If you are interested in finding out how Skybeam compares with other providers in 2026 then we answer all your pressing questions and way more with our exclusive review.
According to recent remarks and debates especially now that most students are studying from home and many people working from home due to the effects of the pandemic, leaving students and remote workers in the dust with slow internet.
According to a new report by the Michigan State University’s Quello Center, those people with limited access to the internet in rural areas contributes heavily to poor academic qualifications.
These education setbacks have significant impacts on the academic success of the students and career opportunities.
Among the many reasons why Homes and Businesses in rural areas are not connected is because of the few Internet options.
The few that are available are unreliable and pricy which adds salt to the wound.
Now that you don’t have other options to make in terms of internet service provision, we are here to give you the best information to help you make the decision especially when it comes to one of the most popular rural internet provider-SkyTeam.
Table of Contents
What is Skybeam Internet?
Skybeam offers Internet service to more than 19 US states but has the greatest coverage in Illinois, Texas and Colorado.
Skybeam uses a technology known as fixed wireless internet as a good alternative to satellite Internet where fiber and cable internet is not available.
According to the site, their residential plans are more than enough for people that have had enough of slow and pricy internet plans.
Skybeam internet is now the largest fixed wireless broadband in terms of availability and coverage.
They currently offer residential and commercial internet and digital Phone service across the US.
Its parent company was known as JAB Wireless Inc.
The company changed the name to Rise and all the previous names rebated to Rise in 2015.
Rise Broadband now offers broadband coverage in previously under-connected and isolated areas.
The internet speeds exceed 1Gbps depending on the type of service and where you live.
You can get residential and commercial internet and digital phone service from Rise at any time.
Skybeam Rebranded to Rise Broadband
Skybeam was recently renamed Rise Broadband.
The company is a prevalent wireless Internet service provider and a digital phone service provider operating in Colorado and several other parts of the country.
It recently claimed that the change of name unites the company’s efforts throughout the Rocky Mountains of the United States and other places where their services are available.
According to the company’s president and Chief Executive Officer, the name change confirms their unwavering dedication to connecting all Americans especially those living in areas where the Internet is spotty.
The official confirms that they are about to make a significant investment in the Rise Broadband network to increase reliability and offer faster speeds.
How Broadband Internet Rise Broadband works
As stated earlier, Rise Broadband is the largest fixed wireless internet service, provider.
The technology is more or less like LTE technology.
This is actually the main reason why most people often mistake Skybeam to 4G LTE internet provider.
However, Fixed Wireless technology works slightly different.
As opposed to the LTE way of broadcasting signals in all directions, the Rise Broadband only focuses the signals on a single point.
This shows that the internet is pointed directly to each and every single subscriber.
Every person that has a direct line of sight to the access point will have seamless and stable connections.
For you to use the service, you will automatically need an antenna installed at your home to receive the signals.
Unfortunately, if you live in areas where there are a couple of obstructions including hills, high buildings and trees, you are very likely to receive poor signals.
That’s why I recommend asking the technician to visit your home in advance to determine whether the signals will be strong and stable.
Pros
- Can reach remote areas
- Can pick prices with or without data caps
- You don’t have to dig up sidewalks or garden to install cables
- Offers Bundle packages
- No contracts
Cons
- It’s relatively slower than Cabled systems
- It can only be set by a technician
Some points about Rise Broadband
According to the technology used by Rise Broadband, the wireless connection between the tower and home is a two-way channel.
The Box on the tower and the one at home can transmit and receive signals.
That’s is why it’s called transceivers.
The technician will place the customer transceiver outside the house but the box needs to be on a clear path and visible by the Box in the tower.
Technologically, this is known as the line of sight.
With that information, you can be sure that buildings, trees and other objects works as obstructers and can block the signal.
In areas where there are tall buildings, this problem is solved by placing the box at the top of tall Buildings.
Some people choose to install the box on tall metal poles.
A cable will lead from the transceiver to the computer in your home.
Unlike other Internet service providers that offer different types of connections, Rise Broadband doesn’t offer other alternatives.
