Internet service in the Russian River area? Guerneville/Monte Rio/Cazadero

[Clark Vogeler]

Hello there. Me and the fiance are planning a move to the Guerneville area, but for work I will have to acquire a solid internet connection to download and upload video/audio. I'm already beginning to think (after reading lots of negative reviews) that a satellite internet provider will not cut it. I had wanted to live just outside town, but have already begun to accept that my need for solid internet access will probably mean that I have to live closer to civilization than I'd hoped. Can anyone tell me what to expect in the Guerneville/Cazadero/Monte Rio/Forestville area, as far as reliable internet service? Thanks!

[Chris Murray]

In the Forestville area its a no-brainer - get sonic.net. Excellent customer service, located in Santa Rosa. Depending on your distance from the central office (downtown) you can get up to 20MBPS ADSL (I'm about a mile away and get 8 download). Its a long time since I cared about upload speeds, but you can get your circuit balanced, obviously at a cost to download speeds. I think you can also combine two circuits to up your speed. You may also want to investigate their business offerings.

[Clark Vogeler]

In the Forestville area its a no-brainer - get sonic.net. Excellent customer service, located in Santa Rosa. Depending on your distance from the central office (downtown) you can get up to 20MBPS ADSL (I'm about a mile away and get 8 download). Its a long time since I cared about upload speeds, but you can get your circuit balanced, obviously at a cost to download speeds. I think you can also combine two circuits to up your speed. You may also want to investigate their business offerings.

that's great to hear that Forestville has some good service. but let me ask you something for clarification, you say you're a mile away from the downtown office - do you mean downtown Forestville, or downtown Santa Rosa? thanks for your info!

[Chris Murray]

Forestville. Sorry, that was a bit ambiguous.

[seenhear]

CAREFUL!

I highly recommend asking potential neighbors for a speed report of their internet service before you sign a mortgage or lease. While I am a big proponent of Sonic.net (they have the best customer service in the world, and that is not a hyperbolic statement - seriously) their Fusion DSL service varies GREATLY depending on location. They only have access to AT&T's older copper network, and while they make the best with what they've got, they are limited. Your speed depends on how many copper wire feet you are from the closest LSO (local signal office, basically a phone network exchange box). You have to be really really close to get above 10mbps download speeds, and sometimes neighborhoods are wired very strangely. I've known people around the corner from each other who get drastically different speeds because they are wired to a different LSO or something like that. Also if you need to upload video (as you said you do) then you may want to opt for Comcast as much as I hate to admit it (I have comcast and while I like the speed, I hate the price and the customer service) as Sonic's upload speeds aren't that great, even with the best service. You can sacrifice some of your d/l speed to increase upload speed though if that makes sense for you.

Of course the best option if you can get it, is to move in to the very small neighborhood in Sebastopol where Sonic has installed FIBER OPTIC INTERNET TO THE HOME. This is, no joke, the fastest residential internet service in the country. But it's only like a 2- or 3-block area in Sebastopol. Speeds are INSANELY fast - approaching gigabit apparently.

I would contact Sonic.net sales on the phone and tell them your story, ask them where you should look to live for good service / speeds. They really are a pleasure to deal with, and they are honest. I've called several times as I've moved around the county and asked about what kind of service I can expect at my new home etc., and they never try to sell me something I don't want; just straight up info and answers.

that's great to hear that Forestville has some good service. but let me ask you something for clarification, you say you're a mile away from the downtown office - do you mean downtown Forestville, or downtown Santa Rosa? thanks for your info!

[Clark Vogeler]

Wow! thank you for the very insightful response. obviously you understand the weight of my situation. I have convinced the company that I work for in Los Angeles to let me work remotely - but the whole situation is predicated on my being able to download/upload video as needed. so unfortunately, the whole home search is based on where I think I can get internet. I will definitely call Sonic.net tomorrow as both responses have mentioned them.

is it correct to assume that if I'm near the small neighborhoods around Guerneville, Comcast will be an option? so far, it sounds like I need to be looking nearer to Forestville.

thanks a ton for your input!

[seenhear]

I don't know exactly where Comcast services end and begin. You can always plug in street addresses into their website and find out (roughly) if a given house has service. Call to be certain, and even then they could be wrong. The house I just bought is in the middle of a new-ish neighborhood serviced by Comcast. However, our house for some reason was never wired for cable, even though there's a Comcast box ON OUR PROPERTY. Comcast had to come out and actually run wire underground to our house. It was weird.
One last thing: if you really need speed, for large files, short of Sonic's fiber service in Sebastopol nothing comes close to what Comcast can provide. It's not cheap, and their customer service is next to the worst in the industry (Time Warner was recently ranked worse than Comcast) but it is way way faster than even Sonic's best speeds. I would love to be a Sonic customer, but I need more speed than they can provide.
Good luck!

Wow! thank you for the very insightful response. obviously you understand the weight of my situation. I have convinced the company that I work for...

[Clark Vogeler]

I don't know exactly where Comcast services end and begin. You can always plug in street addresses into their website and find out (roughly) if a given house has service. Call to be certain, and even then they could be wrong. The house I just bought is in the middle of a new-ish neighborhood serviced by Comcast. However, our house for some reason was never wired for cable, even though there's a Comcast box ON OUR PROPERTY. Comcast had to come out and actually run wire underground to our house. It was weird.
One last thing: if you really need speed, for large files, short of Sonic's fiber service in Sebastopol nothing comes close to what Comcast can provide. It's not cheap, and their customer service is next to the worst in the industry (Time Warner was recently ranked worse than Comcast) but it is way way faster than even Sonic's best speeds. I would love to be a Sonic customer, but I need more speed than they can provide.
Good luck!

oh man, given the fact that internet service is a must at whatever house we decide to rent, this is a tricky situation. at this point, it seems like my best bet is to try to figure out where Comcast service is available. I called them once and tried to get a general area from them, but the guy I spoke with could only plug an address in to see if service is available there. they couldn't offer any sort of generalization about coverage areas. :(

thanks again!