Cellular Network Reception in Cedar Ridge

[Josh Bravo]

Hello Everybody,

I have been living in Cedar Ridge on and off for a little less than 15 years. I live on Broken Pine Road.
As I am sure everyone else can sympathize, the lack of options for broadband services within the area is- frustrating, to say the least.

I somewhat remedied the situation by purchasing an iPhone 3GS late last year.
Unfortunately speeds and data reception fluctuates, access is generally inconsistent.
It did however provide some relief from the ever disappointing dial up internet access..

Yet, unfortunately..the other day.. I believe it was Thursday, the 18th of March .. I completely lost EDGE reception on my iPhone...

Does anybody else have a smartphone that accesses the EDGE network, do you get data reception anywhere in Cedar Ridge, did you lose data reception?

Do you have an older generation phone that uses GSM/GPRS that is still able to access the data network from Cedar Ridge?

I called AT&T to inquire about the situation, they ran some diagnostic tests on my phone, checked on the local towers and could not figure out the problem, visitors and other occupants who have smartphones no longer receive a data signal at my house.

I am able to access the EDGE network in downtown Sonora.

I have seen a few AT&T service vehicles throughout upper Cedar Ridge the last couple of months and have been hopeful, I read an article recently about grants that were to be given to Golden State and a local ISP to invest in broadband solutions, and was hoping that perhaps my loss of service was a result of an upgrade, or optimization, done by whoever. However, AT&T has no idea why I lost service, and told me that local towers were operating normally.

I am able to talk on my phone and receive text messages from Cedar Ridge, without a problem.

I took a ride throughout Cedar Ridge, from Belleview, to lower, to upper, and could not find data service anywhere, it was however a quick search and I did not take the time to reset network settings on my phone at each location. I have yet been able to pinpoint exactly where on my way down the hill I pick up the data signal again.

Please let me know if anybody has any ideas, comments, suggestions, or can sympathize with me, perhaps we can get together and complain to AT&T.
Thanks
-Josh

[warrenplynch]

Josh,

I also live on Broken Pine Road and have been using a Blackberry for work to receive email for years. I also reported the recent EDGE outage to AT&T and waited about 5 days for resolution. I have reported several outages to AT&T over the years and each event requires an investment of time and some troubleshooting (i.e. - test in Sonora). Each time I report a local outage I go through the same drill of testing with customer service, followed by testing with tech support before I am issued a case number. The case number is key. They will not dispatch to local cell site if no case is opened.

I have worked in telecommunications for 25 years including cellular. I don't understand why a local outage doesn't send alarms back to a central NOC.

Good luck.

[squinne]

well thats bad news , i just switched from verizon to ATT on my black berry and I still get edge access where i live on ahawahnee road ... a least I did last weekend when I was there ... this was may 1st and it worked then .. when i go up this next weekend I will of course check again

when i was on verizon i got NO internet acess from my cell phone only phone and text messages , ATT HAs been working ok for me

[warrenplynch]

It's not that bad. The outages of edge service on AT&T are infrequent, maybe a few times a year. It's reporting them that is a pain. The usually last a few days.

Rick

[robsears]

Internet Users,
I enjoyed reading your postings regarding cellar internet service. I have an AT&T dongle for internet access. It works most of the time although it is not very fast. I was told by AT&T there are only two cellar towers in the Sonora area. Luckily, I guess, one of them is on Mt Elizabeth. I find my speed is a reflection of cellar usage in the area-not very scientific. I am having Sonnet come out and do a site survey at my house. Any input on Sonnet would be much appreciated. They told me they can get me wireless high speed to my house on Broken Pine. After working on this for a while, I am somewhat skeptical.
Rob

[warrenplynch]

Let me know the results of your Sonnet survey. I've had Mother Lode Internet survey my property twice as they offer a wireless "high speed" internet service. I was told line of sight to their transmission towers was needed (one of their towers is on Mt Elizabeth). I'm dying for an alternative to Wild Blue Satellite.

[robsears]

Rick,
I should have an answer shortly. Sonnet is doing the site survey on Monday the 22nd. Wild Blue or Hughes Net may be my only choice after that. What is your issues with Wild Blue, other than slow uploads and price? I need speed and consistency as I make my living off internet.
Rob
PS. Hughesnet said they are the birth parents of Wild Blue and have a better products. Any ideas?

[warrenplynch]

Rob,

Satellite internet is fundamentally not compatible with VPN. My employer provided me with an SSL VPN application that was compatible with satellite but the transmission speed is determined by your upload speed. I purchased Wild Blue's top package which advertised 1.5 M download and 256K upload. Multiple internet speed tests showed my daytime download speed exceeded 1.5 M but my upload speed was less than 56K. Wild Blue said they gave no credibility to any internet speed tests but their own which indicated a 128K upload speed (still only half the speed advertised). Download speeds drop by nearly 50% in the evenings - busy hour. I was forced to keep my ISDN service for work (128K) and contractually am stuck with Wild Blue for 2 years.
Wild Blue is now owned by DirectV.