This looks unusual mainly because wired connections are considered an option in rural and urban areas.
The technology is not able to deliver data as fast as the cable and fiber internet.
The environmental interferences such as trees and mountains can as well barricade it.
Plans and Prices
Rise Broadband is one of the most unique fixed wireless service providers in the USA.
The company is also known for offering the fastest fixed wireless service in the country.
Unfortunately, higher speeds are reserved for Businesses and VIP customers.
The top speed is 1Gbps and it’s not available for residential customers.
The best you can get at your home is 50Mbps unluckily, most areas only receive 25Mbps.
I personally believe this internet speed is high enough for people to stream movies and play online games.
Furthermore, it’s relatively higher than what is offered by most satellite Internet providers.
For every enquirer, Rise Broadband only offers two plans.
The two plans will both offer the same speeds but they are differentiated by a capped service.
You can either go for the capped or the unlimited option.
Here are some of the plans that you can get from Rise Broadband.
| Rise Broadband Plan | Download Speed | Data Cap |
| 25 with data cap | 25 Mbps | 150 or 250 GB |
| 25 unlimited data | 25 Mbps | None |
| 50 with data cap | 50 Mbps | 150 or 250 GB |
| 50 unlimited data | 50 Mbps | None |
On a month to month contract, the data cap is 150GB.
If you enter into the contract for two years, the data cap will get as high as 250GB per month.
If in any case you’ll end up exceeding the data, you will be charged $3.50 for the 10GB increment every month.
Contrasting other Internet service providers, the length of the contract will not have a noticeable impact on the monthly price.
The only thing it impacts is the Early Termination fees.
People on the month-to-month plan will not have to pay early termination fees.
But if you enter into the contract, you will have to pay an Early Termination Fee of $10 for all the remaining months.
One major thing that I didn’t like about Rise Broadband is that the company is not very transparent especially when it comes to monthly price and fees.
There are lots of hidden fees.
The plans have a monthly Carrier Cost Recovery Fee of $5.44.
There are no rounds here, you will have to pay the fee before you get the services every month.
I believe that the company is under-reporting its monthly costs and hidden fees.
As a matter of fact, you will only notice some of these fees when you are at the last step of ordering the service.
There are also no options for using your own equipment.
The equipment fee is mandatory and it cannot be removed from the monthly bill.
Here are additional fees that you will pay at the end of the process for individual Rise Broadband internet plans.
| Plan | Setup Cost | Equipment Fee | |
| 25 with data cap | $75 or $150 | $10.99 | |
| 25 unlimited data | $75 or $150 | $10.99 | |
| 50 with data cap | $75 or $150 | $10.99 | |
| 50 unlimited data | $75 or $150 | $10.99 |
If you sign up for the two-year contract, the Installation fees of $150 are halved.
Watch out for charges such as the $5 per month for the paper statement and the inconvenience fee of $10 to pay the bill over the phone.
You may end up paying for the late payment charges and reconnection fees if you disconnect or pay late.
Internet speed Reviews
When it comes to Internet speeds, I cannot clearly state that the company delivers internet speeds as promised.
As a matter of fact, slow internet speeds have been one of the main complaints from current and previous users.
If the reviews available online are something to go with, then Rise Broadband doesn’t offer the promised internet speeds.
One reviewer on Trustpilot.com says that he had the best services from Rise Broadband for years.
However, starting March this year, the service went down and it hasn’t been restored.
The subscriber says that he had been paying for the worst internet speeds and service.
Another reviewer on TrustPilot.com says that you will never get the speeds you pay for.
The company will also not reasonably refund the money as needed for the days that the service has been out.
He says that he recently upgraded to the fastest package of 50Mbps.
However, the Internet speed is sometimes slower than expected.
It can get as low as 10Mbps especially in the evening.
Every time the user calls support, the problem will only be solved briefly.
Bundle services
I haven’t heard about Broadband TV services.
This is clear that you cannot Bundle Rise Wireless Internet with TV but you can do that with Phone service.
