Cal.net bought the company that had been servicing us for a few years. The previous company had it's issues, customer service being the largest, but our service was up more often than not. When it did go down, I would leave a VM and, while I never got a call back, the service would come back up shortly after the call. Cal.net bought them last year and things have gone down hill. Our service goes out ALL the time and has currently been unusable for over 2 weeks! WAYNE and KYLE in customer service are very nice and I truly feel that they make an effort to hear what's going on and try to resolve it and I usually get a call from them once it's fixed. The service that I have gotten from the two of them is the only reason I haven't taken the time to write this until now. That said, I just called and spoke with BLAKE. After telling him that my service is again or still down this morning (it's been down so much and I've been given so many different reasons I don't know if it's still or again). I'm being kind when I say he was short with me. He told me he knew and it should be up "now." I told him I was at my computer and it wasn't up. He said I needed to resent my equipment - I have heard this so often that I do it every morning now and just reset it so I told him so. He said to do it again - I did. Still no service. After going round with him a few times, he said we're working on it and we don't know when it will be fixed. Remember, he had just told me that he had JUST fixed it. BLAKE was rude and showed no interest in the fact that my service wasn't working. But worst of all, I truly felt like I was being flat out lied to so that he could get me off the phone. When it comes to living in the country, internet sucks! But I'm a business owner. And as a business owner there's a basic principle that's kept me in business for over 20 years: Treat your customers like you would like someone to treat your family and don't offer services or take money from someone for a service you can't or don't provide. Some of the people at Cal.net have the 1st one down. But as a company, they have fallen flat on the second. I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone that can find an alternative. read more

I wish I could give Cal.net a ZERO as even a 1 star rating is too good for them. Living in a rural area limits my options for ISP providers, but that's changing. And Cal.net is blissfully unaware that their competition is on the verge of providing far better service as well as far better customer service. I've had Cal.Net for 2 years and in those 2 years, Cal.net has provided substandard Internet access. And I pay for their premium service and get less than what their cheapest plan offers. Their technical performance is inconsistent, fraught with issues, and their responsiveness in fixing the issues is delayed, sometimes for days. In reviewing the complaints logged on this site, I see a recurring theme. Cal'net Provides substandard service and responsiveness. Moreover, when you call them with a problem, their customer service skills are abysmal. Their customer service staff (and I've had the opportunity to speak to at least 4 of them over the last 2 years) are argumentative, condescending, and rude. I called them today (01/5/18) because our internet is NOT working (again) and they stated that they were working on it and when I asked for a refund for the previous 2 weeks, the customer service rep informed me that it's not something they do, but would talk to his management. Our conversation literally reduced me to tears, especially when he hung up on me. When the manager finally called us back, he too, was rude and condescending. I can see why this company is having issues. Their lack of customer service skills and their rudeness is systemic throughout the company. My neighbors are also fed up and looking elsewhere. (And as I write this review, our internet is fluctuating wildly from having some very limited access to zero access, despite the fact that the "manager" who spoke with my husband moments ago stated it was fine and that he had been watching it for 20 minutes......NOT TRUE!) Beware, Cal.net suffers from multiple technical issues, frequent outages, and horrific customer service. There is no redemption for them. I'm switching as soon as RuralNet can get me hooked up. 02/06/2018 - Still getting little to no Internet service, intermittent connectivity at best. Had to replace Cal.Net's router (again! And it wasn't even 6 months old) for $100, and we are STILL having connectivity issues. Paying for 7-10 mbps but have only seen that 2 times for about 10 seconds in the past month on speedtests. Getting all my data together to report them to the FCC. read more

I'm updating this review because after months of waiting Cal.Net FINALLY came through for us. The new towers have totally improved our signal and the upgraded equipment now makes it work like it always should have. They waived the install fee (as they should have) which was very nice. I am pleased with the upgrade so far and we are now truly receiving the Internet we've always wanted. Thank you guys! read more

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. read more

I live in a spot that I can't get dsl or Comcast. I have tried the satellite companies and they limit your data and the service is ridiculously bad. I got a hold of cal net and they at first couldn't get a signal but they went out of they're way to make sure i got they're service. I am very happy with my service. read more

To be totally blunt, the Cal.net sales department is awful. I've called them several times over the past six weeks to find out if they can provide internet service to my home and business. After leaving massages at least five times, twice with a live person and three times on voice mail, I've never received a return phone call - not one. Twice I was promised a return call by the end of the day and have never heard from them. All I've asked is if they can provide service where I live and nothing. I can't say how they are once you have service with them, but I'm thinking is if they are this bad when you are a potential customer, how bad will they be once you they have you signed up and are a paying customer. Frankly, with type of lying and lack of follow through, I don't expect them to last long in the internet business world. read more

