Rise Internet Review

With Rise Internet fixed-wireless internet, unlimited data plans start at $55.00 per month (with an autopay discount) and will give you all the data you need—up to 2 TB per month.

A cap of 2 TB per month is even higher than the amount of data you get on unlimited plans from big-name providers. So Rise Internet is giving you one of the best data deals on the market.

Rise Internet speeds vary by region, and your actual speed will depend on how close you are to its towers. So you may not be able to get the fastest speeds—but it'll depend on where you live.

Rise Internet now offers fiber internet plans for faster, more reliable speeds. However, these options are only in a limited number of areas. When calling Rise Internet for fixed-wireless internet, be sure to ask if fiber is available in your area or if there are plans to bring it there in the future.

Are you thinking of starting up a bed and breakfast in a small town? Or a craft brewery? You can stay connected to customers and accept orders and online reservations 24/7 with fixed-wireless internet from Rise Internet. Rise Internet provides internet service to small businesses in 16 states.

All business plans are priced to favor a longer contract. Up to two phone lines are available as an add-on with any package, priced at $19.95 per line per month.

Overall, Rise Internet has reasonable fees that are comparable to other internet providers. Here are a few fees to keep in mind.

When you sign up for Rise Internet, you’ll pay an installation fee up front. This fee covers the cost of professional installation of a roof-mounted antenna on your home. The installation technician will also locate the nearest tower to your home, point the antenna in the correct direction, and set up a modem.

Sometimes Rise Internet offers free installation promotions. Check Rise Internet's website or ask your sales agent whether there are any ongoing free installation offers.

Late payment fee

Rise Internet charges you a fairly standard $20 late fee if your payment isn’t received within 8 days of the due date. It’s one more reason why it’s a good idea to sign up for paperless billing (which gives you a $5 discount each month) and autopayments.

Rise Internet is more affordable than satellite internet for homes or businesses without access to DSL, cable, or fiber internet services. It offers reasonably fast internet speeds in many areas that can’t get broadband service from other providers.

We don’t like the data restrictions on the 25 Mbps and 50 Mbps Rise Internet plans, since they often lead to extra data charges. We recommend an unlimited plan if your household uses the internet for more than 3 hours per day. Still, even Rise Internet's lower-tier plans offer more data than the biggest satellite internet plan—and look at the difference in price!

Rise Internet offers a lot more data for your dollar than you can get with either satellite internet provider. As far as speeds are concerned, you probably won’t notice a difference between the providers (streaming video and downloading will be about the same) until you hit your data cap on the satellite plans—and when satellite speeds slow down to 1 to 3 Mbps, you’ll really wish you’d picked fixed-wireless.

If your household relies on video streaming services like Netflix for entertainment, definitely go with an unlimited plan because video streaming could max out your monthly data in just a few weeks.

Not everyone has heard of fixed-wireless internet since it’s a relatively new way of getting internet in small towns and rural areas where cable networks aren’t in place. Fixed-wireless internet broadcasts an internet signal using radio waves through a network of radio broadcast towers.

To connect to the network, you must be located in an area with towers nearby and have a fixed-wireless antenna installed on your roof. The antenna is connected to wires that run into your home and connect to a modem and router.

Radio waves can’t transmit or receive data as fast as fiber or cable networks, but they’re a lot faster than satellite internet signals, which have to travel to space and back to Earth. And radio towers are much easier (and cheaper) to set up than installing thousands of miles of cable and fiber networks, or launching satellite systems into space. So, some people who live away from the city and can’t get cable, fiber, or DSL internet access can still get fixed-wireless internet.

There are hundreds of fixed-wireless providers in the US. Many are small regional internet companies, and some are larger companies, such as Rise Internet. It offers faster speeds and lower prices compared to other fixed-wireless providers. Take a look at the table below that compares similar fixed-wireless plans.

Fixed-wireless broadband service is generally faster than satellite internet, and it usually provides more data and a lower price point. But it still isn’t for everybody.

If you are choosing between Rise Internet (or another fixed-wireless internet provider) or satellite internet, we’d recommend going with Rise Internet . If your choice is between cable or fixed wireless, go with cable. DSL and Rise Internet can be equally matched sometimes, so check out speeds and data restrictions on both options before you sign the dotted line.

4G LTE internet service delivers similar speeds to fixed wireless but data usually costs more with this type of service since it’s delivered via cell phone data networks. We recommend fixed wireless over 4G LTE whenever possible.

Rise Internet gives you more data and faster speeds than satellite internet service. If you live in a rural area, we recommend checking whether Rise Internet's fixed wireless service is available in your area.

We don’t like the data caps on Rise Internet's restricted plans, so we don’t recommend choosing one. But if you get an unlimited plan, you should be able to get a steady connection from Rise Internet that is more reliable and faster than many other rural internet options.

Some older Rise Internet plans have data caps, although unlimited plans are now standard. Metered plans range from 250 GB to 450 GB of data per month. Unlimited plans technically have a 2 TB data limit, but that’s high enough to be considered unlimited.

Rise Internet can support gaming, but you may experience delays if you’re playing a first-person shooter game like Overwatch. The minimum speed requirement for gaming is 3 Mbps, but faster speeds will give you an advantage in play. Since Rise Internet speed varies by location, your gaming experience will depend on your connection speed in your area.

Yes, Rise Internet speeds can support video streaming—but it’s the data usage you need to watch out for. Netflix recommends download speeds of 3 Mbps for SD quality, so all Rise Internet plans offer sufficient speeds for streaming Netflix. But we recommend getting a Rise Internet unlimited plan if you plan on streaming a lot so that you don’t incur extra data charges.

Rise Internet is a good option for rural areas where cable, DSL, or faster internet isn’t available. If you’re comparing satellite internet with Rise Internet's fixed wireless, we recommend Rise Internet because it’s less expensive and you can get more data for your buck than with satellite internet plans.

You can also use your own modem with Rise Internet and save the equipment rental fee each month, as long as it’s compatible. Contact Rise Internet directly to find out which modems are compatible. On the other hand, renting a modem is a convenient option for many customers. If you rent and your modem breaks, Rise Internet will send you a new modem. Plus, customer support can troubleshoot connection problems easier if you have a company-issued modem.