Rise Broadband offers Voice over IP phone service that is pretty standard these days.
The Phone service from Rise Internet is known as “ActivePhone” and is available for contract and Non-contract options.
Is Rise Broadband Internet Worth It?
Rise Broadband Internet is obviously not the best if you live in areas where Cable, Fiber and DSL internet is available.
The internet speeds are not the best in the market, the prices are also higher and there are no options to evade some fees.
Rise Broadband is not very transparent about the contract and the fees.
This is obviously the reason why many users end up paying more for the same service.
However, fixed wireless internet with Rise broadband is better in terms of coverage and download speeds when compared H2H with Satellite Internet and other fixed wireless Internet providers.
Another thing, Rise Broadband internet is not available everywhere.
You may also fail to get good internet speeds especially if your area has many barriers such as tall buildings, trees and Mountains.
As a personal opinion, I think Fixed Wireless Internet service with Rise Broadband is good.
However, it’s not the best if you live in areas where cable internet, Fiber internet and better alternatives are available.
The prices and fees are not the best in the market, the speeds are not guaranteed but you can still get relatively better services especially if you don’t have any alternatives.
Is Rise Broadband enough for streaming?
Yes, Rise Broadband is good enough for streaming Netflix and other video streaming services.
However, you cannot watch 4K Content with the service sometimes particularly if it’s raining or when many people are using the service.
150GB is relatively better than what we get with other Internet service providers.
But it may not be enough for streaming and watching video content online.
The HD video quality which is the standard for streaming is better and you can always get such services seamlessly the whole month with the 150GB data cap.
How good is Rise Customer Service?
The Rise Broadband has a portal on the website where the billing options are available.
However, you can avoid some of these issues by using online billing and paying the bills online.
There’s also a chat option where all the customer services and technical support is provided.
You can reach customer support any day of the week except holidays from 8am to 8pm.
Besides the fact that this company offers a couple of options when it comes to contacting customer service, there are claims that customer service is not helpful.
You can as well take more time waiting for a minor issue with the connection to be solved.
If you feel like your issue is urgent and you cannot wait further, it’s advisable to contact the customer service via a phone call.
The phone lines are manned for longer throughout the day and the company might also opt to help you faster in such cases.
Unlike many companies, customer service and Technical support will be available all days of the week.
I personally believe that calling is better because the customer support team will evidently understand your issues and eventually help you along.
The FAQs section equally has useful information that can help you solve some common issues with the internet and the equipment.
There’s also a troubleshooting page on the website where you can try to solve the problem at hand.
The verdict on customer service is that Skybeam customer service is better than most of the company’s customer support systems.
But there are a couple of complaints on TrustPilot.com about the quality of services offered.
One of the reviewers claims that the company has the worst internet and customer service.
He continues to say that he ended up paying for download speeds and services that were never delivered.
In his case, he ended up contacting customer service for loss of service and they didn’t solve the issue as expected.
FAQs
Why is Rise Broadband so slow?
Rise Broadband internet service can get slower than usual if there are intrusions on the line.
If a new tall building has been constructed next to your home or if tall trees have grown there, there are chances that this is what causes slow internet.
Does Rise Broadband have Unlimited Data?
Rise Broadband offers two different internet plans.
The speeds are the same but there are chances that you will get different data caps.
If you choose the two-year contract, you will have more data monthly than the people that go with the monthly Internet options.
Is Rise Broadband Internet any good?
Depending on where you are and the options you pick, Rise Broadband seems like a good Internet option.
However, it’s not as fast as major alternatives in big cities and towns.
But if you don’t have any other better alternative in your area, opt for Rise Broadband Internet.
Final verdict
There’s no doubt that Rise Broadband Internet is a viable alternative to the Big Cables.
However, it falls short on supporting 4K streaming.
Yet, it’s enough for basic streaming and household use if you are running on a Budget.
In conclusion, Rise Broadband lacks data allowances and TV plans.
The prices are not quite affordable and the Internet speeds are not guaranteed.
Besides that, the speeds are enough for common browsing, gaming and HD streaming.
