Rural communities are known for their wide-open spaces, productive farmland, and, unfortunately, a lack of Internet access. According to the Federal Communications Commission, as many as 1 in 4 rural households in the United States have no Internet access.
The reasons for this problem may be varied and numerous, but often it is a simple lack of infrastructure. Bringing fiber cables to rural areas can be costly and the number of households using the Internet service in rural areas are few. It’s simply impractical to offer Internet service to areas where people are few and far in between.
Nomad Internet, a new company based out of Texas, may forever change how Internet service reaches rural households. This minority-owned Internet service is delivering the Internet to rural homes, no fiber required.
Since 2017, the company has delivered Internet to thousands of customers, ranging from Girl Scouts of America to the tribal nations to single family homes. From Maine to Texas to the coasts, Nomad Internet is delivering the Internet through wireless routers that tap into the 4G and 5G network.
How Nomad Internet Works
Nomad Internet is the nation’s largest wireless Internet service provider (WISP). Nomad delivers high speed Internet to households using high-power directional antennas. Because Nomad taps into the 4G and 5G networks, it delivers Internet in much the same way that your phone accesses Internet as well.
About Nomad Internet and Jaden Garza
Nomad Internet was created by husband and wife Jaden and Jessica Garza. Jaden Garza, a graduate of Harvard University’s Executive Training Program, saw an opportunity to bring Internet access to people who traditionally have slow or no Internet, using the 4G and 5G networks.
Nomad Internet was originally a B2B internet provider. The Garzas began by servicing RV parks, which are generally known for their lack of reliable Internet access. For people who live in RV parks permanently, this lack of Internet can be unfortunate and inconvenient, and at times, genuinely problematic. Even for people who are vacationing in an RV, lack of Internet can stall vacation plans and make it difficult to find entertainment.
In 2017, the Garzas made their first Internet service installation in an RV park in Johnson City. The project was a success, and they were soon looking for their next client for Internet installation. For their second client, the Garzas provided Internet access in Seguin RV Park. In this community of 50 full-time RVers, Internet access was insufficient to meet everyone’s needs. What service was available was slow and unreliable.
Jaden and Jessica were learning how to deliver the best quality Internet service to their clients. To service the Seguin RV Park, they turned to the emerging LTE technology. The installation at Seguin Park added 40 megabytes per second for the residents.
This milestone installation project served as a gateway to bigger and better things for Nomad Internet. As their reputation spread, they were contacted by larger organizations in need of help. In the following year, Nomad Internet was contacted by Girl Scouts of America (GSA) in San Jacinto. GSA was seeking affordable Internet service for a park and had received a number of bids citing outrageous installation costs. In fact, one bid was as high as $100,000.
To help Girl Scouts of America, Nomad Internet used an LTE technology kit from BaiCells Technology. When the work was done, Nomad Internet had delivered high speed Internet access to the entire site, and for an affordable price.
As time went on, it became clear that the future of Nomad Internet was with direct B2C transactions. The technology that Nomad Internet used had changed enough that it was easy to adjust their business practices to serve individual customers directly. By the start of 2020, Nomad Internet was delivering Internet access to RVers and people living in rural communities.
As a fast-growing Texas-based company, Nomad now brings Internet to customers in much the same way that data access is delivered to your cell phone. In 2020, Nomad Internet hired its first employees. As the company grew, it moved into a new office building.
Today, it’s an established company with a large base of customers. In 2020, the company went from 5,000 to 10,000 customers. In 2021, Nomad’s customer base doubled again in size. By July of 2021, Nomad Internet was serving 20,000 customers. Nomad Internet updates its products regularly and is now using the Inseego Wavemaker Pro 5G Indoor router to bring reliable, high-speed Internet to customers around the country.
Why Internet Access Is Crucial
At one time, life without Internet access was an acceptable part of living in rural areas. While some households in rural communities had Internet access, many did not. Even households that did have Internet access often struggled with slow speeds and spotty coverage.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Internet access proved to be more crucial than in years past. Lack of Internet became a true problem for rural households, and those who suffered without were often put in danger or deeply inconvenienced. As the risks of going to public places intensified, the number of services and goods offered online grew as well.
Many in-person services are now available in an online platform. Everything from doctor’s appointments to town hall meetings can now be attended online, and those who cannot access those online services are at a great disadvantage. Rural homeowners must sometimes drive great distances to access services in person, and as more businesses move to online platforms, in-person services become even more difficult to access.
For rural homeowners, having Internet access sometimes means the difference between working in-person and working from home. It can mean attending affordable online schooling, or attending expensive in-person schools. Having reliable Internet access can mean getting your medications delivered to your door instead of driving into town, and ultimately, it can mean accessing information at crucial times.
The Wait for Fiber Is Over
For many people who live in rural areas, there is no more need to wait for Internet access. Residents of rural areas are able to get their Internet access from Nomad Internet, which supplies them with all the equipment they need to access data through 4G and 5G networks.
Nomad Internet continues to grow. Customers who come to Nomad are drawn to the company because they deliver Internet access without fiber and without a contract. The company offers a 7-day no-risk guarantee and promises a month of free internet to customers who refer other customers. Anyone who refers five customers is awarded with free Internet for life – a status that can save thousands of dollars over time.
Rural Populations are Growing, As Is Demand for Internet
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many homeowners sold their properties in metropolitan areas and moved to rural communities. Those homeowners are now in need of Internet service, and Nomad Internet can help them.
