Rise Broadband Review: Plans, Pricing and Availability Compared

Rise Broadband internet review

Rise Broadband primarily uses an unlicensed fixed wireless method to get houses online, mainly in rural areas. While it doesn’t boast blazing speeds or competitive pricing, Rise Broadband has proven a reliable option for rural households and, depending on where you live, it could easily be the best choice for speed and overall value.

If you’re considering Rise Broadband for your home internet service, know that the connection type, pricing and available speeds will depend on your location.

Most of Rise Broadband’s coverage is serviceable for fixed wireless internet, and speeds may range from 25 to 250 megabits per second. According to a spokesperson, the provider has around “43,000 existing connected customers that are capable of getting 100Mbps speeds.”

In select areas, Rise Broadband offers fiber internet service, which can offer much faster speeds, up to 1,000Mbps, and is a better overall value, but availability is much more limited.

If satellite and DSL are your only other options, I’d recommend Rise Broadband due to its pricing, faster speed potential and higher data allowances — though DSL may be the cheaper, faster option in some areas.

On the other hand, if cable or fiber internet is available, I would look to those providers first before considering Rise Broadband. While Rise does have a small but growing fiber presence capable of delivering gig speeds, most people will have only its fixed wireless service available to them.

What else should you know about Rise Broadband? Read on for our full review, including what to expect on your bill and how the ISP compares to other internet providers.

Rise Broadband plans and pricing

A starting monthly price of $45 for max speeds of 25 or 50Mbps — with a cost per Mbps of $1.80 and 90 cents — is high compared to most ISPs, but it’s not all that bad for rural internet. In select areas, faster plans of 100Mbps starting at $50 and 250Mbps at $95 are available for better value.

After the first year, your bill may increase by around $5 to $10. Rise’s introductory rates vary by location, so the exact jump might to standard pricing be more or less than that. Still, the increases are smaller than you’ll see with many other providers.

Rise’s fiber internet offerings are good value if you can get them at your address, especially the 300Mbps and 1,000Mbps tier. Those prices increase after a year, with the 1-gig plan forecasted to jump to $70 after two years. Still, that’s competitive with offerings from fiber providers like Google and AT&T.

Rise Broadband equipment rental and installation

Fixed wireless service comes with a $10 required equipment rental fee. In some areas, that fee may be waived, but don’t count on it. Equipment rental isn’t required for fiber service. Rise uses a DecoX21, a wireless Wi-Fi 6 mesh router from TP-Link.

Renting your Wi-Fi router will cost you $10 per month, plus $5 for each Deco pod you want to add to your network for better whole-home coverage. It’s an added expense, but you may find it to be well worth it, particularly if you’re interested in trying out a mesh router.

One device should be enough for small homes and apartments, but you might want to try adding a second or third device as an extender if the primary signal isn’t reaching far enough throughout your home.

A Rise Broadband technician will install and configure your router(s) during the initial installation, even if you supply your own, which is nice. That means if you provide your own, you’ll need the router you intend to use at the time of installation. Rise Broadband’s installation fee for new service costs $75, but that fee is often waived when you sign up.

Data caps and contracts

Most Rise Broadband plans come with unlimited data; others may have a monthly cap of 250GB. The lowest data allowance comes with 150GB. That’s not a lot of data, so you’ll want to be mindful of your usage, as the average household often uses more than that each month.

Exceeding your monthly data cap will result in a $5 charge for each 10GB block required to accommodate your overage. That’s not terrible compared to what other ISPs charge, but be sure to keep an eye on your usage if you have a cap with Rise Broadband. It is pretty simple to monitor your monthly data usage online, and the company will send you a notification each time it charges an overage fee.

As for contracts, Rise Broadband is primarily a month-to-month service, so you shouldn’t have to worry about early termination fees or that senseless upgrade fee. Some locations and promotions may require a contract (with ETFs up to $125 on one-year contracts and up to $250 on two-year agreements), so be sure to ask if your service comes with one when signing up.

Where can you get Rise Broadband?

