AireBeam’s fiber internet is a dream for rural Arizonans looking for fast internet, but fixed wireless leaves more to be desired.
9 min readAireBeam is a home-grown fiber and fixed wireless provider for rural towns in Western and Southern Arizona. While larger cable and fiber providers have more promotional deals and bundling offers, AireBeam’s fiber internet plans are just as fast and specifically cater to rural locations that might not be serviced by big-brand providers.
“Cost-wise, it’s definitely worth the money,” says Marty Scheckel, an AireBeam fiber customer and retiree in Mesa, Arizona who enjoys streaming with no slow-downs or outages on his new fiber plan, compared to his previous fixed wireless internet.
However, fixed wireless isn’t all that bad. It can get you connected to decent speeds for streaming and even gaming even when you live far away from the city limits, although its not as reliable as fiber.
Keep reading to get the rundown on how AireBeam fares on speed, price and customer experience.
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Get to know AireBeam: Plans and pricing
*
One year contract with price lock. No early termination fee required if paying month to month. Not available in all areas. Price sbjct to change. Terms apply.
*For 12 months with a 12-month contract.
AireBeam offers both fiber and fixed wireless internet services mostly in rural parts of Western and Southern Arizona. The fiber plans cost between $55 and $200 per month for symmetrical speeds that range between 500Mbps and 5,000Mbps. AireBeam’s fixed wireless internet plans cost $59.95–$89.95 per month for 20–50Mbps download speeds.
Whether you’re on a fiber or fixed wireless plan, all customers get unlimited data. There’s also an option to sign up for a year-long price guarantee, as long as you sign a one-year contract. If you decide to opt for a month-to-month contract, a $5 monthly fee applies and there is no price guarantee. After your contract ends, your rates increase by $5 per month, unless you renew your contract.
AireBeam fees for modem and installation: Month to month payments
Router rental (optional)
$10.00/mo.
Monthly fee
$5.00/mo.
Professional installation
$150.00
Data as of 8/22/2024
AireBeam fees for modem and installation: Contracted customers
Router rental (optional)
$10.00/mo.
Professional Installation
Free
Early termination fee
$150.00
Data as of 8/22/2024
What makes this review legit?
Our fact-based research process centers on interviews with internet customers across the country, helping us understand how internet services hold up against diverse needs and challenges.
To put together this review, I spoke with three customers over the phone from Casa Grande and Mesa, Arizona. I also scoured AireBeam customer reviews across Facebook, Google and Better Business Bureau. I let their experiences guide my research and shape our conclusions. I also communicated with the director of operations at AireBeam and various customer service representatives, who gave us greater detail on pricing and the company’s expansion goals. We also looked over the fine print of AireBeam’s fixed wireless and fiber broadband facts labels, deals, and plan information webpages to get the full picture of what the provider offers.
The rundown: AireBeam by our criteria
For all our internet reviews, we give a rating based on three main criteria—speed and reliability, dollar value, and customer experience—which we then average to make an overall score.
Want to know how AireBeam stacks up? See our full take below.
Overall score: 4/5
Speed and reliability
4.0/5.0
AireBeam offers fast speeds that are on par with our fastest internet providers. Depending on the location, AireBeam’s fiber plans go all the way up 5Gbps–a sky-high speed for a provider that serves only a few locales. As with all fiber providers, speeds are symmetrical, so both download and upload speeds are the same. This makes for a smooth experience for downloading large files quickly and uploading photos and videos to your social media profiles.
While it’s tempting to go for the highest speed available, the 500Mbps plan works well for most households, even if you’ve got multiple family members on Zoom meetings or playing Microsoft Flight Simulator. “Trust me, if you got by before [without it], you’ll get by with 500Mbps with no problem,” advises Marty Scheckel, an AireBeam fiber customer in Mesa, Arizona. AireBeam is currently promoting a deal where signing up for plans with speeds 750Mbps and above gets your router fees included into your monthly cost. But Scheckel believes 500Mbps is plenty and it would be more cost-effective to purchase and use your own router.
On the other hand, fixed wireless customers have a variable experience, which is unfortunately the nature of any fixed wireless connection, regardless of the provider, AireBeam’s fixed wireless internet plans can only offer a maximum download speed of 50Mbps, which falls short of the Federal Communications Commission’s benchmark for “high-speed internet”. If you sign up for a fixed wireless plan, you get enough speed to stream a Netflix show, but other tasks like downloading large games might be challenging. Thankfully, fixed wireless customers actually get decent latency between 20ms–25ms, which means it could be fast enough to play multiplayer games depending on the quality of your signal.
