| Bay Area | Contracts | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Mbps internet | 30 | $97 | $235 | $1,039 |
| 500 Mbps internet | 23 | $227 | $685 | $924 |
| 1 Gbps internet | 123 | $575 | $990 | $1,181 |
| 10 Gbps internet | 20 | $982 | $2,810 | $4,484 |
| 100 Mbps between sites | 9 | $320 | $321 | $506 |
| 1 Gbps between sites | 85 | $280 | $483 | $1,002 |
| 10 Gbps between sites | 64 | $460 | $911 | $2,405 |
Who charges what for 1 Gbps in the Bay Area
| Provider | Contracts | Median monthly |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T Enterprises, LLC | 31 | $775 |
| Comcast Business Communications | 28 | $1,032 |
| AT&T Corp. | 17 | $1,000 |
| Comcast Phone, LLC | 17 | $1,035 |
| WAVEDIVISION HOLDINGS, LLC | 6 | $1,022 |
| Comcast Cable Communications, LLC | 5 | $400 |
| Sonic.net, Inc. | 5 | $750 |
| Pacific Bell Telephone Company | 4 | $142 |
Several carriers file under more than one legal name (for example Comcast Business Communications and Comcast Phone), so they appear on separate rows.
Statewide, FY2026
Statewide numbers need a warning label. Charter's $347 offer for 1 Gbps accounts for 59% of California's non-consortium 1 Gbps internet contracts in FY2026, so the median lands on its price. Look at the provider rows, not the median.
| Internet with circuit | CA contracts | CA median | US median | Most common CA provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Mbps | 29 | $705 | $400 | Comcast Business Communications (34%) |
| 500 Mbps | 49 | $734 | $700 | Cox California Telcom, LLC (24%) |
| 1 Gbps | 612 | $348 | $825 | Charter Communications Operating, LLC (59%) |
| 10 Gbps | 147 | $2,600 | $2,577 | Charter Communications Operating, LLC (33%) |
| 1 Gbps, statewide, by provider | Contracts | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charter Communications Operating, LLC | 351 | $347 | $347 | $750 |
| AT&T Enterprises, LLC | 63 | $728 | $793 | $814 |
| Comcast Business Communications | 32 | $981 | $1,035 | $1,207 |
| Cox California Telcom, LLC | 28 | $565 | $1,105 | $1,618 |
| AT&T Corp. | 22 | $736 | $955 | $1,054 |
| Frontier California Inc. | 14 | $138 | $715 | $984 |
| Comcast Phone, LLC | 14 | $895 | $1,033 | $1,093 |
| Pacific Bell Telephone Company | 12 | $152 | $312 | $787 |
| U.S. TelePacific Corp | 11 | $220 | $1,989 | $3,656 |
A sample of real contracts
Funded FY2026 California contracts for 1 Gbps internet, spread across the price range, at most three per provider. All of this is public in USAC's data.
| Applicant | Provider | Monthly | Bids received | Contract ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany Lutheran School | Frontier California Inc. | $120 | 3 | 2027-06-30 |
| Verbum Dei Jesuit High School - Los Angeles | Charter Communications Operating, LLC | $347 | 3 | 2028-06-30 |
| St. Gregory The Great School - Whittier | Charter Communications Operating, LLC | $347 | 3 | 2028-06-30 |
| St. Anne Mission School - Santa Monica | Charter Communications Operating, LLC | $348 | 2 | 2027-06-30 |
| Hope Elementary School Dist | Cox California Telcom, LLC | $565 | 2 | 2031-06-30 |
| Big Picture Education Academy | Comcast Business Communications | $669 | 3 | 2029-06-30 |
| St. Thomas Aquinas School - Monterey Park | Crown Castle Fiber LLC | $750 | 2 | 2027-06-30 |
| Amethod Public Schools | AT&T Corp. | $772 | 3 | 2027-06-30 |
| Golden Eagle Charter School District | Hunter Communications & Technologies LLC | $800 | 3 | 2027-06-30 |
| St John The Baptist School | Comcast Phone, LLC | $985 | 2 | 2028-06-30 |
| Big Picture Education Academy | Comcast Business Communications | $1,035 | 3 | 2029-06-30 |
| Lemon Grove Elem School Dist | Cox California Telcom, LLC | $1,150 | 2 | 2029-06-30 |
| Santa Sophia Academy | Cox California Telcom, LLC | $1,425 | 2 | 2027-06-30 |
| Wilshire Boulevard Temple | Cogent Communications LLC | $1,697 | 4 | 2027-06-30 |
Prices from public E-Rate contracts (USAC) and Lightyear's published guides, as of the FY2026 data pulled 2026-09-23. 100gig's operator sells circuits through Tel-One, which may earn a commission on your quote. That doesn't change these numbers. How we get paid
Common questions
Why do schools often pay less than businesses?
E-Rate rules require providers to offer schools and libraries their lowest corresponding price, and applicants have to pick the most cost-effective bid with price as the main factor. Treat these prices as a floor for similar service, not a ceiling.
Are these prices before or after the E-Rate discount?
Before. They're the full monthly price the provider charges. E-Rate then pays 20% to 90% of it depending on the applicant's poverty level and location, and the school pays the rest.
Why is California's statewide 1 Gbps median so much lower than the Bay Area's?
Because one provider's flat $347 offer makes up most of the statewide contracts. In the Bay Area that offer is rare, and the provider mix looks much more like the business market.
What about consortium contracts like CENIC?
Consortia buy for many sites at once, and their line items often mix circuits and services, so they aren't comparable to a single school's contract. We leave them out of these figures.
How can a district use this when it evaluates bids?
Compare each bid with the provider and speed rows above, and ask why a bid sits well above the median for its speed. Construction charges should be listed separately from the monthly price; see what construction costs.
Sources and method
USAC E-Rate open data: FRN line items (prices, speeds, products), FRN status (provider, status, contract dates) and recipients of service (site locations). Current form versions only, funded or pending requests, fiber circuits, pre-discount monthly unit price. "Internet" means internet access that includes the circuit; "between sites" means data transmission between an applicant's own sites. Speeds filed as either "1 Gbps" or "1000 Mbps" are merged. Bay Area means Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma counties. National business benchmark: Lightyear 2026.