Rural Internet in Illinois
High-speed internet for Illinois homes and businesses beyond the reach of cable and fiber. Unlimited data on every plan, free professional installation, and a U.S. team on the phone from 9am to 9pm Central, seven days a week.
The short answer
About 355,000 homes in rural Illinois have no wired internet at all — no cable, no fiber, and no phone-line service fast enough to count as broadband. That is 38% of every rural home in the state, according to the FCC’s own coverage data as of December 2025. However, Country Broadband services those addresses. Plans start at $39.99 a month for up to 150 Mbps and run to $109.99 a month for up to 200 Mbps, for the first 12 months, plus a $15 monthly equipment lease. Every plan includes unlimited data with no overage charges, and professional installation is free. Because we deliver over a combination of fiber and wireless connections rather than being locked into one, we can serve addresses that single-technology providers have to turn down. Coverage is confirmed address by address — call 800-692-9907 or check your address online.
Where the need is in Illinois
Every county in Illinois with a meaningful number of rural homes that no wired provider serves, biggest first. These are the FCC’s figures, not ours — and if you live in one of them, you are exactly who we built this for.
| County | Rural homes | No wired option | Homes affected |
|---|---|---|---|
| LaSalle County | 20,304 | 45% | 9,115 |
| Lee County | 13,335 | 66% | 8,742 |
| Ogle County | 18,989 | 42% | 7,925 |
| McHenry County | 20,755 | 37% | 7,581 |
| Champaign County | 19,253 | 39% | 7,459 |
| McLean County | 20,385 | 37% | 7,458 |
| Jefferson County | 12,140 | 61% | 7,439 |
| St. Clair County | 18,711 | 40% | 7,436 |
| Macoupin County | 18,068 | 41% | 7,357 |
| Kankakee County | 15,856 | 45% | 7,061 |
| Sangamon County | 19,921 | 32% | 6,390 |
| Vermilion County | 15,957 | 40% | 6,372 |
| Clinton County | 14,154 | 44% | 6,199 |
| Jackson County | 11,647 | 53% | 6,167 |
| Shelby County | 9,769 | 60% | 5,831 |
| Will County | 17,028 | 34% | 5,803 |
| Iroquois County | 12,966 | 43% | 5,612 |
| Stephenson County | 11,420 | 48% | 5,462 |
| Livingston County | 12,916 | 42% | 5,419 |
| DeKalb County | 11,372 | 47% | 5,309 |
| Bureau County | 11,635 | 45% | 5,282 |
| Peoria County | 16,609 | 31% | 5,216 |
| Pike County | 9,871 | 52% | 5,178 |
| Marion County | 9,696 | 53% | 5,173 |
| Kane County | 12,670 | 41% | 5,150 |
| Fayette County | 7,684 | 67% | 5,148 |
| Tazewell County | 15,082 | 34% | 5,101 |
| Montgomery County | 9,061 | 54% | 4,878 |
| Bond County | 6,341 | 76% | 4,795 |
| Randolph County | 14,594 | 32% | 4,700 |
| Winnebago County | 12,941 | 33% | 4,276 |
| Washington County | 8,246 | 49% | 4,042 |
| Morgan County | 7,096 | 56% | 3,991 |
| Coles County | 7,005 | 57% | 3,973 |
| Union County | 6,106 | 64% | 3,927 |
| Monroe County | 7,309 | 52% | 3,832 |
| Fulton County | 13,124 | 29% | 3,759 |
| Grundy County | 7,335 | 51% | 3,709 |
| Edgar County | 5,663 | 65% | 3,657 |
| Jersey County | 7,330 | 50% | 3,633 |
| Woodford County | 13,595 | 26% | 3,524 |
| Greene County | 7,892 | 44% | 3,507 |
| Alexander County | 3,602 | 97% | 3,505 |
| Madison County | 20,175 | 17% | 3,440 |
| Macon County | 9,248 | 36% | 3,345 |
| Clark County | 8,578 | 37% | 3,186 |
| Perry County | 8,284 | 38% | 3,154 |
| Logan County | 6,836 | 45% | 3,110 |
| Hancock County | 10,530 | 29% | 3,105 |
| Kendall County | 6,707 | 45% | 3,040 |
| Effingham County | 10,432 | 29% | 3,027 |
| Massac County | 3,845 | 79% | 3,025 |
| Adams County | 13,410 | 22% | 3,009 |
| Christian County | 8,399 | 36% | 2,983 |
| Franklin County | 12,703 | 23% | 2,977 |
| Henry County | 13,085 | 22% | 2,881 |
| Crawford County | 6,568 | 43% | 2,852 |
| White County | 5,636 | 50% | 2,824 |
| Douglas County | 7,669 | 36% | 2,770 |
| Cumberland County | 5,676 | 47% | 2,691 |