I am a physician. They lost my business email address. When notified about the situation at noon. I was told they would call me with the solution. No call back was received. I called back after my clinic, at 5:15 pm, and was actually laughed at by Kip. He showed no concern or urgency about my situation. I have not received a call back and it is now 8:20 pm. They show no concern about business owners. If you rely on the Internet for your business beware. read more

For months our internet has been intermittent at best! They kept telling us they are working on it, they said we should pay for the upgrade so we did, service has gone downhill since. Now when I call they say there is interference from someone, they are trying to fix it it's not Their fault! Ok who's fault is it? Who's is it then, we are suppose to continue to pay and get nothing! My husband wanted to stick with them until he read other reviews and can see that others have been told the same thing months ago! Done! Don't subscribe the service doesn't work! read more

We live in rural Calaveras county. Before I was told about Cal.net, we used Hughes.net. With satellite service, you pay big, get limited bandwidth and ridiculous latency. You can not play games or stream a movie. OK for web surfing or email but not great otherwise. Cal.net is a bit less expensive and they don't limit the number of MBs you use per day and latency is not an issue. It is still a shared connection (as is satellite) so at peak times, it can get pretty slow but it is completely superior satellite service. However, if Comcast or other wired service comes to town I'll probably switch. Reading other reviews, I think Cal.net may be experiencing growing pains but I'm glad I'm with them. read more

Too bad there's not a negative star rating. This is absolutely the worst internet provider I have ever dealt with. The only reason that a company with this bad a product and equally bad service can be in business is because there's little or no choice for a lot of people in the rural areas they serve. If there was a viable alternative or reliable competitor this company would be out of business tomorrow. If you have any choice at all, avoid this company at all costs. read more

Worst internet provider. Internet connection drops out every 5min. They suggested we upgrade our plan. Still drops out every 5 mins but now we pay more for this shitty internet. read more

warning: absolutely the worst internet service provider known to mankind. calnet's customer service could only be compared to our government. wayne the supervisor of technical support told me after complaints of no service connection.... "too bad so sad, if you don't have service for a few days... go to a mcdonalds or a library to use their wifi. there is nothing but failed connections and problems with their service. yet if you only have service for 3 weeks out of the month you still have to pay for the full month. i've asked to speak to his boss and wayne said "haha i am the boss" they have zero respect for paying customers amd only care about money. im going to consumer affiars and the better business bureau. if you enjoy the hobby of throwing money down the drain and enjoy being treated like dog shit this is the place for you!!! read more

Cal net is terrible! We have had horrible service and they don't respond or even care that we have major problems with downloads and freezing or can't even get connectivity. I think we get awful service because we are a host site and they don't care if we get poor service. We are actively looking for another provider. read more

This is the worst isp ever. Mlode was great, no problems in all the years I had them. Calnet bought them and nothing but issues and customer service is bad joke. "Someone will get back to you". Yeah, when hell freezes over. Unfortunately, I don't have a choice where I live. read more

Bad from the get go, mounts the dish directly in the middle of my roof without even asking. Just looking forward to the leaks from the holes drilled in my roof, when it could have had the same sight line from mounting it on the side. The Internet is constantly going down, and when it is up it's extremely slow. It's pathetic that my 4G is faster and more reliable on my phone. I would suggest going with any other service if there is an option of it. read more

Horrible! Just horrible. Have been paying $89/month for preferred high speed service. 8 mps guaranteed. Really! Lucky if I get 1! My entire neighborhood is done with these guys! Tech support always has an excuse! Run away! There are other options! Worst company I have ever dealt with on so many levels! read more

Very poor response time from Customer Service, they have 1 or 2 really good guys, that being said, haven't seen much from anyone else. We are a small business and being down for 24 hrs(4 left messages because no one will answer) without even a call back is a little disheartening for 2018. So be prepared to hit and big misses in the customer/tech support response if this is your service provider. read more

They came out to install their antenna and we advised we were putting on a new roof and taking down the antenna so they should not mount on the old TV antenna. Well, sure enough they mounted on the old antenna. In addition they stapled the cable through the shingles to the roof and left no brackets for their antenna to be properly mounted as we had requested. What complete incompitents. When we complained they plaid the we are a small company and have to charge you to fix our mistakes card. Their sercive is horrible and their installers have no clue what they are doing. Once installed it works OK most of the time. Not sure it;s worth dealing with their so called customer service personnel. Do yourself a favor and hire a contractor to do the install correctly. read more

Customer service is condescending, rude and hateful! When they found out I wouldn't change to their wireless service from my DSL they used the fact that my phone had gone to drop my service. DO NOT TRUST this company. read more

