Switching to High Desert from Starlink, cable or a hotspot

Nobody wants a gap with no internet. Switching goes smoothly when the new connection is working before the old one is turned off. High Desert also says it will beat or match any competitor, which are its words, so it is worth asking what that means for your bill.

Why do people switch to High Desert?

Because the terms are plainer. Each point below is High Desert's published fact set against the other company's own published fact, read on October 15, 2026.

• The price is the price. Bronze $50, Silver $75, Gold $99 a month, with no promotional year. Spectrum's Internet 100 is $30 a month “for 1 year” and then “standard rates apply” at a rate its plans page does not print (spectrum.com, read 10/15/26).
• No kit to buy. The antenna, radio, power supply and injector stay High Desert's and are repaired or replaced if they fail (service agreement V 1.12). Starlink sells its kit separately, with the price shown only after you enter an address (starlink.com, read 10/15/26).
• A local installer first. A technician walks the path from the tower to your roof before anything is sold. Starlink's Residential 100 tier is a kit you set up yourself (its cards, read 10/15/26).
• No contract. Two weeks notice and the equipment back, per the service agreement. Starlink publishes a 30-day refund window as its term; Spectrum says no contracts and prints a 30-day promise whose terms are not on the page.
• A person answers. 775-575-9593 or 775-391-5660, 9 to 5 every day, in Northern Nevada since August 2002. Starlink and Spectrum publish no support hours on the pages read.
• A tower, not an orbit. Our link is a tower on a ridge to your roof, up to about 40 miles in the company's own words; a Starlink dish talks to a satellite about 340 miles up (the FCC authorised Starlink at 540 to 570 km, Order FCC 21-48, April 27, 2021).

Where the other company wins, we say so: Starlink labels its data Unlimited and Spectrum states its data caps as none, while each High Desert plan carries a data transfer limit ($1 per GB over it). Ask for the figure on your plan and set it against the usage your current account page shows. The whole table, with sources and dates, is on why people switch to High Desert.

Moving from Xfinity or Comcast?

If you had Xfinity somewhere else, it does not follow you here. On the records we have, Xfinity does not serve these addresses: Comcast filed no FCC Form 477 record in our six counties in June 2021, and no Xfinity page naming a Northern Nevada place was read on October 15, 2026. The cable company here is Spectrum, and the comparison that matters is Spectrum vs High Desert. What you get instead with High Desert is a fixed monthly price, no contract, our equipment on your roof and a local phone. Cancel the old Xfinity account before you move, since the address change will not carry the service.

Looking for a Starlink alternative in Reno or Northern Nevada?

High Desert is one, wherever a tower can see the roof: fixed wireless from a local tower, installed by a technician, at Bronze $50, Silver $75 or Gold $99 a month, no contract, no kit. The dish-by-dish comparison is on Starlink vs High Desert, and the satellite checklist is in switching from satellite. A Spectrum (cable) alternative works the same way where the coax stops short of the house. Either way the first step is the address check; nothing is promised by town.

What should I do before I call?

Find your current bill and note what you pay each month, what speed it says and whether it includes TV, a phone line or a router rental. Those details let the office compare like with like. Then send your address through the address check. Do not cancel anything yet. A tower-to-roof link has to be confirmed first, and until it is, your old service is the only service you have.

What is the order of steps?

1. Check the address

   Send it and wait for a person to look at the path from the nearest tower to your roof. The answer is clear, not clear, or needs a closer look.

2. Agree the plan and the install visit

   Pick Bronze, Silver or Gold with the office. Ask what you pay on install day: the agreement says a labor charge plus a prorated month.

3. Keep the old service running

   Leave your current provider connected until the new connection works in every room you use.

4. Get installed and test

   Follow the technician through the visit, then test with a laptop on a cable and then on Wi-Fi.

5. Cancel the old service

   Call your old provider, ask for the cancellation date in writing and ask how to return its equipment.

6. Return the old equipment

   Use the provider's own return method and keep the receipt or tracking number.

7. Update what depends on the old line

   Alarm systems, medical alert devices, smart-home hubs and old email addresses may all be tied to the old service.

What about the email address from my old provider?

Email addresses from a cable or phone company usually end when the account does. Before you cancel, copy your contacts and any mail you want to keep, and set up a new address. High Desert gives customers an email address too, with webmail; see customer email for what is published. For general advice, read keeping email when you change devices.

What if I have TV or a landline with my old provider?

High Desert sells internet, not TV, and the company says no phone line is needed. If your TV or phone comes in a bundle, ask the old provider what it will cost on its own, or look at other ways to watch; the guide on TV without cable lists some. Phone service over the internet is covered in VoIP phones over fixed wireless.

Is there a guide for my situation?

Yes, one for each starting point: switching from cable, switching from satellite and switching from a phone hotspot. If you are returning a dish or modem, read returning old provider equipment. Each company sets its own return rules, so check with it. You can also read the comparison for Spectrum, Starlink or HughesNet, built only from what each publishes.

What does beat or match any competitor mean?

That is the company's own claim, printed in its posts and ads, and we repeat it as theirs. The terms are not published, so ask. Bring your latest bill, say what you pay now and what speed you are on, and ask what High Desert can offer. A fair answer tells you the monthly price you would pay and what the first invoice looks like.

How do I leave High Desert later?

Two weeks notice and all equipment returned, per the service agreement. Read no-contract internet for how that works in practice.

Who do I call?

775-575-9593 or 775-391-5660, 9 to 5 every day. Tell the person you are switching, and they will walk you through the order for your case.