| Warren County | 5,437 | 49% | 2,677 |
| Mercer County | 8,574 | 31% | 2,646 |
| Boone County | 7,380 | 35% | 2,579 |
| Richland County | 4,178 | 61% | 2,561 |
| Jasper County | 5,555 | 46% | 2,546 |
| Lawrence County | 5,201 | 46% | 2,370 |
| Marshall County | 7,193 | 32% | 2,324 |
| De Witt County | 4,715 | 49% | 2,291 |
| Pulaski County | 3,586 | 62% | 2,226 |
| Menard County | 7,026 | 31% | 2,165 |
| Knox County | 10,137 | 21% | 2,155 |
| Rock Island County | 9,488 | 23% | 2,138 |
| Mason County | 8,201 | 25% | 2,073 |
| Wabash County | 2,535 | 82% | 2,067 |
| Johnson County | 6,833 | 30% | 2,060 |
| Ford County | 5,163 | 39% | 2,022 |
| Piatt County | 5,763 | 34% | 1,932 |
| Schuyler County | 4,595 | 41% | 1,902 |
| Hamilton County | 4,999 | 35% | 1,746 |
| Williamson County | 14,713 | 12% | 1,738 |
| Moultrie County | 5,031 | 34% | 1,706 |
| Henderson County | 4,526 | 35% | 1,588 |
| Wayne County | 6,870 | 22% | 1,507 |
| Scott County | 3,265 | 46% | 1,487 |
| Saline County | 8,881 | 16% | 1,411 |
| Putnam County | 3,695 | 36% | 1,343 |
| Carroll County | 9,878 | 13% | 1,308 |
| Lake County | 4,824 | 26% | 1,277 |
| Calhoun County | 2,825 | 43% | 1,212 |
| Gallatin County | 3,225 | 36% | 1,146 |
| Stark County | 3,298 | 35% | 1,141 |
| McDonough County | 7,615 | 15% | 1,131 |
| Edwards County | 4,170 | 25% | 1,051 |
| Brown County | 3,034 | 34% | 1,034 |
| Jo Daviess County | 15,700 | 6% | 1,010 |
| Pope County | 3,044 | 32% | 974 |
| Whiteside County | 14,532 | 6% | 857 |
| Cass County | 4,261 | 14% | 599 |
| Clay County | 5,916 | 10% | 595 |
| Cook County | 1,369 | 22% | 296 |
| DuPage County | 1,052 | 27% | 286 |
101 counties listed. Figures are from the FCC National Broadband Map, December 2025 filing, counting homes in each county’s rural area with no cable, fiber or phone-line service at 100 Mbps. Not on the list? We serve rural addresses across all of Illinois — check your address or call 800-692-9907.
Plans and pricing in Illinois
The same prices everywhere in Illinois. No rural surcharge, no hidden fees, and the equipment charge shown separately so you can see exactly what the bill will say.
| Plan | Speed | Monthly | Equipment | Activation | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | up to 150 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload | $39.99/mo for 12 months, then $69.99 | $15/mo lease | $50 | 24 months |
| Unleashed | up to 180 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload | $69.99/mo for 12 months, then $99.99 | $15/mo lease | $99 | no contract |
| Unleashed Max | up to 200 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload | $109.99/mo for 12 months, then $179.99 | $15/mo lease | $99 | no contract |
| Business Backup | 50–100 Mbps | $49.99/mo | $15/mo lease | $150 | 12 months |
| Business Choice | 100–200 Mbps | $99.99/mo | $15/mo lease | $150 | 12 months |
Every residential plan has an 80 Mbps baseline speed, and every plan includes unlimited data and free professional installation. See full plan detail →
Straight talk about your options in Illinois
If you can get fiber, get fiber
Where a fiber or cable company actually serves your street in Illinois, that is normally the faster and cheaper buy and we will tell you so. We are not trying to win an argument you should not be having.
38% of rural IL does not have that choice
Outside the towns, the build-out stopped. What is left is an old phone line that will not clear modern speeds, or nothing. That is the address we serve.
Fiber and wireless, whichever reaches you
We are not locked into one way of delivering service. Some addresses get fiber; the rest are served wirelessly, with no cable run to the property. A provider with only one of those can only sell where it built. We can reach a lot of homes they cannot.
Unlimited means unlimited
No data cap, no overage charge, no surprise bill at the end of a month with a lot of streaming in it. That is true on every plan we sell.
