Cal.net

Seriously the worst internet service I’ve ever had. My connection barely works and I’ve called for the last 3 months and told them that I work from home and need the Internet. They’ve gave me the run around saying that they are «working» on the problem. Well, during this time I’ve been charged full price for a service that doesn’t work. As well as paying for Netflix and other Apple TV stations I can’t watch. I would not recommend this company, they will just lie to you about how they can provide you with high speed internet while taking your money and doing nothing in return. They don’t care nor do they have any answers as to why the service just doesn’t work.

Just moved here and I can say Internet access in California is like a third world country, unless you live in a city or HD housing development. After some research I found the cable franchise contracts were negotiated in favor of comcast /​att, and put them under no obligation to offer service to anyone. thats why their service stops at the edge of the cities or HD housing developments. In other parts of the country they are required to make a «best effort» to provide service to suburban (or «rural» in Ca :) customers. The reason I mention this is the more people know what they’re missing maybe it will change.
For those of you like myself who are not right in town, I can say the folks at
are easy to talk to, and are dedicated to providing good service. They’re installation crew went through alot to install the gear on my home, and did a great job.

The Wireless LAN service is not high speed internet. You cannot stream video like Netflix. You cannot use VoIP phone service, and you cannot maintain a VPN connection with an office or attend Virtual meetings with WebEx or GoToMeeting with ANY reliability or consistency.
The service is horrible. On a crystal clear day you might get the speed your paying for or it might be down completely with no notice. If it is cloudy and or raining don’t even bother. If you rely on Internet for anything other than entertainment this is NOT for you. Don’t be fooled by the description!
The other reviews must be for other services, or by non-​power users… this wireless LAN shit is useless.

So far, so good. Installation happened today after very easy phone conversation about scheduling. Speed of connection does not seem to be quite as fast as my prior provider, but it is more than sufficient. I. Will keep my fingers crossed!
update:
6 months in with
and I am still pleased. The level of customer service is truly amazing in this day and age. They called (not automated voice) to tell me that they would be down for a short time (about 15 min) while updating their system. Sure, there has been an occasional loss of signal, but nothing to complain about. Still not as fast as cable, but more than sufficient for my needs.

Great local company, Mark, Steve and John will make sure you have the best internet service possible and they also offer VOIP at great prices!

We moved to Rescue in July 2012 (Green Valley Rd area near Rescue School) and researched our internet options. It’s nice to live in the country but surprise! No ATT or Comcast connection, so it was either satellite dish (like Hughes or WildBlue) or WiMAX/​radio wireless. We went with CalNet due to the «unlimited» pitch. $ 85 a month.
Three years on, it has been an illuminating experience. My Bay Area bred expectations have been tempered by two facts: 1. It’s a miracle internet is even available given the complex need for a company to set up a decent, evolving wireless system for a modest customer base, and 2. Customer service is important for companies out here.
I have had numerous contacts with CalNet technicians and they have always been helpful in finding solutions to my problems. They have a great tracking system for ascertaining my prior problems and diagnosing the system remotely. I had some frustrating periods during the summer with the need to reboot multiple times a day, but they worked diligently to revive and stabilize the part of their system that serves my house that is no longer supported by the manufacturer. Whatever they did a month has held; I was able to binge watch «The Knick» on HBO GO without having it crash. Streaming video is the gold standard for connectivity.
Today, (October 20) one of their managers, Matt Herr, took the time to invite me into his office. He was accompanied by Wayne, a service technician I was familiar with, and explained their dedication to meeting my short and long term customer needs. They described challenges for upgrading legacy technology to newer LTE standards and were plain about their intent in having me come see them. They wanted me to be happy as a customer and to better understand the challenges and evolution of being a reputable internet services provider in a largely rural area.
I was impressed. They could have very well just said, «Look, we have way too many problems providing the highest level of connectivity to your house, so we are regretfully going to stop being your ISP». Instead, they made me a great offer in reducing my bill for a percentage of time where I had outages and were genuinely dedicated in keeping me not just as a customer, but a happy customer. They expect that there will be system improvements that should create greater reliability around December.
It’s nice to have a business shows it cares. Matt and Wayne made that personal for me today.

I’m amending my previous review because although I still find the internet issues ridiculous, Cal​.Net is working with us to try and get this situation handled. I will NOT give them a nice review until it’s completely fixed but I will say they are taking appropriate steps to get us something.
I am trying not to be skeptical because honestly I’ll believe it when I see it, but I will say them offering to help us out until it’s fully functional is better than before and better than nothing. All I know is they better come through, so I’m keeping my eyes on them until then.
Three stars till I see results! No exceptions.

We live rural with no high speed providers except for hughes net and exceed. Both companies cap the amount of data you can use at a high price.
We moved from an urban place with limitless internet. .. the adjustment to data capped internet was a shock.
Luckily,
upgraded their Mt. Aukum tower recently with some new tech. After putting a dish nearly 100 feet in a tree and digging a 200 ft trench to run the wires,
was able to then install and we now have unlimited high speed internet.
Works almost as good as the internet we had in San Francisco. Sometimes it’s slow to download but after data capped Hughes Net, I have no complaints.
So glad to have streaming Netflix back! Even happier to be rid of hughes net. .. they’re a horrible company!

