Sierra Tel Internet, Oakhurst

[Sandman]

[rimalicious]

I never saw this before ....not many reponses and no explanations for the ones that did vote ...

[TOT]

they are, for the most part, good. but i'm biased http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[Coldwolf]

They are pretty good. A little overpriced in the national market, but we aren't IN the national market. Generally their techs are helpful, and dammit, they are local. Having been in the computer sales business, I have to say I recommended them alot, because they were better that the alternatives in the area.

[Yosemite_Wolf]

I like STI because they are local. Im not very fond the parent company...... but STI is a great ISP and the fact that they are local is a good thing. At least when the need arises to call for tech help, you know that you arent talking to some dork in Denver Colorado as is with the case with Comcast.

[Dodgergirl]

Got an message yesterday that Ponderosa will be lowering my DSL cost by about $10 a month. That was nice. I still like the small town feel of Ponderosa, not even sure if STI is available where I am. But, since I have a few friends employed at STI, I imagine the service & quality are great! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

[SheilaMae]

Originally posted by Yosemite_Wolf:
you know that you arent talking to some dork in Denver Colorado as is with the case with Comcast.

I won't EVER knowingly do biz with Comcast for ANY reason myself...in fact I reject email that comes thru Comcast. Between their cable/satellite TV and Internet services is the BIGGEST outlet in the WORLD of pornography...
-Sheila

[rimalicious]

Originally posted by Dodgergirl:
Got an message yesterday that Ponderosa will be lowering my DSL cost by about $10 a month. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

What were you paying before and did they give you a reason for the discount? Their website doesnt say anything about it.

[Stone]

Hello Everyone!

This is Mike, General Manager for STI. As most of you know the Internet is a very technical service offering, used primarily by very non-technical people. Not a good mix. That being said, if you've had a bad experience with STI please contact me and I will personally look into your situation, do everything possible to resolve it for you.

We work very hard to make sure your Internet experience is a good one, and we'd like to keep it that way!

Concerning price, please keep in mind that the cost of fiber optic based transport to Fresno is very high. We pay tens of thousands of dollars per month MORE than Fresno based ISP's, just to get the service up here into the mountians. We try to absorb most of this cost, but some of it has to be passed off to our subscribers (at least if we are going to stay in business).

Hope this sheds some light on the situation.

Finally, w'd love to hear what your thinking. If you have suggestions or recommendations we want to know what they are. Our goal is to make STI the finest Internet service available anywhere, at any price. Please feel free to email me at mikeh (at) sti.net (edited for spam control) should you have suggestions, questions or comments.

~M~

[Yosemite_Wolf]

Sheila.... youre not the only person who rejects any email from Comcast! When I was using Comcast I could never email some friends in England unless I used hotmail, b/c this friend, whose job is computer security.... had a isp that REFUSED anything from comcast. ..........................
Then I moved and got STI again..... and voila....

[Dodgergirl]

Originally posted by rimalicious:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dodgergirl:
Got an message yesterday that Ponderosa will be lowering my DSL cost by about $10 a month. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

What were you paying before and did they give you a reason for the discount? Their website doesnt say anything about it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Part of the e-mail...


"If you are already a Ponderosa DSL Customer, effective with the December billing this new rate will appear on your Ponderosa invoice and represents an annual savings to you of $60. You need do nothing to receive this new rate.



If you are a Ponderosa Dial-Up Customer, you may also receive this new monthly rate by switching to the faster and more convenient DSL service. Please contact our Customer Care Center for details at 559-868-6000.



At Ponderosa Internet we are constantly examining our business model to find a way to bring lower pricing to you, and at the same time, ensure you can count on us to maintain the personalized and top quality support services you have come to enjoy; such as 24 hour tech support, a free spam and virus filter, and free access to our personal onsite consulting service and community outreach training activities"

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Stone:
Hello Everyone!

This is Mike, General Manager for STI. As most of you know the Internet is a very technical service offering, used primarily by very non-technical people. Not a good mix. That being said, if you've had a bad experience with STI please contact me and I will personally look into your situation, do everything possible to resolve it for you.

We work very hard to make sure your Internet experience is a good one, and we'd like to keep it that way!

Concerning price, please keep in mind that the cost of fiber optic based transport to Fresno is very high. We pay tens of thousands of dollars per month MORE than Fresno based ISP's, just to get the service up here into the mountians. We try to absorb most of this cost, but some of it has to be passed off to our subscribers (at least if we are going to stay in business).

