--- title: Questions to Ask Any Internet Provider url: https://hdiss.net/guides/questions-to-ask-any-internet-provider/ 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/) - [Guides](https://hdiss.net/guides/) - Questions to ask any internet provider before you sign up # Questions to Ask Any Internet Provider Before You Sign Up Ask what you will pay each month and after the promo, what is due on day one, what speed is typical rather than the maximum, how much data is included, and how to leave. The FCC's label rule is built on these same topics. Sagebrush prairie in the high desert. Stock photo: Adobe Stock. [Photo credits](https://hdiss.net/photo-credits/) On this page - [What do you pay, and when?](#what-do-you-pay-and-when) - [What speed will you actually get?](#what-speed-will-you-actually-get) - [How much data is included?](#how-much-data-is-included) - [What are the terms for leaving?](#what-are-the-terms-for-leaving) - [Who answers, and how?](#who-answers-and-how) - [What is a fair way to compare answers?](#what-is-a-fair-way-to-compare-answers) You do not need technical language to shop for internet. You need a short list of questions and a place to write the answers. This one follows the topics in the FCC's broadband label, so a provider that has posted a label can answer most of them from it, and a provider that has not can answer by phone. ## Takeaways - The rule at 47 CFR 8.1 says providers must disclose “network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms.” - Ask for typical speeds, not only the up-to figure. - Ask the provider to point to the sentence about data, in writing. - Write down the name of who answered and the date. ## What do you pay, and when? Start with money. Ask for the monthly price, how long it applies, and the price after that. Ask for every one-time charge: installation, activation, equipment. Ask what is due on the first day and when the first invoice arrives. Ask whether any discount depends on autopay, a bundle or paperless billing, and what happens if you stop meeting the condition. The [real cost worksheet](https://hdiss.net/guides/real-cost-of-an-internet-plan/) turns those answers into one number. At High Desert, the answers in writing are the plan cards (Bronze $50, Silver $75, Gold $99 a month) and the service agreement, which describes payment on the date of installation. The install charge is not published on the site, so ask for it by phone. ## What speed will you actually get? Providers advertise a maximum. The label has fields for typical download and upload speeds, which are closer to what you will see. Ask for both, and ask whether they change at busy hours. Ask how you are expected to test, and what happens if your tests fall far short. Our [up to guide](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-up-to-means/) and the [speed test guide](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-to-run-a-speed-test/) help you read the answer. High Desert's plans are listed as up to 500, up to 800 and up to 1 Gig down, all with up to 200 Mbps up. Typical speeds are not published on the site, so ask for them if they matter to you. ## How much data is included? Ask for the data allowance and whether anything happens when you pass it: a surcharge, a slower speed, or nothing. Ask where it is written. High Desert's agreement says each service level has a data transfer limit, that the size is available by emailing info@hdiss.net, and that going over costs $1 per gigabyte in a billing cycle. Our [data limit guide](https://hdiss.net/guides/data-transfer-limits-and-your-usage/) explains how to see your use. ## What are the terms for leaving? Ask whether there is a contract, an early termination fee, a notice period, and what to do with equipment. High Desert's agreement asks for two weeks' notice and recovery of the equipment before monthly billing stops, with the equipment returned undamaged within five calendar days of termination. You can see how that works in [the cancel and return guide](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-to-cancel-and-return-equipment/). ## Who answers, and how? Ask for the support hours, whether a person answers the phone, and what to do in an outage. High Desert lists its hours as 9 to 5 every day and the phone as 775-575-9593. Ask where a written confirmation of anything you were told will come from, and keep it. ## What is a fair way to compare answers? Put each provider in a column and each question in a row. Leave blank anything not answered. The blank cells tell you as much as the filled ones. If a company cannot say what a service will cost on day one, that is a reason to ask again, not a reason to guess. If you would like High Desert's answers for your address, send the address through the check form. A person looks at the path from the nearest tower and calls you back, and you can run through this list on that call. ### Sources - [law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/8.1](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/8.1) (47 CFR 8.1, read 10/15/26) - [docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-26-48A1.pdf](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-26-48A1.pdf) (FCC 26-48, July 2026 label order, read 10/15/26) - [hdiss.net/terms-of-use/](https://hdiss.net/service-agreement/) (HDISS Service Agreement V 1.12, read 10/15/26) ### 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) 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/) ### Keep reading - [How to read a broadband label](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-to-read-a-broadband-label/) - [How to compare the real cost of an internet plan over a year](https://hdiss.net/guides/real-cost-of-an-internet-plan/) - [What "up to" means on an internet plan](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-up-to-means/) - [No-contract internet: what to ask before you sign up with anyone](https://hdiss.net/guides/no-contract-internet-what-to-ask/) - [What a data transfer limit is and how to see your usage](https://hdiss.net/guides/data-transfer-limits-and-your-usage/) ## More on choosing and understanding - [What fixed wireless internet is and how it works](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-is-fixed-wireless-internet/): Fixed wireless internet is a radio link from a tower to a small antenna mounted on your home or shop, with a router inside that shares the connection over Wi-Fi. It needs no phone line or cable in the street, only a clea - [Is fixed wireless the same as satellite?](https://hdiss.net/guides/is-fixed-wireless-the-same-as-satellite/): No. Fixed wireless is a radio link from your roof to a tower a short distance away on the ground, while satellite internet sends your data up to a dish in orbit and back down again. Both use radio and both need a clear v - [What line of sight means and why we check it first](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-line-of-sight-means/): Line of sight means your roof antenna and the tower it points at can see each other, with nothing solid in between. It is checked at your address because the path is what decides whether fixed wireless works, and a town ## Questions people ask ### Is it rude to ask for answers in writing? No. Ask for an email or a link to the page that says it. A clear provider is glad to point you to the text. ### Does every provider have a label? Providers selling plans are required to show one, and a label may sit behind a link beside each plan. If you cannot find it, ask.