Dollar value
3.5/5.0
You get a decent deal with AireBeam if you can sign up to a fiber internet plan. The fixed wireless plan, on the other hand, is quite expensive for the speeds you get, but you might not have many other options in your area.
All fiber plans are reasonably priced and worth your hard-earned money. However, the price-lock period is only for one year if you sign up for a contract. That’s fine if you plan on sticking with the provider, but you do have to pay a fee if you cancel before the year is up. If you decide to pay month-to-month instead, you pay a $5 fee every month. This is far from ideal, but it's cheaper than a cancellation fee.
On the plus side, the contract lasts for only one year, and currently, AireBeam may increase your rates by an additional $5 per month, similar to the month-to-month plan. Customers can also sign another year-long contract, thus avoiding the price increase. If you know you’re not moving anywhere outside of AireBeam’s serviceable areas within the year, it’s well worth signing up for the contract.
There aren’t any other surprising fees to catch you out. The professional installation is expensive for month-to-month customers, but it’s free if you sign up for a contract.
Customer experience
4.5/5.0
AireBeam might be a smaller provider, but it surprisingly offers 24/7 customer service. If you have an issue, you can call anytime. We called during the workday, weekend, and right after dawn, and each time we got connected to friendly customer service reps who answered questions without being pushy—and there was no wait time.
The provider is also known for supplying internet to RV parks, a nifty service for those who want superfast internet throughout their stay. RV residents who spoke with Reviews.org say that they’re happy with the fast internet they get for streaming shows, checking out the news, or browsing online. “Maybe there’s this issue or that, like a billing issue, but they’ve always straightened it out. They’ve always been very good about it,” says Scheckel, who thinks the installation process is quite messy, but overall, the service performs as it should.
There is even a Vacation Hold service, which slashes your rates all the way down to $10 for each month you’re out of town, in exchange for a reduced service. “I just email and tell them to deactivate it for a month or sometimes the whole Summer…it works very well,” says Jack Whitcomb, a rental agent for an RV resort in Casa Grande. He explains that this service is great for “snowbird” residents who aren’t in Arizona year-round but want just enough speed to keep any camera and security systems online while they’re gone.
How long it took to get a real human on the phone: After going through the menu, I was able to get in touch with customer service within seconds.
How the chat service is: There is no chat service.
Overall quality
4.0/5.0
Overall, AireBeam is a good internet service provider. If you can get AireBeam Fiber, you’re getting fast, symmetrical speeds that are great for gaming, video conferencing, uploading YouTube videos or livestreaming. If fixed wireless is all you can get, it might be a little slow when you have multiple users on at the same time, but it still gets decent latency and enough speed for most day-to-day activities. Being able to call around the clock for any technical issues is also a great plus for a local provider.
AireBeam: What deals and promotions can you get?
AireBeam offers a few nifty deals such as free router rental for plans 750Mbps and above. As long as you continue to subscribe to a 750Mbps plan or higher and renew your contract, the router will be included in your plan.
AireBeam also offers referral credit. If you refer a friend who ends up signing up for AireBeam, you get a $25 credit on your next bill.
Get free router rental for plans 750Mbps and above.
AireBeam add-ons and perks
Refer a friend and receive up to a $25 credit
For each successful referral, you receive up to a $25 credit on your next bill. Referrals are unlimited.
Get live TV and streaming channels
Sign up for MyBundle to get access to different streaming and live TV bundles like DIRECTV or Dish. This isn’t billed with your internet service.
Watch free live TV
Download MyBundle Free TV app on your device to watch live channels like QVC, MAV TV, SportsGrid, and more.
What do customers think of AireBeam?
AireBeam fiber customers give strong reviews of the provider. “We’re paying $5 more than what we were paying before, for speeds that are a hundred times faster,” says Marty Scheckel, an AireBeam fiber customer in Mesa, Arizona. Scheckel resides at an RV resort with his wife and hasn't had any issues with streaming shows or browsing. His previous fixed wireless plan made it difficult to watch shows or get online whenever it rained. Now, he is happy that his internet connection is reliable even in bad weather.
