What is fixed wireless internet, and how does it work?

High Desert Internet Services has described its service the same way since the early days: microwave radio signals carry high speed data to your home or office, and an antenna outside receives them. This guide keeps that description and updates the parts that have changed, starting with the equipment. Nothing needs to be added to your computer. The radio hands the connection to a router, and the router does the rest.

What is fixed wireless internet?

It is internet delivered by radio instead of by a wire in the ground. A tower with radio equipment on it points toward homes and businesses, and each building has a small antenna aimed back at the tower. The word fixed means the antenna stays in one place on your building, unlike a phone that moves with you.

High Desert Internet describes its own system this way on its site: microwave radio signals deliver high speed data to your home or office, with an antenna outside, and the system is designed to cover the areas left out by DSL and cable modem service. The company has been doing this in Northern Nevada since August 2002, according to its Google Business listing.

What equipment goes on my house?

Under the High Desert service agreement (version 1.12), the company supplies and keeps ownership of four pieces: the antenna, the radio, the power supply and the injector. The antenna and radio go outside where they can see the tower. A cable runs from them to the injector, which sits indoors and feeds power up the cable, and your router connects to the injector by Ethernet.

An older description of this service mentioned adding a card to your computer. That is no longer how it works. Your laptop, phone and TV join your router's Wi-Fi like they would with any other internet service, and the router receives its connection from the injector. Whether a router is supplied or you bring your own is something to ask when you call, because the agreement does not say.

A technician decides where the antenna goes at a site survey. It might be a gable end, a roof edge or a short mast, whichever spot has the clearest view of the tower.

Is fixed wireless the same as Wi-Fi?

No. Wi-Fi covers the last room or two inside your home. Fixed wireless covers the miles between a tower and your roof. You use both at once: the radio brings the internet to the house, and Wi-Fi spreads it around the house. High Desert publishes its link distance as up to about 40 miles in its own FAQ, though what matters at any one address is the clear path, not the mileage.

Is fixed wireless the same as 5G home internet?

Both are wireless, but they work differently. 5G home internet from a phone company uses its cell towers and a gateway box you set up yourself, placed near a window. T-Mobile lists a gateway as included with its home plans, and Verizon says its router is owned by Verizon (both on their own sites, read 10/15/26). Fixed wireless from a local provider uses its own towers and a roof antenna that a technician aims at one tower on purpose.

Neither is right for everyone. A strong cell signal at your window favors 5G home internet. A roof that sees a tower favors fixed wireless. The side-by-side comparison lays out each one's published facts.

Who uses fixed wireless?

Households that wire could not reach. The FCC's 2026 Section 706 Report estimates that about 56 percent of the U.S. population has access to a fixed wireless service at 100/20 Mbps, and that fixed wireless is 8.5 percent of fixed broadband connections (FCC 26-55, paragraph 29, released August 14, 2026). The same report says counting fixed wireless raises the share of the rural population with 100/20 access by over 10 percent.

Closer to home, the Census shows why it matters here. In Lyon County 12.0 percent of households report a satellite subscription, against 7.6 percent for Nevada, and in Storey County 22.5 percent do (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B28002). The ACS has no line for fixed wireless, so those homes show up under other types.

What does it need to work at my address?

Power at the building and a clear path from the antenna to a tower. Radio at these frequencies travels in a straight line, so a hill, a stand of tall trees or another building between you and the tower can stop it. That is why High Desert checks each address instead of answering by town. The guide on what line of sight means explains the check, and the one on what blocks a wireless link covers the usual culprits.

A customer who reviewed the company on Google in May 2025 wrote that it is reliable internet service in extremely rural areas (Julie T.). Another, in May 2025, called it very fast and reliable for being so far out in the desert (Sarah). Those are customers' opinions, not promises about your address.

What happens when I ask about my address?

You send your street address through the form or call 775-575-9593. A person looks at the path from the nearest tower to your roof, and if it looks clear, a technician confirms it at the house. The plans are Bronze at $50 a month with up to 500 Mbps down, Silver at $75 with up to 800 Mbps, and Gold at $99 with up to 1 Gig, all with up to 200 Mbps up (hdiss.net, read 10/15/26).