internet service

Paying too much for internet?

We do not sell internet service and we do not work for any provider, so we have no reason to talk you into anything. We sit down at your table, read your actual bill, and tell you what is available at your address and what it would cost.

$39 books an in-person visit and comes straight off the price. Remote help is $39 for 30 minutes. Card only, and you approve the price before we start.

Nobody on that phone call works for you

The number on your bill belongs to the company sending you the bill. The fellow at the store works on commission. The comparison website that came up first is paid per sign-up. Every one of them will answer your question, and every one of them is answering it for somebody else.

We are none of those. We take no commission from any provider, we do not resell service, and we do not get paid differently depending on what you decide. That is the whole reason this visit is worth an hour.

The most common thing we find is not a scandal. It is a promotional rate that ended eighteen months ago and nobody mentioned it.

What is actually available on your road

Most people know about the one or two providers that mail them flyers. In much of rural Oklahoma there are more options now than there were two years ago, including fixed wireless from a tower you can see from the yard and satellite that finally works, and almost nobody is told when a new one reaches their address.

We check it with you, at your address, and we include the ones that do not advertise. Then we tell you plainly whether a change would save you money or whether you already have the best deal on your road.

Sometimes the answer is that you are fine. That is a real answer, and you will not get it from somebody who is selling something.

Try these first

Some of these will fix it outright, and that is fine. We would rather you solved it in ten minutes than paid us to do it.

  1. Find the line on your bill marked equipment rental, modem lease or gateway fee. It is often $10 to $15 a month, every month, forever. In many cases you can buy the same box once for about what you are paying to rent it for a year.
  2. Look for the words promotional, introductory, or for the first 12 months. If you cannot find them, compare what you paid this month against what you paid two years ago. A quiet increase after a promotion expires is the single most common thing we find.
  3. Count what your house actually does at once. Two people streaming one show each and a phone is not a gigabit household. Paying for the top tier does nothing you can see if nothing in the house can use it.
  4. Run a speed test and compare it against the speed you are paying for. If you are not getting close to it, that is worth a call to them before it is worth a call to us.
  5. Check the bill for extras nobody watches: a second box on a television in a spare room, a sports package, a phone line still attached to a wall jack nobody has used since 2012.

What we do not do

We fix what is wrong with your tech. What we do not do is hardware repair, the kind that needs parts or a soldering iron, and saying so plainly saves everybody a wasted trip.

  • We do not sell internet service, sign you up for anything without you in the room, or take a commission from any provider. You make the call and the account stays in your name.
  • We cannot make a provider build to your address. If nothing good reaches your road, we will tell you that honestly rather than sell you an hour of hope.
  • We do not drill through walls, run wiring inside them, or do electrical work. If your house needs a cable run through the attic, you will want an installer for that part.

What it costs

$39 books an in-person visit, and it comes straight off the price of the visit. Our hourly rate steps up with distance from the town your Local Nerd works from: $110 an hour within 25 miles, $130 in the 25 to 50 mile band, and $145 in the 50 to 75 mile band. That is how we cover the drive, so there is no separate travel fee.

Remote help is $39 for a 30-minute session and starts with a phone call at the time you picked. If you use us a few times a year, Nerd on Call is $14.99 a month and includes two remote sessions and an in-person visit each year.

Cards only. Local Nerds are not permitted to accept cash or checks, so you will never be asked for either at the door. Full detail is on the FAQ.

Rather talk it through first? Have a Local Nerd call you first, free and with no obligation.

Where we go

In-person visits reach up to 75 miles out from the town each Local Nerd works from, whichever state that address is in. Remote help works anywhere. Check your own address on the ZIP checker, or see the whole state on the map.

Questions folks ask

Do you sell internet service?

No, and that is the point. We are not a reseller and we take no commission from any provider, so we have no reason to steer you anywhere. We read your bill, tell you what reaches your address, and tell you honestly if what you already have is the best deal available to you.

Can you help me lower my internet bill?

Often, yes. The usual savings are equipment rental you do not need, a promotional rate that expired without anybody telling you, a speed tier far above what your house actually uses, and bundled extras nobody watches. We go through the bill line by line and tell you what each one is.

How do I find out what internet is available at my address?

We check it with you, including the providers that do not advertise out here. In much of rural Oklahoma there are more options than there were two years ago, including fixed wireless and satellite, and most people are never told when a new one reaches their road.

Will you set up the new service when it arrives?

Yes. We set up the new equipment, put every device back on, and make sure the printer, the smart TV and the security camera come across too, which is the part that usually gets forgotten and the reason a switch feels like a disaster for a week.

What does it cost to have someone look at my internet bill?

$39 books the visit and comes straight off the price. Our rate is $110 an hour within 25 miles of the town your Local Nerd works from, $130 in the 25 to 50 mile band and $145 in the 50 to 75 mile band. Most bill reviews are done inside the first hour.

What if the answer is that I already have the best deal?

Then we tell you that, and you stop wondering. Knowing for certain that you are not being overcharged is worth the hour too, and you will not get that answer from anybody who is selling something.

Other things we help with