I have been with cal.net for many years, first bad connection was blamed on my router, purchased their router, 3 months later had to buy another router, then after years of almost no service, and paying for this abuse, finally guess they felt they charged enough for nothing, and the service finally got better. The problem now is, don't dare have a problem, if you call, the first thing is they blame it on you, then if you don't believe them, then the attitude is just too bad. Hoping for someone new interested in starting a new company, someone else must be looking for a good business opportunity, please put this bad attitude company in their place read more

After finally getting the internet back, we were very happy with the updated service. More consistent speed and pretty much the speed we pay for. But now something new, a fee to be covered if their equipment that is installed here breaks or fails. I thought we were paying for the transmission, which we would not get without the equipment. I understand if they need more money to pay for their upgrades, but an extra 84 dollars a year for basic equipment coverage seems like a ransom. If my equipment fails and they want $95 per hour to come and check out the service, I guess we will just drop the service and go back to our hotspots for internet coverage. We had to use the hotspots for a year while waiting for the upgraded equipment, so it is workable but not ideal for streaming video. But like I said, we have no other choice except to move. Too bad comcast and att don't deem us economically viable to cover this area, ever though the services are only a mile down deer valley rd from us.Thank you. read more

These people are thieves. Took our credit card for monthly service fees. Service NEVER worked right. Charged our credit card $700 for early termination even though they knew or service never worked. Crooked disgusting lowlife thieves. read more

I have given them 6 months. Service is no better. Outages are multiple times a week. If its raining, don't expect service. Look for other services, pay more if needed but avoid this outfit. read more

Our service was down for over a week and no one notified us. We had deliberately terminated a cheaper internet service to switch to Cal.net which charged a much higher price for their guarantee, though verbal, that it is reliable to work with our security system. Very disappointed. read more

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

I signed up with Central Valley Broadband in March 2015. Living somewhat rural in Auburn I wanted to ensure best possible internet speed given I work from home, and was willing to pay whatever necessary to ensure it. I was thrilled with the speed and consistency 10 - 15mbps. Then they were bought by Cal.net. The speed plummeted and has been absolutely terrible and inconsistent ever since. In the year with CVB I probably called in with outage or slow down issues 5 times total. Always addressed very quickly. In the 2 months since Cal.net has taken over its been a weekly issue of full outages and speeds that are 5-6 times slower than I paid for or had ever experienced. Still charged the same $90 month for speeds that are now typically around 2Mbps (worse happens regularly). They keep saying its a CVB equipment issue that they have to upgrade, but the reality is the service and speed was great up until the acquisition and now is consistently slow and poor. Same issue w billing as mentioned by another reviewer... Very, very concerning and depressing to have something great go so badly. read more

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. read more

We contacted Cal.net 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 24th, 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. read more

After over three weeks and spending many dollars I now have my internet service back. The field techs have always been great but I cannot say the same for the office techs who insisted that my problem was internal. I had another IT person come out and trouble shoot my components and $200 + later and after purchasing a new router (as told to do by your office techs) I was advised that everything on my end was just fine. After "pitching a fit" a tech was sent out today and promptly determined that the transmitter in the dish was bad. Drake changed your unit and guess what? It was immediately fixed. The moral of the story-customer service would suggest that you not assume that it's someone else's problem until you have confirmed that your equipment is working. read more

Sadly this is the only game in town when you live in a rural area and Cal.net know it. Service is beyond awful. Slow connection and intermittent connection are the norm. At one point they told the problem was with my router and I should replace it. I did, which did nothing to solve the problem. They admitted the error was theirs but refused to reimburse me for the router. Huh?? And try calling technical support, it's a joke! read more

I just got off the phone with Mark at Cal.net a few minutes ago. Mark stated he was going to recover their equipment next week. This is because I said that they suck! He said they don't need to do business with people that can say this about their service. I have been a customer of this company since it was Direct Connect, then Sierra Advantage and now Cal.net. Each time this company has changed hands the service has degraded. I am paying for service that states I am supposed to receive 785 Kbps yet I performed speed tests showing .33, .31 Mbps at various hours including 3:00 AM. When I call to find out why I am getting such a slow connection they state that there is "noise", a "misalignment issue", etc and that it will take a short time to resolve and that they will get back to me when it is fixed. I have reported issues early in the day without a call back only to deal with the poor connection through the night. Upon calling back the next day I am told that they are still working on the issue. Long story short, their fix is for me to pay much more for their pricier service for the same speed, but the kicker is they say that I will get the speed that I am already paying for because they will migrate me to a private frequency. Unlike other companies that at least will give you a trial period on this private frequency to see if the service is as advertised Mark stated that I can find another ISP and will pick up their equipment next week. So this is what you can expect if you are not satisfied with the service you expect for the money you pay for their service. I even tried to speak with the CEO, John leaving messages for him to call me and was told by Mark that he is responding for the company. So don't expect to have John call you. Like the other comments on this site, I am disappointed with Cal.net's response to their customers complaints regarding connection speeds. I highly recommend doing your research to find another service in El Dorado County before signing up with Cal.net! As you know what you can expect from this Internet Service Provider despite their assurances. read more

