Broadband Internet in Tehachapi? - Life, The Universe and Everything - scottso's Blog - Tehachapi News

Mar 3, 2008 at 05:03 PM : I don't know if...

I don't know if it's any help, but we use cable internet through Bright House. Do they have cable out there? We've never had any problems with the cable and the internet is wonderfully fast.

Mar 3, 2008 at 05:03 PM : Unfortunatel...

Unfortunately, no cable in Bear Valley. I heard the company that provided it lost their franchise or something and Brighthouse apparently wasn't required to provide service out here for their franchise. A shame too since the cable on the poles is already there.

Mar 3, 2008 at 05:03 PM : I know of Creative...

I know of Creative Wireless http://www.creative-wireless.net/ locally but have heard nothing good. The only others would be Wild Blue http://www.wildblue.com or Hughesnet http://www.hughesnet.com. I don't believe any of them are very cheap and I don't know how good any are.

Mar 3, 2008 at 07:03 PM : Contact High Desert...

Contact High Desert Wireless. They have great service and multiple sites out in Bear Valley. Their website is www.hdwbc.com. I had there service when i was out there and it was fast and reliable.

Mar 4, 2008 at 01:03 PM : I am a local Store...

I am a local Store in Tehachapi my Installers and I also live in Tehachapi. First DSL is your first choice at approx $14.00 per month. 2nd is Wild Blue at approx $200.00 down and $50.00 per month 3rd is Creative Wireless at approx $350.+ down and $50.00 month. I sell WB CW, Hughes net, and Starband. My Store is at 212 S. Curry. St.

Mar 4, 2008 at 01:03 PM : I use Creative...

I use Creative Wireless and have for about the past 6 months or so, I don't have any complaints it is very rare that connection is a problem, sometimes it is just a matter of moving the little receivers around. I don't have the luxury of cable or DSL here in Cummings Valley which left me with dial up or Satellite. I made the choice to switch from dial-up when I was paying 14.95 for an Internet service and 35.00 for the land line so I bought the equipment and then justified the cost of the monthly service of 49.95 being the same since I got rid of the phone and Internet service. The Creative Wireless people were very nice and professional I haven't had to call out for a service man since I got it and we have had some horrible winds here lately but the dish is still secure and stable. Good Luck

Mar 4, 2008 at 02:03 PM : I'll definitely...

I'll definitely be checking out out High Desert and Creative Wireless -- thanks for those tips! I'm not interested in the satellite offerings as the latency is way too high for anything but web surfing. Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I had no idea there were alternatives out here! These guys need to advertise better! :)

Mar 12, 2008 at 07:03 PM : Man, I feel...

Man, I feel your pain! I searched long and hard for decent broadband in Bear Valley Springs. I just got done suffering with Wildblue for the past year and a half. I also need low latency for Video Conferencing and Gaming. High Desert Wireless and Creative wireless should be able to provide you with low latency access, but it's quite pricey for the speed that they provide. I tried to get them, but neither had line of sight to my home. I'd love to have DSL but they don't run it very far up the hill. I did recently find out about another option: Verizon Wireless has EVDO Rev A in Bear Valley Springs, and it works great at my house: 1.2Meg down and 700-800k up. Latency in the 80-120ms range. I also tried Sprint, At&t, and Alltel. Sprint recently added a tower here in Bear Valley but it doesn't have Rev A speeds. Neither does At&t or Alltel. Unfortunately Verizon Wireless' Unlimited Broadband service is (interestingly enough) limited to 5GB per month. Not a big deal for me, I don't download music or movies. I used it as much as I could during the 30 day free trial, and got to about 3GB in a month. The best part is you can take it with you when you travel. I decided that a 2 year commitment was too long for me, with WiMax down the road and whatever becomes of the 700Mhz auction. I did find that I could get a one year commitment when I put in my work e-mail address for discounts, so I went with that. I got the USB720 modem which I hook up to my computer, then I plug my router into the ethernet port and do Internet Connection Sharing between the two, in order to get the wifi going. For about 200 bucks you can get the Cradlepoint MBR1000 router and just plug the modem into it. You can also do automatic failover from another service. I'm happy to report that I'm back on XBOX Live and Skype and all my other services that require a fast packet are working once again. Now if we could only convince Sprint to add EVDO Rev A to their tower here, we'd finally be up to speed, since they have no limits on usage and can be talked down to $39 a month for their service. Wheras the Verizon Service will cost $59 a month, but at least you don't have to hang a $300 antenna to get it. You can learn all you need to know here: http://www.evdoinfo.com/. Good luck to ya!