Hope this sheds some light on the situation.

Finally, w'd love to hear what your thinking. If you have suggestions or recommendations we want to know what they are. Our goal is to make STI the finest Internet service available anywhere, at any price. Please feel free to email me at mikeh (at) sti.net (edited for spam control) should you have suggestions, questions or comments.

~M~

Thanks Mike! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/applause.gif

[Newcomer]

Originally posted by Dodgergirl:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rimalicious:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dodgergirl:
Got an message yesterday that Ponderosa will be lowering my DSL cost by about $10 a month. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/wink3.gif

What were you paying before and did they give you a reason for the discount? Their website doesnt say anything about it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Part of the e-mail...


"If you are already a Ponderosa DSL Customer, effective with the December billing this new rate will appear on your Ponderosa invoice and represents an annual savings to you of $60. You need do nothing to receive this new rate.



If you are a Ponderosa Dial-Up Customer, you may also receive this new monthly rate by switching to the faster and more convenient DSL service. Please contact our Customer Care Center for details at 559-868-6000.



At Ponderosa Internet we are constantly examining our business model to find a way to bring lower pricing to you, and at the same time, ensure you can count on us to maintain the personalized and top quality support services you have come to enjoy; such as 24 hour tech support, a free spam and virus filter, and free access to our personal onsite consulting service and community outreach training activities" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


$10 a month? Would that not be an annual savings of $120 not $60?

[Dodgergirl]

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/laugh.gif

OK, so I posted from memory on the first post...Why do you think it took me 11 years to get my degrees? I couldn't get through the flippin math requirement.... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/shocked.gif

[concerned]

I was always very satisfied using STI. But then I got a virus. A couple of the techs were helpful in helping rid of it. I installe Norton and a firewall. But since that time I can receive messages on STI but cannot send on STI. As a result they useless to me.

[Yosemite_Wolf]

Concerned.... Norton SUCKS!
try this: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

its free and downloadable. Ive been using it for several years. Also, for firewall protection i use Zone Alarm.
They both work great and I have no problems sending and receiving email thru STI.

[seaside_bob]

Hi all,

I plan to relocate to the Oakhurst or Coarsegold area within the next year. I work out of my home and require reliable high speed Internet access for my job. Anyone with first hand information about the Sierra Tel Internet service GigaSkyNet would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks, Bob

[Nascar8Fan]

Hi Bob, if you are in their service area, I would recommend that you contact Northland Cable for their high speed cable internet. It is 10x faster than dial up and is also known to be faster than DSL. I don't know much about GigaSkyNet, but just wanted to make sure you knew all of your options.

[seaside_bob]

Hi Nascar8fan, Thanks for the info about Northland Cable. I currently have high-speed cable here in Cambria and it works great. My real estate agent in Oakhurst said that the cable company there is not very reliable. What's the word on the street?

Bob

[Nascar8Fan]

They used to have a semi-unreliable reputation but since their new operations manager for Oakhurst has taken over, things have gotten much better. I would check them out and if you don't like them, you could cancel at anytime because there are no contracts with them. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[Chem101]

Seaside,

I have Northland cable internet up at the lake house and have been very happy with their service. I've had more problems with Earthlink's DSL down here in So Cal then I've had with Northland.

[Surfus]

Im one of the first users of the GigaSky net
NO DSL at the time.
Im still using the wireless at home.
works GOOD and fast but the Equiptment is costly.
If you cant get DSL the the skynet is a good choice.
Recoment getting your alowed IP address so you can have remote access if needed.

Just did a Speed test
28.35 Mbps

[rimalicious]

Last I heard, GSN was not being offered to new users anymore (towers full) but that could have changed since I left STI. DSL is great and much more stable than Cable internet.

[Sandman]

A new entry has been added to Links and Downloads Manager

Description: With a lot of hard work and a few acquisitions, STI now serves: local dial-up Internet to more than 400 California cities; DSL to Sierra Telephone subscribers; GSN Wireless Internet access to several eastern Madera county communities; and a whole host of Internet and Web related services.

SIERRA TEL INTERNET
P.O. Box 11
49260 Chapel Hill Drive #202
Oakhurst, California 93644
Phone: 559-683-7600
Web: www.sti.net


To check it out, rate it or add comments, visit Siera Tel Internet (http://forums.yosemitearea.com/local_links.php?linkid=24)
The comments you make there will appear in the posts below.