“Our renters really like the internet. It seems to be strong, you can stream on it, and it’s working very well,” says Jack Whitcomb, a rental agent and resident at a RV resort in Casa Grande, Arizona. Whitcomb’s renters who have signed up with AireBeam have given nothing but raving reviews. “We had fixed wireless before and now it’s fiber, and it’s made a huge improvement. There is no problem at all with it,” he explains.
If there are any outages or issues with AireBeam, all it takes is a quick email to AireBeam and he gets prompt support. “They’re very good about getting someone out here if it needs attention,” Whitcomb says. “But that happens very seldom with this new fiber internet.”
Fixed wireless is a slower, variable service
While AireBeam is still building out its fiber network, according to the Federal Communications Commission’s 2023 Broadband Map, there are seven times more homes with fixed wireless coverage than homes with fiber coverage. Fixed wireless service is heavily affected by bad weather or congestion and is far less reliable than fiber.
Chuck Dillon, a retiree residing with his wife and son in Casa Grande, Arizona, hasn’t had much luck with his fixed wireless AireBeam internet, but he has stayed a customer for the last 10 years because there are no other providers available except the pricey Starlink service.
Since AireBeam’s acquisition by broadband company Boston Omaha in 2020, Dillon has noticed that the service has improved slightly but is still subpar. “The service out here now has changed to the point that raindrops fall, and the service goes down,” he explains.
Dillon has a 20Mbps download speed plan, but countless speed tests show that the internet hits a mere 6Mbps most of the time. It’s especially slower around 3:30–4:00 p.m. He suspects the slowdown is caused by tower congestion at the time when kids get home from school and hop on the internet.
“The service out here now has changed to the point that raindrops fall, and the service goes down.” –Chuck Dillon, AireBeam fixed wireless customer in Casa Grande, Arizona
When he brought up the issue with AireBeam, he was originally told that it was a problem with his router, but fixing that didn’t solve his issue. “I actually went out on three different occasions and bought new routers,” says Dillon, who confirmed with another AireBeam representative that it was actually an issue with an overloaded tower. This has been a frustrating experience for Dillon, who would prefer to receive an honest answer about the service instead of being misled.
Need to contact AireBeam customer service or tech support?
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Get connected to 24/7 customer service by calling +1-520-510-0909.
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Skip the phone and email any queries to support@airebeam.com.
Where is AireBeam available?
AireBeam is currently available in Pinal, Pima, and Maricopa Counties. The fiber services are primarily in Casa Grande, Arizona City and Eloy, with the fixed wireless plans serving a wider area.
AireBeam is actively planning to expand its fiber coverage in Arizona over the next couple of years, especially in areas where access is limited. “Our efforts will be concentrated on reaching underserved communities,” says Zavier Hafiz, Director of Operations at AireBeam Fiber Internet. “[We’re] ensuring that more residents in rural areas have access to high-speed, reliable internet.”
To see if AireBeam is available in your neighborhood, enter your zip code below in our availability checker.
Type in your zip code and find AireBeam internet near you.
AireBeam vs. the competition
Residents of Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties have limited options for internet, but there are a few other providers who provide fiber, cable, and fixed wireless plans. If you’re comparing fiber providers, Quantum Fiber offers fiber internet with limited availability in similar locales. Quantum Fiber plans are sold at a cheaper price than AireBeam for the same level of speed, and there are no early termination or installation fees either. Cox also offers fiber plans in some locations too, but is a little more expensive than Quantum Fiber and only has a fixed price for the first 24 months.
Cox or Xfinity also provide solid cable internet services, but can be affected with slow-downs and outages when there is bad weather, but not as susceptible as fixed wireless customers.
If no cable or fiber providers are available, you could go with a fixed wireless plan from AireBeam, or with another provider like Bluespan and SimplyBits. However, T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet or Verizon 5G home internet are likely capable of higher speeds for an affordable fixed price.
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†
Available in select markets only. No annual contract or cancellation fees.
‡
Includes equipment. No credit check. No cancellation fee. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. Limited to residential customers meeting certain eligibility criteria. Subject to Internet Essentials program terms and conditions.
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w/ Auto Pay. Consumer data usage is subject to the usage restrictions set forth in Verizon's terms of service; visit: https://www.verizon.com/support/customer-agreement/ for more information about 5G Home and LTE Home Internet or https://www.verizon.com/about/terms-conditions/verizon-customer-agreement for Fios internet.
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