A person answers the phone
Call 800-692-9907 between 9am and 9pm Central, any day of the week and you reach a U.S. support team, not a menu that dead-ends. Rural customers get treated like the whole business depends on them, because it does.
Illinois rural internet questions, answered
What internet options are there in rural Illinois?
In rural Illinois the honest list is short. If a street has cable or fiber, that is usually the best buy and worth taking. But roughly a third of the homes in rural Illinois — about 355,000 of them — have no wired internet at all that meets the federal 100 Mbps standard, according to the FCC's own coverage data as of December 2025. That is who Country Broadband is for. We sell to those addresses across Illinois, with unlimited data on every plan, free professional installation, and plans from $39.99 a month. Call 800-692-9907 and we will tell you in a couple of minutes whether we can reach your address.
How does Country Broadband deliver internet in Illinois?
In Illinois, as everywhere we serve, Country Broadband delivers over a combination of fiber and wireless connections, and which one reaches a particular property depends on that address. That is why we can serve homes here that other providers turn away: a company built around a single technology can only sell where that technology was built. Call 800-692-9907 with your address and we will tell you what is available there, what it costs and when it can be installed.
Which parts of Illinois have the worst internet?
By the FCC's count, the counties of Illinois with the most homes lacking any wired option are LaSalle County, Lee County, Ogle County, McHenry County and Champaign County. LaSalle County alone has about 9,100 rural homes with no cable, fiber or phone-line internet fast enough to count as broadband. Country Broadband serves all of them, and the rest of rural Illinois besides — coverage is confirmed address by address.
Does Country Broadband serve Illinois?
Yes. Country Broadband serves homes and businesses across Illinois, including the rural counties where cable and fiber were never built. Coverage is checked address by address, not by ZIP code, because two houses on the same rural road can get different answers. You can check yours at https://www.countrybroadband.net/home-or-business or by calling 800-692-9907.
How much does rural internet cost in Illinois?
Country Broadband pricing is the same everywhere in Illinois — there is no rural surcharge. Essentials is $39.99 a month for the first 12 months, then $69.99, plus a $15 monthly equipment lease, for up to 150 Mbps on a 24-month agreement. Unleashed is $69.99 a month for the first 12 months, then $99.99, plus the $15 lease, for up to 180 Mbps with no contract. Unleashed Max is $109.99 a month for the first 12 months, then $179.99, plus the lease, for up to 200 Mbps with no contract. Activation is a one-time $50 on Essentials and $99 on Unleashed and Unleashed Max. Every plan includes unlimited data and free professional installation.
Is there internet in Illinois with no data cap?
Every Country Broadband plan sold in Illinois includes unlimited data and there are no overage charges on any plan, ever. On the Essentials plan the first 150 GB each month is high-speed data and the rest is standard data, which can slow down when the network is busy — but it never stops and it never costs extra. Unleashed and Unleashed Max are unlimited high-speed data, and Unleashed Max gets priority when the network is busy.
Can I get internet in Illinois if my address shows as unavailable everywhere else?
That is the normal starting point for a Country Broadband customer. About 355,000 rural homes in Illinois are in exactly that position, and the big carriers' availability checkers are built around their own build-out maps, which stop outside town. We can serve the large majority of Illinois addresses, including ones with no cable, no fiber and no usable phone-line service. Call 800-692-9907 with the address and you will get a straight yes or no.
How fast can Country Broadband install service in Illinois?
Installation across Illinois is usually scheduled within about a week of the order, and professional installation is free on every plan. A technician comes to the property, sets the equipment up, gets the connection running and does not leave until it works. You pick the day and the arrival window when you order.
Does Country Broadband work for a farm or a shop in rural Illinois?
Yes, and there are two business plans for it. Business Backup is 50 to 100 Mbps at $49.99 a month plus a $15 monthly equipment lease. Business Choice is 100 to 200 Mbps at $99.99 a month plus the same lease. Both carry a 12-month agreement and a one-time $150 activation. Farms, shops, offices and job sites across Illinois run on them, including for card readers, cameras and remote monitoring.
Can I keep my phone number and get home phone service too in Illinois?
Yes. Country Broadband Voice runs over your Country Broadband connection at $25 a month for the first three months and $35 a month after that, with unlimited calling across the U.S. and Canada, voicemail, caller ID and call waiting. In most cases you keep your existing Illinois number. Calls do not count against your internet data.
Rural internet in the states next door
- Rural internet in Iowa
- Rural internet in Indiana
- Rural internet in Kentucky
- Rural internet in Michigan
- Rural internet in Missouri
- Rural internet in Wisconsin