[squinne]

I have a neighbor on Oxbow who has Sonnet , he says it is very good .. I am not certain of the exact speeds , but with dial up and cell service being the only options ... Couple words of advice on these ISP's , start googling them and find out how other people like the service.. I googled wild blue and found that people absolutely hated them... they were immediately off my list .. then i realized that VPN really doesnt work well on satellite ... i just figure that satellite is not going to be the option I want . I am going to check if I have a tree high enough to place and antenna towards mount Elizabeth... I say Sonnet is our best bet right now. Let me know how thats goes ...

[robsears]

Hello All,
Just to keep you all in the loop. Sonnet was schedueled to make a site survey at my Broken Pine location on November 22. Well, we all know that was the start of the great snow storm of 2010 They called on my cell phone, which did not work (AT&T) to reschedule. It now looks like the Spring before we can rescheduled. I have been told by many that if you can see Mt. Elizabeth from your house you can get Sonnet. I have also been told that Sonnet has no unlimited package, so it can get rather expensive. Sonnet is wireless and requires a router installation. If anyone gets Sonnet installed, post a messages with the good-bad and indifferent. Knowledge is power.
Rob

[warrenplynch]

Thanks Rob,

Line of site to Mt. Elizabeth is the same requirement as Motherlode Internet wireless ISP. I have had 2 site surveys on my Broken Pine address and been told they could not provide the service. BTW, ATT says that 3G service is coming to the area and equipment is currently being installed. The battle for quality high speed internet service in Cedar Ridge continues!

[squinne]

i will keep you posted , i just called sonnet


Getting In Touch With SONNET:
Customer Service /Billing. . . (209)533-9772, M-F, 9am-5pm

requested a site survey , they do it by computer, waiting on the email back as to whether it will work .. if so i will be getting the 60 dollar a month package that will run my WII and netflix... ill keep you all posted as to how this will all work out , if this works i can move up here as I work full time at home
If ATT gets the 3G up here that will work as well , as i can get the little usb device to get wireless via ATT , will see ..

[robsears]

Hello All,
I will be moving full time to Cedar Ridge this summer. I currently have a part time employment using the internet. I have seen the discussions about high speed internet, or the lack of it in our area. It would seem that satellite is marginal and wireless is problematic. Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Just for discussion; why not set up our own internet service provider in the Cedar Ridge area. I have had this rolling around inside my head for about a year. Has anyone else looked into this? It could be a hassle. It may be the way to spur other ISP to work with us. But ultimately it may be the only way to go. What do you think?
Rob

[squinne]

I have heard from a couple of people that DSL is available via comcast , i looked online and it shows available , when i called they said it wasnt available
anyone know anything ?

I am having sonnet come and take a look to see if i can get wireless . My neighbor on Oxbox loves it , he is 200 feet higher than I am
( 100 feet on the ground plus another 100 or so in the tree ) , i could get 100 foot higher in my tree . You have to have good line of site to elizabeth peak. People over on that side where you have a clear shot to it ... good for you ..

starting your own ISP is hard and costly , you have have to have a good internet connection at a CO , where is the CO , way far away .. a dslam maybe ?
the company i work for makes them. the phone companies havent installed them here yet , they are close if not here , i am trying to verify this. down the hill in upper crystal falls they are there .... it sounds like there are some people here that know a lot more than I .. any comments ?

[Jay Bunten]

Here is the latest status of Broadband in Cedar Ridge:

For AT&T, our switching office (CO) is located in Twain Harte (586). I've been told that it is about 5.5 wire miles from the Ridge.

AT&T Dial-up - Still available

AT&T DSL - Still not available for the same reasons. (maximum distance = 18000 wire feet from the CO)

AT&T Cellular - Edge network is still received in most places on the Ridge. 3G is now available in the Sonora Area, but changes quickly to EDGE on Phoenix Lake Rd. My assumption is that 3G will be coming to the area shortly. AT&T has devices available that will allow you to connect your computer (and network) to these Cellular Data Networks. On EDGE this doesn't make much sense, but with 3G is become viable.

Comcast Wireless - Not available on the Ridge

Comcast Digtal Cable - Not available on the Ridge, but could be coming. Call Comcast and ask. 1-800-934-6489 and ask for it. This tell them that people want it. I understand that a fiber backbone is coming to Tuolumne County.

MotherLode Internet Wireless - Very spotty service available. Line of site to one of their towers on Mt Elizabeth or Bald Mountain.

Wildblue and Hughs Satellite service - Still available

Starting a private wireless ISP. Big problem. The only HIGH bandwidth connection to the Internet from the Ridge is AT&Ts T-1 Service which is very expensive even with lots of users. Then there is the initial equipment investment.