Bismarck, North Dakota Internet Outage Today
Live Bismarck internet outage reports and how households here get online.
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com
No internet outage reports in Bismarck, North Dakota in the last 24 hours
Internet access in Bismarck
Only 18.5% of Bismarck homes can get fiber; most wired service here runs over cable or DSL.
5 home internet providers reach at least 5% of the city's 40,144 homes. Satellite service is excluded. Source: FCC National Broadband Map, December 2025 data.
- Broadband subscription: 88% of 33,130 households (North Dakota 88.7%, US 91%). Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 (table S2801)
- Fiber to the home: available at 18.5% of 40,144 homes (US 55.9%). Gigabit plans: 81.2%. Cable: 85.6%.
- Home internet providers filing coverage here: Midco (100% of homes), CenturyLink / Quantum Fiber (75% of homes), AT&T (67% of homes). 5G home or mobile coverage: 100% of the city area. Source: FCC National Broadband Map, Dec 2025 data
- Rank: lowest of 3 North Dakota cities we track (highest: Minot, 89.4%).
- Cable, fiber or DSL: 77%. Cellular data only: 9.7% (US 11.5%).
- No internet subscription: 11.8%. No computer or smartphone: 6%. Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 (table S2801)
- Grid reliability, 2024: Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) customers averaged 83 minutes without power. Source: EIA Form 861, 2024 reliability data
- Burleigh County storm record since 2015: 213 reports; power outages named in 8 episodes. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
Source: Census ACS 2020–2024.
Source: FCC National Broadband Map, December 2025 data.
Bismarck is 4th of 4 nearby cities on this measure. Source: Census ACS 2020–2024.
| City | Widest wired provider | Fiber | Gigabit plans | No internet subscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck, ND | Midco (100%) | 18.5% | 81.2% | 11.8% |
| Minot, ND | SRT Communications, Inc. (100%) | 98.9% | 100% | 10.5% |
| Fargo, ND | Midco (100%) | 36.4% | 93.6% | 11.6% |
| Rapid City, SD | Midco (96%) | 33.5% | 59.5% | 9.5% |
Source: FCC National Broadband Map, December 2025 data; Census ACS 2020–2024.
Checked September 2026.
Internet providers in Bismarck
Share of Bismarck homes each provider reported it can serve, in FCC filings for December 2025: Midco (100%), T-Mobile Home Internet (78%), CenturyLink / Quantum Fiber (75%), Verizon (71%), and AT&T (67%). Check your own address on the FCC National Broadband Map. If the lights are out too, see Bismarck power outages.
Router checks: internet outage guide. Nationwide: US internet outages.
Who to check first in Bismarck
The providers with the widest reported coverage in Bismarck. Start with the one on your bill.
Midco in Bismarck
Reach: reports service to 100% of Bismarck homes. Network: Cable and fiber, plus fixed wireless in rural areas, run by Midco.
Where to check: Check the Midco app or midco.com for service alerts in your area.
Support: 800-888-1300
CenturyLink / Quantum Fiber in Bismarck
Reach: reports service to 75% of Bismarck homes. Network: DSL and fiber (Quantum Fiber), run by Lumen.
Where to check: Sign in to the CenturyLink app or centurylink.com to check for a service outage at your address.
AT&T in Bismarck
Reach: reports service to 67% of Bismarck homes. Network: Fiber, DSL/IPBB and AT&T Internet Air (fixed wireless), run by AT&T.
Where to check: Use AT&T's outage check in the Smart Home Manager app or on att.com after signing in.
Support: 800-288-2020
Backup internet options in Bismarck
Midco (100% of homes) and CenturyLink / Quantum Fiber (75%) each report service to more than half of Bismarck homes. At an address that can get both, they run on separate lines.
Home 5G and fixed-wireless plans from T-Mobile Home Internet (78%) and Verizon (71%) report coverage of Bismarck homes (Verizon’s figure combines Fios fiber and 5G Home). They run over cell towers rather than cable or fiber, so they can work when a wired network is down. Cell coverage by area is 100% for 4G LTE and 100% for 5G.
About 9.7% of Bismarck households, roughly 3,200 homes, get online only through a cell plan. For them a mobile outage is an internet outage.
Power and weather behind internet outages in Bismarck
Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) customers averaged 83 minutes without power in 2024, across 0.99 interruptions each, against 99 minutes for North Dakota as a whole. Cable nodes and fiber cabinets run on batteries that last hours, not days, so a long power cut can take internet down even for homes whose own power has returned. See Bismarck power outages when both go out together.
Burleigh County logged 213 storm reports since 2015, most often hail, thunderstorm wind, and tornado. Reports peak in June. Power outages were named in 8 of those storm episodes. Wind, ice and flooding damage poles and buried lines, which is how a storm turns into an internet outage as well as a power outage.
Fiber reports reach 18.5% of Bismarck homes, cable 85.6% and copper lines 71%. Cable is the main wired technology here. One neighborhood node feeds many homes, so a node fault usually shows up as a whole street offline at once.
Bismarck internet outage questions
Does a cell network outage take down home internet in Bismarck?
For the 9.7% of Bismarck households that rely only on a mobile data plan, yes. The 77% with cable, fiber or DSL are not affected.
What can I use for internet in Bismarck when my provider is down?
A phone hotspot: 4G LTE covers 100% of Bismarck by area and 5G 100%. Home 5G plans: T-Mobile Home Internet (78%) and Verizon (71%). Where both Midco and CenturyLink / Quantum Fiber are available, the second wired line is a backup.
Can a power outage take internet down in Bismarck?
Yes, a long power cut can. Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) customers averaged 83 minutes without power in 2024. NOAA records name power outages in 8 storm episodes in Burleigh County since 2015.
Is fiber or gigabit internet available in Bismarck?
Fiber is reported at 18.5% of Bismarck homes (US 55.9%, North Dakota 69.9%), and plans of 1 Gbps or faster at 81.2% (US 69.2%).
How many Bismarck households have no home internet?
About 3,900 of 33,130 households, or 11.8%, have no internet subscription of any kind, and another 9.7% rely only on a cell plan (Census ACS 2020–2024).
Which internet provider covers the most homes in Bismarck?
Midco, at 100% of homes in its FCC filing. Fiber reaches 18.5% of Bismarck homes and gigabit plans 81.2%.
ISP outage status for Bismarck
More outage pages for Bismarck and nearby
Other outage types in Bismarck
Internet Outages in cities near Bismarck
- Minot, ND 101 mi
- Aberdeen, SD 144 mi
- Pierre, SD 170 mi
- Fargo, ND 189 mi
- Grand Forks, ND 192 mi
- Rapid City, SD 223 mi
Report counts are user-submitted; other figures name their official source. How our data works
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