Five stars for the service (it's only been a month) and one star for customer service. Had a bad experience with the first tech they sent out to check for service. It was rainy and cold and he told us ten minutes after arriving no luck, we couldn't get a good signal. This is after waiting for two months for the appointment because they were "upgrading" equipment and being reassured from using satellite maps that our location looked good. Given our situation and extremely treeless flat pasture property on the top of a hill I was not buying this but to get a second tech out for a second opinion was next to impossible. I get some places can't get service but when our neighbor across the street (with tree filled property) had equipment installed a month later I called back pretty unhappy and after a few phone calls (and working really hard to express the issue) they finally agreed to send a different employee (Joe, totally awesome hard worker) out who was great, helpful, and confirmed within twenty minutes we had a great, clear shot, with a super strong signal. Ironic. My mom tried to get service a few weeks later and had the same employee as my first experience show up and had the SAME EXACT experience, same lines about not a strong enough signal or the other signals are full with customers and everything. I called sales to try to explain and ask for someone else to come out, especially after experiencing this same frustrating lie (fully understand this is sometimes the case by with this employee, no way) but haven't had any success with this yet. I will say our service so far has been excellent and we can stream shows from Amazon etc. no problem so if you are able to actually get service I think you'd be fine. read more

Absolutely Mickey Mouse. What do these guys think we are supposed to do the sales and service for them? Hillbilly Heaven, hang in there awhile somebody from Sacramento will get you real service from a real company, you know people who work. On the other hand if you don't have anything to do today, give them a call and wait on hold. read more

Terrible service and connection. Ten to 15 times a day our service would be interrupted and dropped. We would have to wait sometimes as long as 3 hours for service to be restored. To top it all off the billing department would take their payment earlier and earlier in the month. I went from paying on the 20th of the month to paying twice in month! When I called to ask about it they could care less. I've owned my business for over 40 years...these folks do not belong in business servicing the public. read more

Not even a customer yet, Sales rep won't return calls, and when he does, he makes excuses for the system being down. I have waited weeks with not even a date to install. They checked and I have a "Clear Shot" to their tower, and were told if the signal was good they would install that day. It never happened. They claimed the system would be down for the month of January. We have received excuse after excuse. Feeling crapped on and I'm not even a customer. Bad business! read more

I would not recommend Cal.net to anyone. If you have any other choice take it. We have been with them for the last 3 years and the spotty performance has been terrible. In addition they do not return calls or appear to have any interest in solving issues. read more

I have subscribed to this service since it was Sierra Advantage. I signed up with it because the promises were much better than satellite service. I have periodically had issues with no connection but that has mostly gone away. currently I have not been getting download speeds that I have been paying for. Currently I am getting about 550 K and am paying for 1.5 M. Most irritating is not getting technical support within a reasonable time frame. For example my complaint about speed happens on a Thursday and then when I call I am told to leave a message and they will return the call within a day. I know that they have only one tech on duty on Saturday and it usually is Monday at the soonest that I receive a call back. I am currently researching options to this service since it is unreliable. I bank and run a small business and need reliable access. read more

Worst customer service ever ! For the past week have lost internet service every evening and doesn't come up until I call in over and over, and leave messages. The standard rule at Cal.net is: "If a customer calls, DON'T ANSWER IT and maybe they'll just go away". AND WE SHOULD... read more

I have had Calnet for 5 years and have marginal service at best. From 02/23/2014 through 03/20/2014 I have had 36 instances of no internet service. The Calnet icon has a yellow exclamation point that states "No internet". When I call them their standard answer is ALWAYS "noise". In my opinion they don't care about the service to existing customers they just want to expand! They always say we are trying new equipment and will have this intermittent service issue solved shortly. But after 5 years of poor service their lies ring hollow. read more

Awful service. Most times dial up service is faster. I usually do not rate places this low but this company gets an "F" in internet service and customer service. Not a service or company you want to do business with. Very rude people to deal with that don't return calls. I have asked for the manager/owner now 6 times in the last 3 weeks to call back about the service being down daily (it comes on then shuts off about hourly). This has happened now for the last 2 years of service. They lie about why things are not working when you call giving different answers depending on who you talk to. If you can get a different internet service do so because these guys have a monopoly and know it so they screw their customers. read more