[Sandman]

I was recently asked about DSL services. STI currently offers Speeds up to 384Kb for $29.95 per month and the $120 set-up fee is waived unless Customer's DSL account is canceled, terminated or relocated for any reason within the first 12 months of service.

Since the current rates for dialup services are $20.95/mo, it is worth the upgrade for just $9 more per month (if you currently pay for dialup).

http://sti.net/s-dsl.html - DSL Services
http://sti.net/i-pricing.html#DSL - Complete Pricing Info
https://www.sti.net/secure/dslsignup/s-dslsignup.asp - Signup Online
Or call customer service department at (559) 683-7600 or (209) 966-7600, Option 1.

Let them know Oakhurst Online sent you. :)

[Primestone]

Northland Cable is not providing up to 6megabit internet, but sadly they did not increase the upload speed to compensate. If you download at a full 768kilobytes per second, it takes 14kilobytes per second just to maintain it which is 44% of your upload speed. Doesn't allow enough buffer to allow you to do much else.

[pitter_patter]

I don't know if this is the right place for this question, but does anyone know how Sierra Tel is as an employer? Great place to work? How are the medical benefits?

[yosemitewriter]

Everyone I've ever talked to loves working there. I know people that have been there for years. And the people in the office are always so helpful and friendly, so that means they like their jobs.


I don't know if this is the right place for this question, but does anyone know how Sierra Tel is as an employer? Great place to work? How are the medical benefits?

[citizen]

I hear it's a pretty good place to work. I also know some people that work there and they seem pretty happy. :yes:

[Kim]

I don't know if this is the right place for this question, but does anyone know how Sierra Tel is as an employer? Great place to work? How are the medical benefits?

My husband's worked there since 2000 and we've never paid for health insurance. Good insurance for a reasonable cost is great; to not have to pay for it at all is awesome. When I see patients who have no insurance or coverage that doesn't quite cover what they need, I just want to call Mike and tell him I can't thank him enough.

[naturelover]

Hello Everyone!

Concerning price, please keep in mind that the cost of fiber optic based transport to Fresno is very high. We pay tens of thousands of dollars per month MORE than Fresno based ISP's, just to get the service up here into the mountians. We try to absorb most of this cost, but some of it has to be passed off to our subscribers (at least if we are going to stay in business).

Finally, w'd love to hear what your thinking. If you have suggestions or recommendations we want to know what they are. Our goal is to make STI the finest Internet service available anywhere, at any price. Please feel free to email me at mikeh (at) sti.net (edited for spam control) should you have suggestions, questions or comments.

~M~


What is your take on high-speed cable internet service being offered by Northland Cable with regard to price, speeds, etc., compared with DSL offered by STI?

[Sandman]

I have experience with Cable Internet from Northland, as well as DSL from STI. In some cases, cable Internet is a great way to go. You can get very fast speeds. However, the fast speed is inconsistent and will depend on who else in your neighboorhood is online at that time. I have seen speeds slow down to near dialup speeds during peak moments. So it really depends on who else in your area uses cable Internet and if they all use it at the same time (i.e. 5pm-8pm when they get home from work). With STI DSL, the speed is consistant. If you run a business and need Internet for your business, I suggest getting the DSL. That way you are not stuck with dialup speeds when you are trying to make a critical upload to a client. If you don't mind walking away fromt he computer during peak times, cable may be better for you. I dont think Northland requires a long-term contract. The last I checked it was month-to-month. If that's the case, you could give that a try and cancel after a month and switch to DSL if you are not happy. DSL requires a 1 year commitment to avoid a setup fee.

[yosemitewriter]

Here's one thing to consider. I thought about getting Northland's cable internet, but then after thinking about it for a while decided to stay with STI DSL for the main reason that several times during the winter we lose our cable connection due to trees falling on lines or whatever. I have never lost a phone connection...even in the worst storm. I'm not saying that it can't happen, but if I can't remember it, then it must be a rare occurence.

[monkey]

[QUOTE I'm not saying that it can't happen, but if I can't remember it, then it must be a rare occurence.[/QUOTE]

If I can't remember something, it means I'm getting old!

[yosemitewriter]

I don't believe in getting old. Age is just a state of mind for the most part. I have a friend who used to be in silent movies. She's turning 99 in October and has one of the sharpest memories of anybody I know.



[QUOTE I'm not saying that it can't happen, but if I can't remember it, then it must be a rare occurence.

If I can't remember something, it means I'm getting old![/QUOTE]

[monkey]

Good for her! I pray to keep my wits about me as I age.