Rise Broadband is available in 16 states, with rural parts of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and southern Wisconsin seeing the greatest coverage. Availability, and the speeds you can get, depend on your home’s proximity to a local signal tower. To be eligible for service, your home will need a direct line of sight to the tower.

The fiber side of Rise Broadband is currently available in the Decatur and Springfield areas of Illinois, parts of East Bernard, Ferris, Lubbock and Wallis in Texas, and around Webb City and Carthage in Missouri. That’s more locations than just a year or two ago, and fiber expansion continues to grow.

How does Rise Broadband internet compare?

Rise Broadband has greater availability and faster speeds than many fixed wireless providers, although pricing may be higher, especially when considering the added fees. It’s not likely that you’ll have the choice of Rise Broadband and other fixed wireless providers, so let’s compare Rise to other common rural internet options.

Rise Broadband vs. satellite internet

If your internet connection comes down to Rise Broadband and satellite internet, Rise Broadband will be the better value. Compared with satellite internet, Rise Broadband comes with lower long-term pricing, latency low enough to support online gaming and much more data.

Both internet connection types are susceptible to service disruptions from rain, snow and even the wind, but fixed wireless connections pose less of a risk than satellite. This is because the signal has a shorter distance to travel and therefore is less likely to encounter bad weather along the way.

Rise Broadband vs. 5G home internet

Cellular internet providers, such as Verizon 5G Home Internet and T-Mobile Home Internet, may be cheaper and faster than Rise Broadband in select areas. Verizon has a speed range of 85 to 1,000Mbps and unlimited data starting at $70 per month, but the service is not widely available in rural areas. T-Mobile offers a bit more coverage, with service starting at $50 per month for expected max speeds ranging from 87 to 415Mbps. 

Rise Broadband vs. DSL internet

DSL internet service, another popular choice for rural internet, can vary widely by provider and location. In some areas, DSL providers such as CenturyLink and Kinetic by Windstream can deliver speeds of 100Mbps for prices comparable to Rise Broadband. These speeds aren’t typical with DSL, and many rural locations will only be eligible for sub-broadband download speeds. If that’s the case in your area, you’ll probably find Rise Broadband to be the better provider.

Rise Broadband vs. cable and fiber

Cable providers, including Mediacom, Spectrum and Xfinity, are available in many Rise Broadband service areas. Some locations, such as Irving, Texas and Salt Lake City, may also have access to fiber-optic internet. Cable and fiber-optic services will almost always offer faster speeds than you can get with fixed wireless service from Rise Broadband. You’re also likely to have more plan options and better reliability since you’ll have a wired connection. In short, if cable internet or fiber-optic service is available, it’s almost certainly going to be the better option.

What do customers think of Rise Broadband?

Customer satisfaction resources like The American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power do not include Rise Broadband in their reports, so official customer satisfaction indicators are scarce. 

Turning to the Better Business Bureau, Rise Broadband has held an A-plus rating since 2015. Overall, the number of filed complaints is relatively low, with only 35 — all closed — over the last 12 months. Additionally, Rise Broadband received a customer review average of 4.12 out of 5 stars, which is exceptionally high among internet service providers.

Rise Broadband customer service

When it comes to customer service, Rise Broadband is as accommodating as any provider. Its customer care line (844-816-9149) is not available on Sundays, it is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET on Saturday. On the other hand, tech support (877-910-6207) is available seven days a week — 7 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.

Rise Broadband is also one of the few providers accessible by email, which can be convenient if you don’t have a pressing concern and don’t want to wait on hold. Other than email, there’s no practical online customer or technical support available. There’s no live online chat function on the Rise Broadband website, and there’s little to no order on the FAQ page, which could make it challenging to find the answers you need quickly.

The bottom line on Rise Broadband

Rise Broadband is a decent choice for rural internet service with max speeds of 25 to 250Mbps available in parts of 16 states. Unlimited data options are available too — a rarity for rural internet — but even if you don’t choose an unlimited plan, the 250GB you get with most plans is enough for lots of online activity. Just try to avoid going over the data cap if you have one, as doing so will add to unnecessary monthly fees.

Rise Broadband FAQs