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(504) 208-5432 sales@nolabroadband.com

FAQs

Answers To Our Most Frequently Asked Questions

How does NOLA Broadband provide service?

NOLA Broadband is a hybrid ISP providing both wireless (WISP) service and fiber service. Fiber can take months to install due to permitting with the city and parish, whereas wireless can be rolled out much quicker, so we often try to service fiber customers with wireless as an intermediate step.

What is Wireless Internet?

Wireless Internet is similar to other internet providers, but instead of using coax or copper wire to get you onto the Internet we use long range wireless radios. Data is sent over a radio frequency where it hits our tower and then goes out through our Carrier Grade fiber optic backbone to the world wide web.

What is a WISP?

A WISP stands for Wireless Internet Service Provider. Some ISPs provide connectivity through cable, others through the phone line. We think providing you internet through the air offers more options and lowers cost.

How do I set up an account with NOLA Broadband?

If you’re looking to start a conversation with a member of our sales team you can call us at 504-208-5432, fill out our Contact Form, or stop by our office at 1612 Barataria Blvd Marrero, LA 70072. Once we make contact, our staff will determine your eligibility for services based on your location. After checking if we service your area, a site survey is needed to prepare for the install.

What do I need to setup an account?

To receive services from NOLA Broadband, all we need is as follows:

  • The address of where you will receive service.
  • A credit/debit card OR a voided check for ACH payments.

Do I have need to purchase any equipment?

In most cases NOLA Broadband will provide a wireless radio at no cost to you. The radio is installed on your home and is considered the property of NOLA Broadband and should not be tampered with in anyway. For certain business installs Radios will be purchased by the customer, depending on your level of service with us.

Site Survey

A trip to your location is needed to determine the signal strength you can get. You might be within range of our tower, but there could be other issues that might affect your service such as buildings or thick trees in your line of sight. Don’t self-exclude however, we have several installs where our tower is not visible but the customer has great service.

What is the Install like?

For wireless, an antenna is installed on your home (typically on the roof pointing to our closest tower). An Ethernet cable is run from the radio to inside your home, hooking into your wireless router. Custom installations can be arranged for an extra fee, let our sales staff know during your initial consultation. An authorized individual 18 years of age or older must be home for the duration of the install (2-3 hours). For Fiber installations it’s best to Contact Us to get an idea of the install process.

How much is the initial setup fee?

The setup fee varies depending on difficulty of mounting the hardware. Installs start at $150, but in rare cases where non-pentration mounts (meaning no holes are made in your structure) are used, we need to cover the costs of the mount and difficulty of lifting the mount and weights into position.  If higher power/gain equipment is necessary, this may also affect the setup fee. We’ll let you know the needs after a site survey.

How long do I have to wait for NOLA Broadband to install my service?

We strive to complete installs within 7 business days, but the time can vary depending on equipment availability or if weather conditions prevent us from installing the radio.

Will my current router work with NOLA Broadband?

While it is possible to use your current router, we strongly prefer to use ours as we can remotely troubleshoot any issues you may be having. We also offer “smart routers”, where you can easily update your wifi name and password from your phone, as well as limit service to certain devices during certain hours for “homework mode” or similar.

How fast will my internet be?

Your internet speeds will depend on two things:

  • Your level of Service with us.
  • The distance and line of sight from the install location to our towers.

If you are further away, you might not be able to get our higher speed tiers of service. The speeds you can get will be determined by the Site Survey.

What affects my signal quality?

Bad weather should not affect the strength of the signal, and we have had customers see no issues during tropical storms. Radio Interference from baby monitors, HAM radio operators, microwave towers, or any 5Ghz wireless device that is poor quality can affect signal as well, but we use RF armor to greatly reduce the effects. The site survey will help us determine the level of interference in your area, and helps us plan around any issues.

Do I have to sign a contact?

Not at all! We are happy to work with you on a month to month basis, though we do offer some business contract options that have incentives for multi-year contracts.

Do trees and buildings interfere with a wireless internet signal?

Absolutely, our radios work best when we can get line of sight to one of our towers. The Site Survey helps us determine the quality of the signal we can get.

How do I get Support?

Our network is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When issues crop up, our engineers are aware of it soon after it happens. For residential customers, you can call 504-208-5432 during business hours to reach our support team, you may also open a ticket using our customer portal (which you get access to when you sign up). For business customers, support is 24/7.

How do I stay aware of planned maintenance or networking issues?

Occasionally we have to take down parts of the network for ongoing maintenance. We do our best to alert the affected customers  of planned maintenance via Email or SMS. You can also check our network status page at http://status.nolabroadband.com. Any network outages will be reported there, and it is updated as frequently as possible.

Will NOLA Broadband fix my computer, router, or other network devices?

We do our best to provide a great experience for our customers, but we do not officially support networking equipment that is not installed by us. If you are having issues connecting a device to the internet, we will do our best to help you troubleshoot over the phone but we are unable to provide on-site support for your internal network devices. We are happy to refer you to a trusted third party to help you with any issues.

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