
For far too long in this country, residents of rural communities have faced an uphill battle when trying to access the internet. First, traditional service providers — who deliver connectivity via complex wiring systems — claim that it’s too expensive to give online access to these communities. Then, the providers who do serve them — typically via satellite — offer high prices and slow, unreliable connections. Prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns, people just put up with bad internet and called it the price of living where they wanted. But once online schooling and working from home became part of the new normal, bad internet was no longer an inconvenience. Now, it was a barrier to entry in many important life arenas. Luckily, Nomad Internet was on the ground, ready to come up with reliable — and innovative — solutions.
At launch time in 2017, Nomad delivered internet service via modem because, explains CEO Robyn Weber, “We found that a lot of these communities were just too far away from to be able to do point-to-point internet, so that’s why we went to the cellular solution.”
But, she notes, “The modems that we use are a little bit more robust than the hockey puck type of hot spot that you would get from your cell carrier.” So, from the get-go, she says, customers got “a lot more of a solid signal.” Still, Nomad thought it could do better for the underserved communities it’s vowed to serve. And that’s when the company got to rethinking its infrastructure.
Reshaping the ISP Landscape with Partnerships and Innovation
Late in 2022, says Weber, Nomad Internet became “a fixed wireless partner” with Verizon, gaining access to its highly reliable, nationwide network. Right away, she says, the company “started offering the Nomad Air, the Nomad Cube, [and] the Nomad Raptor through the fixed wireless program.” Immediately, says Weber, customers noticed that “the fixed wireless program is a lot more solid than a conventional hot spot.”
Not content to rest on its laurels, however, Nomad Internet “launched C-Band modems in January of 2023,” states Weber. Here, she believes, the ISP was onto something fresh — and better. “C-Band is a relatively newer spectrum for the residential market,” she explains. “It was something that was previously used by the government. And our cellular partner has been building out the C-Band network. So, we launched our modems in December that were C-Band capable and C-Band was enabled on them where available in January.”
Already, she says, the rural client base is noting improvements in connectivity. “A lot of our customers that have been with us a long time have noticed that it’s very solid … much more reliable, a lot faster speeds.” Weber, who just so happens to live in a rural area herself, notes, “I use the product in my own home. My whole house runs on Nomad and it has for the last three years and this new stuff is just amazing.”
But if you think that C-Band represents the end of innovation for Nomad Internet, think again. Says Weber, “The goal with us is to keep innovating.” Of course, she knows others will try to replicate what the company is doing in rural communities, but it’s no skin off her back. She says, “If it’s that good that they want to imitate what we’re doing, then more power to them.” After all, this only helps support the company’s ultimate goal: better connectivity for underserved communities. And, if and when the market gets flooded with Nomad Internet copycats? Then, says Weber, “We’ll just keep innovating.”
See more recent news here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nomad-internet-providing-the-highest-quality-rural-internet-301720260.html