Best Wireless Internet Providers

Rise Broadband is our top pick for fixed-wireless internet service, thanks to its blazing fast speeds and affordable pricing. The internet service provider (ISP) also includes the monthly equipment rental with your plan, unlike Verizon which charges you an extra $240 to buy its modem/router up front for mobile wireless internet. 

Jump to:

• T-Mobile Home Internet
• Rise Broadband
• Verizon LTE Home Internet
• What to look for in fixed-wireless internet
• FAQ

T-Mobile Home Internet is overall a great deal. It doesn't have contracts or equipment costs, for example, and better yet, you'll get unlimited data unlike with Rise Broadband or satellite internet providers.

T-Mobile Home Internet's network also has 90% coverage across the US, so you can get it most places, though it's still not available everywhere yet. We'd suggest visiting T-Mobile's site above and checking if T-Mobile Home Internet is in your area. If it is—jackpot.

If you want to read more about T-Mobile, check out our T-Mobile Home Internet Review.

As the largest fixed-wireless internet company in the US, Rise Broadband has a good reputation in rural areas. Service is steady and lower priced than satellite internet service. You get a 30-day money-back guarantee when you sign up, which is exceptional in the internet industry.

You can get Rise Broadband in 16 states in the midwestern, southern, and the western US: from the southern tip of Texas, through Wisconsin and Nebraska, and all the way north to Minnesota and North Dakota. If you’d like to add VoIP phone service, it’s an extra $20 per month.

In the past five years, Rise Broadband has invested over $30 million into building out its network in rural and underserved areas. This earned Rise Broadband millions of additional customers and a loyal following.

We really like that Rise Broadband includes the monthly equipment rental with internet service. Monthly service includes equipment fees for an antenna, managed router and SM radio—which will save you a hundred or more dollars every year. Plus, service doesn’t require a contract. There is a $75 installation fee, but you can split it up into three $25 payments spread out over the first three months.

LTE home internet is now a popular alternative offered by internet service providers (ISPs) across the country. This is because users can get unlimited data without the expense of a satellite internet service.

Verizon’s 4G LTE Home Internet is a great option if you live in the country or a small town without access to cable and fiber infrastructure. Remember, you’ll need cell phone coverage that extends to your area to access the 25 to 50 Mbps download speeds and, of course, unlimited data.

We suggest bundling your Verizon LTE Home Internet service with a Verizon cell phone plan. At $40 a month, you’ll get internet and mobile phone access, instead of paying $60 per month for just internet.

Even so, Verizon charges $240 for its modem/router, which you’ll have to purchase up front for the internet. This isn’t a great option if you’re travelling or live on the go as Verizon 4G LTE Home internet is tethered to your location.

Verizon LTE Home Internet is available in specific areas across 48 states, including Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia, but we recommend trying the T-Mobile Home Internet plan if Verizon isn't available where you are.

T-Mobile Home Internet costs $60 a month and includes discounts should you choose to go with paperless billing and autopay. T-Mobile does have less availability than Verizon, however the phone and internet service plan provider is expanding its coverage areas, so definitely keep an eye out.

When checking into home internet service, you want to look for a generous data cap (250 GB per month or more), broadband internet speeds (which means download speeds of at least 25 Mbps), and reasonable prices. Wireless broadband delivers these features fairly consistently, although prices vary.

• Best for unlimited data: Rise Broadband Up to 25 Mbps
• Best for bundling w/phone plan: Verizon $40.00/mo. w/Verizon mobile plan

Rise Broadband’s (formerly JAB Broadband) up to 25 Mbps plan is a great option if you stream in SD, attend video calls, game online, or upload and download large data files. Plus, unlimited data means you won't have to pay overage fees at the end of the month.

Verizon’s $40.00 per month LTE home internet service is a decent alternative for users with an existing phone plan of $30.00 or more. This is because purchasing this internet and phone service bundle will save you about $20.00 per month. You would otherwise pay $60.00 for Verizon LTE Home internet in addition to your existing phone plan.

However, you’ll need to buy Verizon’s $240.00 modem/router upfront. Bleh.

If you’re looking at fixed-wireless internet, you’ll want download speeds of at least 25 Mbps, if possible. This gives you a steady connection that will allow for video streaming, video conference calls, and limited gaming, although only on one device at a time.

You can stream in a higher video quality without buffering as you get faster download speeds.

Streaming in standard quality will use much less data. If you have download speeds of less than 12 Mbps or more, you may not be able to use the internet on more than one device at a time.

Most fixed-wireless internet plans have a monthly data allotment, which is inconvenient if you’re used to unlimited internet plans. Since data is channeled through a tower, there’s a limited amount of bandwidth the providers can offer in any given area. Fixed-wireless providers measure out the data to each customer to help ensure that there’s enough bandwidth to go around to all their customers.

For example, Rise Broadband offers plans with set data allotments each month, starting around 50 GB per month and going up to 500 GB per month.

If you go over the data cap, you can expect to be charged a data overage fee. Extra data doesn’t roll over into the next month.

• Rise Broadband data overage charge: $5.00 for every 10 GB (after reaching your data cap)

Despite having a data cap, fixed-wireless internet plans are cheaper than satellite internet service and they often offer more data. So if you have a choice between the two, fixed-wireless is usually the best choice.

Rise Broadband: Log onto RiseBroadband.com and select My Account. Scroll down the menu to Check My Data Usage and click Check Usage.

It’s worth your time to check out fixed-wireless internet if you live in a rural area or have limited internet options. Of course, not all fixed-wireless internet is created equal, and we haven’t been able to review all of the 1,210 providers we found so far (we’ll get there someday!).

But we really like what Rise Broadband is offering its customers—broadband speeds, plenty of data, fair pricing, and better-than-average support.

Fixed wireless is not good for competitive gaming like Fortnite or Apex Legends, although you can do some gaming, depending on your connection speed.

Fixed wireless isn’t usually a top choice for gamers because of the relatively slow speeds. With fixed wireless, you’ll have download speeds around 25 Mbps, but you’ll be competing against other players with fiber internet speeds around 2,000 Mbps—which will put you at a disadvantage.

Yes, fixed-wireless is a good choice, particularly for people in small towns or rural areas who don’t have access to cable or fiber internet. Fixed-wireless internet delivers decent speeds for an affordable rate. It outperforms many other rural internet solutions, although speeds and data vary widely from one provider to the next. But if your neighborhood is wired for fiber or cable internet, get cable internet instead of fixed-wireless.

Whether or not rain affects wireless internet depends on installation. Extreme weather conditions including severe rain, high winds, and extreme temperatures (hot and cold) shouldn’t affect your fixed-wireless internet if it is configured correctly, but check out our How Does Weather Affect Internet Service article for more detailed information if you run into connection issues during a storm or extreme weather.