---
title: Compare the Real Cost of an Internet Plan
url: https://hdiss.net/guides/real-cost-of-an-internet-plan/
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/)
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- How to compare the real cost of an internet plan over a year

# How to Compare the Real Cost of an Internet Plan Over a Year

Multiply the monthly price by twelve, then add one-time charges, equipment rental, and any overage, and subtract discounts you will actually keep. The total, divided by twelve, is the number to compare.

A phone call at the kitchen table. Stock photo: Adobe Stock, not High Desert customers or staff. [Photo credits](https://hdiss.net/photo-credits/)

On this page

- [What goes into the worksheet?](#what-goes-into-the-worksheet)
- [What did providers publish on 10/15/26?](#what-did-providers-publish-on-10-15-26)
- [How do conditions change the math?](#how-do-conditions-change-the-math)
- [What do High Desert's published terms add?](#what-do-high-desert-s-published-terms-add)
- [What should you ask before you decide?](#what-should-you-ask-before-you-decide)

A price on a plan card is the start of the sum, not the end. Providers publish different conditions next to the same kind of price: an introductory term, a discount that needs autopay, an install fee that may apply. This guide gives you a worksheet and shows what several companies published on their own sites on 10/15/26.

## Takeaways

- Write down five numbers per plan: monthly price, months it applies, one-time charges, monthly extras, and discounts that need a condition.
- Spectrum published Internet 500 at $40 a month for one year; after that, “standard rates apply” (spectrum.com, read 10/15/26).
- AT&T published a fiber price with an AutoPay and paperless-bill condition and noted an installation fee of up to $99 may apply (att.com, read 10/15/26).
- High Desert's cards list Bronze $50, Silver $75 and Gold $99 a month; its agreement describes the first invoice and an overage of $1 per GB.

## What goes into the worksheet?

Take one sheet of paper per plan. Line one: monthly price times the number of months that price lasts. Line two: any month after that at the standard rate, if the provider names one. Line three: one-time charges, such as installation, activation or equipment you buy. Line four: monthly extras, such as an equipment rental or a Wi-Fi add-on. Line five: discounts, but only the ones whose condition you will meet every month.

Add lines one to four, subtract line five, and divide by twelve. That is your monthly cost for the first year. Do it a second time for year two if the price changes, because the second year is where plans differ most.

## What did providers publish on 10/15/26?

These are each company's own statements, read that day. They are examples of how conditions appear, not a ranking.

- Spectrum: Internet 500 at $40 a month for one year; “After one year, standard rates apply”; neither Spectrum page spells out the standard rate in words; a modem is free; Advanced WiFi is $10 a month on plans that do not include it (spectrum.com, read 10/15/26).
- AT&T Fiber, Reno page: Internet 500 at $35 a month and Internet 1000 at $45 a month, each priced for new customers in select markets with eligible wireless service, AutoPay and paperless billing; an AutoPay discount of $10 a month with a bank account or $5 with a debit card; “Up to $99 installation fee may apply” (att.com/local/internet/nevada/reno, read 10/15/26).
- Rango, Reno metro region: plans at $55, $65 and $85 a month, advertised with a $10 a month discount for automatic bank payments, or $5 for a card; new Silver or Gold customers get 50% off the first three months; installation payment details come from a specialist after registration (rango.net, read 10/15/26).

## How do conditions change the math?

A discount is only worth what you keep. If a $10 discount needs autopay from a bank account, and you pay by card, your real price is $5 higher a month, or $60 over a year. A promotion that cuts the first three months in half helps the first quarter and nothing after it. A rental of $10 a month adds $120 over twelve months, which is more than many one-time fees.

Read the footnote beside the price. The FCC's label rules at 47 CFR 8.1 require a provider to disclose “network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms,” and the label shows the price, any introductory rate and how long it lasts, and one-time fees. The [label guide](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-to-read-a-broadband-label/) shows where each sits.

## What do High Desert's published terms add?

High Desert's plan cards list one price per plan: Bronze $50 a month, Silver $75, Gold $99, with up to 500, up to 800 and up to 1 Gig down and up to 200 Mbps up. The service agreement says payment is due on the date of installation for the labor charge plus the prorated monthly charge to the next billing date, and that the first invoice includes the prorated month, the installation charge and any materials purchased.

The installation charge amount is not published on the site. Each service level also has a data transfer limit, available by emailing info@hdiss.net, and going over costs $1 per gigabyte in a billing cycle. For a worked example of those lines, see [what you pay on day one](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-you-pay-on-day-one/). For a 12-month sum, a Bronze year is 12 times $50, which is $600, before the one-time charge and any overage.

## What should you ask before you decide?

Ask for the one-time charge in dollars, ask which month the price changes, and ask which discounts have conditions. Ask whether there is a contract or an early termination fee, and what happens to the equipment when you leave. Write the answers on your worksheet with the date. If a provider will not put a number on something, the worksheet shows a blank, and a blank is information too.

To see what a High Desert connection would involve at your address, send the address through the check form. A person looks at the path from the nearest tower and calls you back with the next step, including the one-time charge.

### Sources

- [spectrum.com/internet/plans](https://www.spectrum.com/internet/plans) (Spectrum, plans page, read 10/15/26)
- [spectrum.com/internet](https://www.spectrum.com/internet) (Spectrum, internet page, read 10/15/26)
- [att.com/local/internet/nevada/reno](https://www.att.com/local/internet/nevada/reno) (AT&T, Reno page, read 10/15/26)
- [rango.net/regions/reno-metro](https://www.rango.net/regions/reno-metro) (Rango, Reno metro region, read 10/15/26)
- [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)
- [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

- [Promotional prices: what happens after the first year](https://hdiss.net/guides/promotional-prices-after-year-one/)
- [How to read a broadband label](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-to-read-a-broadband-label/)
- [What you pay on day one](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-you-pay-on-day-one/)
- [How billing works and when a bill is past due](https://hdiss.net/guides/how-billing-works/)
- [Questions to ask any internet provider before you sign up](https://hdiss.net/guides/questions-to-ask-any-internet-provider/)

## 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 the cheapest monthly price the cheapest plan?

Not always. A low price that ends after twelve months, or needs a discount you will not meet, can cost more over two years than a higher flat price.

### Where do I find a provider's fees in writing?

On the provider's broadband label, on its terms page, or in the agreement. High Desert's agreement is at [the service agreement page](https://hdiss.net/service-agreement/).