--- title: American Community Survey: The Census Bureau's Yearly Survey url: https://hdiss.net/glossary/american-community-survey/ business: High Desert Internet Services (HDISS) phone: 775-575-9593, 775-391-5660 email: info@hdiss.net mailing_address: Home base: 200 S Virginia St, Suite 760, Reno NV 89501 (dispatch office, not a walk-in store). Mail: Billing Dept., PO Box 11353, Reno NV 89510 hours: Office open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week. Network watched around the clock. type: Fixed wireless internet service provider (homes and small businesses), web hosting, customer email, domain registration service_area: Northern Nevada - Washoe, Lyon, Storey, Churchill and Douglas counties and Carson City; availability is checked address by address (line of sight to a tower) plans: Bronze $50/mo up to 500 Mbps down, up to 200 Mbps up; Silver $75/mo up to 800 down, up to 200 up; Gold $99/mo up to 1 Gig down, up to 200 up; ask about the up to 1 Gig / 1 Gig ultra-low-latency service no_online_purchase: true (check your address or call; existing customers pay at https://www2.fernley.net/hdiss/onlinepay/paymentform.cfm) since: 2002 --- - [Home](https://hdiss.net/) - [Glossary](https://hdiss.net/glossary/) - American Community Survey # American Community Survey The ACS is where this site gets its numbers on how households in each place get online. The figures are survey estimates, and small places carry more uncertainty. A radio tower at sunset. Stock photo: Adobe Stock. [Photo credits](https://hdiss.net/photo-credits/) ## What is American Community Survey? The Census Bureau describes the ACS as an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis, and says the data help decide how federal funds are distributed each year. Unlike the once-in-ten-years count, it samples households continually. The Bureau's page does not cover sample sizes or margins of error, which are in its information guide. Because the survey is a sample, every number is an estimate with a range around it. This site cites it as U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B28002, which covers internet subscriptions. ## Why does it matter on a fixed wireless connection? The five-year form pools five years of answers, which makes it usable for small towns and ZIP areas, at the cost of being a blend of those years and not a snapshot. Places with fewer than about 2,000 people have wide ranges, so the pages say about and use whole percents and do not rank two small places. See [ZCTA](https://hdiss.net/glossary/zcta/) for how ZIP areas are drawn. The survey has no line for fixed wireless, so homes served that way sit under other categories. Read [reading Census internet numbers](https://hdiss.net/guides/reading-census-internet-numbers/) before drawing conclusions. ## What should I do about it? When you see a share on a town page, such as the share of homes with no internet, read it as an estimate of the area, not a count of named people. It describes subscriptions, not whether service can be installed. The share says nothing about whether any provider can serve a road. To learn about your own address, use [Check my address](https://hdiss.net/check-availability/) or call 775-575-9593. The data pages, such as [homes without internet](https://hdiss.net/data/homes-without-internet/), show the numbers by county. ### Sources - [census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html) (U.S. Census Bureau, About the ACS, read 2026-10-15) - [hdiss.net/](https://hdiss.net/) (company facts, read 2026-10-15) ### Talk to a person - Call [775-575-9593](tel:7755759593) [775-391-5660](tel:7753915660) Open 9-5 every day - Email [info@hdiss.net](mailto:info@hdiss.net) [Check my address](https://hdiss.net/check-availability/#check) ### Related terms - [ZCTA (ZIP Code Tabulation Area)](https://hdiss.net/glossary/zcta/) - [Homes with no internet subscription, by ZIP](https://hdiss.net/data/homes-without-internet/) - [Satellite reliance in rural Northern Nevada, by town and ZIP](https://hdiss.net/data/satellite-reliance/) - [How to read the Census internet numbers on this site](https://hdiss.net/guides/reading-census-internet-numbers/) - [How Northern Nevada gets online: the Census numbers](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-northern-nevada-gets-online/) Local since 2002 Fixed wireless from towers in Northern Nevada. Three plans, no contracts, local support, 4.8 on Google from 36 reviews. [About High Desert](https://hdiss.net/about/)