AT&T Internet Air vs Starlink

Why is AT&T offering you Internet Air?

The old copper phone network is being shut down area by area. AT&T plans to end copper-based services in half of its wire centers outside California by the end of 2027 and in substantially all of them by the end of 2029. Press reports put the next round on or after November 15, 2026, in the parts of about 1,060 wire centers in 18 states covered by AT&T's January 2026 FCC approval (about 90,000 customers in AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX and WI); the letter at each address gives that address's date. AT&T's shutdown covers DSL as well as phone lines: where copper service is discontinued, it stops working and is disconnected.

Internet Air is AT&T’s 5G home internet: a hub in your home picks up AT&T’s cell signal and makes your Wi-Fi. It’s one of several replacements AT&T offers, and you don’t have to take it: AT&T offers AT&T Phone - Advanced, wireless, AT&T Fiber or AT&T Internet Air instead; customers can also choose any other provider. The dates, the letter and every option are in AT&T is retiring copper: what DSL customers can do.

Will Internet Air reach your house?

Not always. Availability is address-based: AT&T checks the 5G signal at each address, so not every home in a covered area can get Internet Air. Readers in rural areas describe calling AT&T about Internet Air after a copper notice and being told their house is too far from the tower, with no other AT&T option on offer.

If that happens to you:

• Check the other carriers. T-Mobile and Verizon use their own towers, which may sit closer to you. Put your exact address into each company’s checker. T-Mobile vs Starlink · Verizon vs Starlink
• Look up your address on the FCC National Broadband Map for cable, fiber or a local wireless company.
• Check your sky for Starlink with the Starlink app. It doesn’t need a tower, only open sky.

Does activating Internet Air end your DSL?

We can’t tell you for sure. AT&T's pages don't say whether ordering or activating Internet Air automatically ends a DSL line; ask AT&T in writing before ordering and keep the DSL modem until Internet Air works. Some readers say their DSL was cancelled after an Internet Air order; we found nothing from AT&T that confirms or rules that out.

How fast is AT&T Internet Air, really?

AT&T's own page gives two typical download ranges: 89–346 Mbps in its speed answer and 90–300 Mbps in other answers; typical uploads are 8–30 Mbps in both. Ookla’s measurements of real users are steadier ground: a median of 160.43 Mbps down and 10.06 Mbps up for Internet Air in April–June 2026 (Q2 2026).

For a DSL household, lag (the delay before anything starts to load) is the number to watch. DSL latency is low (about 23–34 ms idle across DSL providers in the FCC's 2022 measurements), even when speed is not. Internet Air’s median lag was 69 ms, against 46 ms for T-Mobile and 53 ms for Verizon in the same Ookla report, and 39 ms for Starlink in Ookla’s satellite report (Q1 2026). Some readers who moved from a wired AT&T line to Internet Air report faster downloads but slower uploads and a ping that jumps around in the evening. Others are happy with it. Your own evening test decides.

Data: Unlimited data with no caps or overage fees, but AT&T will greatly reduce the speed for at least 30 minutes if your use is adding to congestion, and may slow speeds when the network is busy. Starlink: unlimited data on every Residential plan, with slower speeds possible at its peak hours, 6 pm to 11 pm local time.

What Internet Air and Starlink cost each month

• Internet Air: from $55 a month plus taxes and fees with AutoPay and paperless billing; the price shown depends on the address and current offers, and an eligible AT&T phone plan can lower it (AT&T doesn't publish by how much). There’s no annual contract and no monthly equipment fee (the All-Fi Hub is included), and self-setup costs $0.
• Starlink: US Residential prices vary by region, and starlink.com hides Residential prices until you type in an address. For reference, with no address entered, Starlink’s US national order list showed Residential 100 Mbps at $49.50, 200 Mbps at $76.50 and Max at $143 a month on Nov 3, 2026; prices vary by address, and starlink.com shows yours once you enter it, while starlink.com still quoted $55, $85 and $130 monthly for those plans that day on the order page of one public test address, a courthouse in Broken Bow, Nebraska (the national prices until about Oct 25, 2026). Buying the kit costs $349; renting, where Starlink offers it, starts with a one-time $0, $99 or $199 set by address and plan (the $99 adds professional installation; the $199 is a rental kit that includes it).

Put the Internet Air price AT&T quotes for your address next to the Starlink price for your address. Where Internet Air works well, it is usually the cheaper of the two, with no kit to buy and nothing to mount on the roof. Every cost of switching, added up

AT&T Internet Air vs Starlink, side by side

The same rows, in the same order, are on our T-Mobile and Verizon 5G Home comparisons.

How to test both before your copper line ends

Start early: AT&T’s letters come months ahead, and every step below is easier while the DSL still works.

1. Read your AT&T letter

   10 minutes

   Write down the date and which services it covers. AT&T says it contacts affected customers several times over about a year by letter, email, text and phone, and gives a clear end date. The date in your letter is the one that counts for your address.

2. Ask AT&T your questions in writing

   20 minutes

   Ask whether Internet Air has a confirmed signal at your address, what you’ll pay once any offer ends, and what happens to your DSL if you order or activate it. The full list of questions

3. Run the two quick checks

   30 minutes

   AT&T’s address check tells you whether Internet Air is offered. For Starlink, the Starlink app helps you pick an install spot and check for obstructions that could interfere with service. How to check your spot

4. Try Internet Air first if it’s offered

   1–2 weeks

   It’s usually the cheaper option. Set the hub by a window facing AT&T’s tower, keep the DSL running, and test both at 8 p.m. for a week. AT&T publishes no trial or money-back window for Internet Air on its consumer pages; ask before ordering. If the test fails, AT&T’s equipment return window is 21 days, and an unreturned hub costs $200.

5. If Internet Air falls short, set up Starlink

   1–2 weeks

   Order on starlink.com and set it up while the DSL still works. Pick a spot with open sky, plug in, and the dish finds satellites in a few minutes; current kits don't point themselves, so you rotate the dish the way the Starlink app's alignment screen tells you. Run the same 8 p.m. tests. If Starlink doesn’t work at your house either, a kit bought on starlink.com and sent back undamaged inside 30 days of your Payment Due Date earns a full refund, first month's fee included. Replacing DSL with Starlink, step by step

6. Move your phone number before the cut-off

   a few days

   If you have a landline number on the copper, move it before the line ends (next section). Keep your old phone service until the new company has started moving your number.

7. Close what’s left of the DSL account

   20 minutes

   AT&T's fee schedule lists no unreturned-equipment fee for AT&T DSL, because DSL modems were bought rather than leased; check your bill if AT&T sent you a leased gateway. Note the date, the rep’s name and a confirmation number, and check your next two bills.

Your home phone and the copper line

On a DSL line the phone number usually rides on the same copper, so it needs a new home before the copper is cut. Neither replacement brings a phone line by itself. No Starlink Residential plan includes home phone or voice service; Starlink sells internet service. For the landline, AT&T sells a separate product. AT&T Phone - Advanced is AT&T's replacement home phone: it runs over AT&T's cellular network (with broadband as a backup), keeps your number and supports up to six devices such as alarms and medical monitors; it needs home power, with a 24-hour battery backup supplied.

Your other options are a VoIP home phone service that runs over your new internet, or a mobile carrier. Per the FCC, once you've asked a new company for service, the old company can't refuse to port your number, even if you owe a balance or a termination fee. Keeping your home phone number, step by step

Checking method: each price, fee and rule here links to the provider’s or regulator’s own page, dated the day we read it. No internet provider pays for a place on this site; the only income is the Starlink referral explained on our money page. Our fact-checking · How we make money · Corrections