We contacted
for Internet connection on Dec 20 and were scheduled for 8am-​12pm connection on Dec 24 (CHRISTmas Eve). At approximately 9:30 am we were contacted and told they would like to cancel to be home early. We rescheduled for Mon Dec 29 at their request between 8am and 12pm. At 11:41am we called to verify and discovered that they had a record of Dec 24^th, and that it was not done… but no record of the rescheduled appt. now we will have to wait until Saturday, January 3 for connection. I am completely unimpressed.

Always a random issue for why the internet is down. Happens at least once a week. Not a real ISP in terms of quality. Customer service always claims it is the last time the internet is down.

Although; at first we had some problems,
was always willing to try to fix them, offer solutions and work things out.
Their customer service has been wonderful, and for us, they did not stop until we had excellent internet service
I really appreciate the care and concern shown not only by Calnet’s customer service, but at the management level as well.
They are making changes to their service towers and coming out with better equipment. It is nice to know that they keep trying to improve.
Thank you
! Our service has been Fantastic and we are so grateful for everything you did.
We are sure glad you are here in our rural area. :-)

Good luck getting technical support from this company. They are no longer customer oriented. Save yourself a lot of trouble, find a different provider.

Simply put, we were loyal customers for far too long.
Our internet was constantly having some sort of issue. It would go out randomly and was always slow. We called and were told it was our router and that we should probably buy a new one. We did and the same problems remained. We made sure that the router drivers and such were up to date.
Then they said it was the modem and that if we wanted a new one that we would have to pay, even though the one we had was bought from them.
Then when we all discovered the modem was not the issue, they blamed ATT. When ATT said their line test came out fine, they no longer had an answer. They simply didnt know what to tell me and stopped trying to address the issue. There’s clearly no responsibility on their end.
Then, our ATT bill got lost in the mail, so our line was shut off. Our line was turned back on, but still no internet.
said they would have to contact ATT to get the line back up and running. They said it could be about a week.
A few days later, I called and canceled the service because comcast could provide us with faster internet, same price, and they could get the line up in one day.
About three weeks later, I get a call from
. They said they were now able to get our line hooked up. FOUR WEEKS later. I told them we canceled prior and they sounded surprised.
Their staff are friendly, no doubt, but their customer service and ability to perform their duties are not up to par. At all.
I would never use them again and I certainly won’t ever recommend them.

The worst customer service I have ever received hands down. I have not had internet for 2 days I called my wife called they said they were checking on something but didn’t know what was wrong and they said they would call me back after 3 calls today not one call back. I had to take the day off of work due to sick wife and kids I had to work from home today but no internet connection. If I ran my business like they run theirs I would be out of business. I will be seeking another form of internet service. Sincerely one pissed off customer.

We have been customers for many years, through name change after name change, mainly because we have no reasonable alternative. The service we experience is hit and miss. When service is down, I too am told to unplug my router. I know the drill. What made me write this review though has more to do with the customer service I receive from Chris, a very smart guy who comes off as impatient and short with me and I don’t appreciate that. I do appreciate how many times over the years that they have helped me. I just wish I didn’t need help and the service was more reliable.

I have had this service for about two months now and still get terrible internet. I just checked my speed on
and saw I have 424 Ping and 0.28 mbps download. I pay for 4 mbps download and $ 85 a month at that and definitely dont pay that much money a month to get crap internet. Its sad this company will not work with you or help you regarding the internet other than telling me to unplug my router for a few minutes. How about a refund for the times during the month that I have crap service? Or a phone call with an apology stating «sorry guy, we lured you in by talking a good game then stuck it to you in the end».

How lucky are we to have Cal Net right her in Shingle Springs. Internet in the past was always such an ordeal for us hill folks. There service is amazing. They have really knowledgeable staff. Joseph is an internet genius. Prices are wonderful. If you are one of the people that had to wait for 5 minutes for this review to load better give them a call.

I tried to do business with these people. When they actually answered the phone the lady said I needed to talk to another person and that person would call me back. Guess what, no call back! This happened several times over a month. If this is how they do business initially I cannot imagine how they are if you are unlucky enough to actually have their service.
Thanks for nothing
, you are truly worthless and I hope your business fails!

When it rains a few drops they go off line and after you call them they do «something» and you are back on line. They convince you to cut your only shade tree because the tech «guarantees» better service.
They publish self serving newsletters…
I have had Wild Blue and Hughes. Their signal goes up 24K miles and down 24K miles and their up time is 10 times better than the terrestrial system at calnet. When it rains a few drops calnet goes to hell. When the power goes out forget it. They lied, they have no UPS backup.
They suck. Stick with the reliability of the satellite.

After having Hughesnet (terrible), then switching to Dish (even worse) which I found out bought Hughesnet Gen 4, I was extremely happy to find out
was able to get me service. They had been out once prior, but were unable to get a good signal. They are now doing tree installs and got me great signal. The tree climber (Jay) installed the antenna about 80′ up and got me clear views and great signal. Just installed today, but so far I am very happy and glad they were able to get me taken care of and I don’t have to deal with the overpriced satellite companies with limited usage.
Thanks
Duane Gillette