Rise Broadband Review 2024

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Rise Broadband at a Glance

Best for: Rural internet access

Starting Price: $25/month

Connection Type: Wireless, fiber

Download Speeds: 25-1000 Mbps

Coverage: 16 states

Money-Back Guarantee: 30 days

What Services and Features Does Rise Broadband Offer?

Rise Broadband offers internet service to residential customers and businesses. This is primarily achieved via fixed wireless access points. An installation specialist will install a wireless modem on your roof that connects to a nearby wireless access point. Your internet service is delivered through this wireless connection.

Rise Broadband has also branched out into fiber internet, where internet service is delivered via fiber optic cabling. At the time of writing, this is only available in select areas of Texas.

Prices, Plans, and Value for Money

Rise Broadband offers two wireless plans for residential customers in 16 states, and three fiber plans for residents of 10 Texas communities.

Regarding the wireless internet plans, the 25 Mbps plan has introductory pricing of $25 per month, whereas the 50 Mbps plan costs $39.95 per month. After the first year, both these prices increase by $10 per month.

Unlimited internet costs another $20 per month, and you’ll pay an extra $5 per month if you don't opt into the autopay system. Rise Broadband’s residential internet packages now have no equipment rental fees and the initial installation is discounted from $150 to $75. A broadband digital phone costs $20 extra.

The new fiber plans start at $60 per month for an unlimited 100 Mbps connection and rise to $100 per month for an unlimited 1000 Mbps connection. These fiber plans are only available in select Texas locations.

Rise Broadband’s pricing is slightly higher than most fixed wireless internet solutions. 

Ease of Use, Hardware, and Setup

Rise Broadband’s fixed wireless internet service requires professional installation that costs $75. Technicians will install a wireless modem on your roof that points to the nearest Rise Broadband wireless access point. They’ll run cabling from this modem to a single network wall socket in your home.

As there is only one network wall socket, you’ll most likely want to connect it to a wireless router so all the devices in your home can share the internet connection. You’ll need to either buy your own wireless router to do this or choose from one of the three mesh router packages available from Rise Broadband, called Managed WiFi.

A single Deco M4 wireless router from Rise Broadband costs $7 per month. This offers enough wireless area coverage for most homes. If you own a larger home, you can opt for two or three routers for $10 and $15 per month respectively. Placing these routers strategically in your home will mean the wireless signal is strong in every room.

Rise Broadband Security

Rise Broadband offers an additional security product called Rise Protect. At $14.99 per month, this includes 24/7 technical support over the phone for up to five devices.

Rise Protect includes maintenance and protective services for your Windows and macOS computers. This includes automatic system scanning, operating system updates, anti-virus, firewall monitoring, and computer health checks. The software will automatically scan for malware and remove it from your computers.

Rise Broadband Performance

The speed you can get from Rise Broadband’s wireless internet service depends greatly on how far you are from the wireless access point in your town. Weather and radio signal interference will also be a factor. 

The fastest wireless service from Rise Broadband is still less than half the average US broadband speed. If you have a cable or fiber option in your area, it will probably offer faster and more reliable internet than a fixed wireless solution. 

However, Rise Broadband’s wireless internet reaches many rural areas not served by wired solutions, so it’s often the best option in these cases. 

Rise Broadband Customer Service

Besides the optional technical support of Rise Protect outlined above, Rise Broadband also has three support telephone lines.

The customer care line operates from Monday to Friday, 7am-6pm MT, and Saturday hours are 8am-5pm MT. 

The sales support line is open from Monday to Saturday, 7am-8pm MT.  

The technical support line is open from Monday to Friday, 5am-10pm MT, and weekend hours are 7am-8pm MT.

Rise Broadband FAQs

Why is Rise Broadband so slow?

In the majority of locations, Rise Broadband's internet service is delivered via a wireless signal. This means there’s no need for a phone line. The speed you can get directly corresponds with how close you are to the fixed wireless access point and whether you have a direct line of sight. 

Wireless signals suffer from interference from the weather and signal disruption from other radio crosstalk. This can often result in a slower or less reliable internet service. 

However, wireless latency is better than satellite internet, meaning that applications like online games will feel more responsive over a fixed wireless connection than a satellite connection.

Who is Rise Broadband owned by?

Rise Broadband was originally a subsidiary of JAB Wireless, Inc., which was incorporated in 2005. In 2015, all JAB Wireless, Inc. branches rebranded with the Rise name.

Rise Broadband’s CEO is Jim O’Brien, who has held the role since June 2018.

What type of internet connection is Rise Broadband?

In most of the locations it serves, Rise Broadband delivers internet via a fixed wireless system. Wireless internet access points are strategically positioned to enable your Rise wireless modem to make a connection. However, the strength of the connection is determined by the distance and line of sight to the access point.

In 2022, Rise Broadband also began rolling out fiber internet in select Texas communities.

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Bottom Line

Rise Broadband is aimed at customers in more rural locations, with many finding it the only choice other than satellite internet. Taking that into consideration, Rise Broadband is usually the fastest and cheapest option available. If faster and more reliable cable, fiber, or 5G home internet is an option in your area, Rise Broadband’s fixed wireless service will be less appealing.

Rise Broadband offers some useful optional extras and it gets points for being one of the few fixed wireless internet providers offering unlimited bandwidth, albeit at an additional $20 per month.