Cruzio’s spent many months and millions of dollars building fiber infrastructure under the streets of downtown Santa Cruz.

This is Santa Cruz Fiber’s first fiber-to-the-premises project, and we’ve supplemented by serving a much wider part of the County with fiber-fed fixed wireless connections — extending that fiber’s effect far and wide.

Fundamentally, we’re moving from a dependence on old copper infrastructure to brand new connections which will provide much higher data rates — higher and higher for decades to come. And we’re getting these services to as many people as we can as fast as we can.

We feel it’s a great investment for us and our community.

There’s still another big step before every location in the fiber area is “lit up” and getting the hyper-fast service. After the construction finishes up in the next few weeks, Cruzio needs to finalize and test the brand-new cables and connect them to our data center. Then we’ll “drop” the connections from our street fiber vaults directly to the homes and offices who’ve ordered service.

So we’ll be contacting people who’ve signed up for fiber in the next few months. We’re expecting to be all finished in October, with many locations served in the interim months.

That means now is a great time to sign up for fiber if you haven’t yet. Contact us and let us know you want it.

“Price/speed for downtown fiber and certified buildings: $49.95/mo, 1 gigabit (1,000 megeabits) per second”

There’s still another big step before every location in the fiber area is “lit up” and getting the hyper-fast service. After the construction finishes up in the next few weeks, Cruzio needs to finalize and test the brand-new cables and connect it to our data center. Then we will “drop” the connections from our street fiber vaults directly to the homes and offices who’ve ordered service.

So we’ll be contacting people who’ve signed up for fiber in the next few months. We’re expecting to be finished in October.

That means now is a great time to sign up for fiber if you haven’t yet. Contact us and let us know you want it.

Over the course of the last year, we’ve been very busy placing new access points for our fiber-backed Wireless Pro service throughout Santa Cruz – from Alta Vista on the Westside, to the Faculty Housing at UCSC, to the area near Dominican Hospital in the east. Now, we’re happy to announce that we’re bringing service to an area that’s been one of our most requested by far: Capitola!

If you see your home or business in the colored shape above, let us know! You’re now ready to get connected to speeds up to 100Mbps, with average speeds network-wide of around 75Mbps, for both uploading and downloading!  On top of that, your speeds will automatically get better as technology improves. All of this comes at a flat $99.95/month, with no taxes, no hidden fees, no data caps, and no contracts.

So if you live in this area, let us know! And if you’re in Capitola but not in this area, stay tuned. We’re excited to bring our fiber-backed network to Capitola, and we’re looking forward to building better service throughout the city in the future. This is just the starting point for our fantastic fiber-backed services in Capitola. We are constantly assessing tall buildings and structures to further improve and extend our network. If you know of any, let us know and we can check it out for free!

You’ll often hear us Cruzio folks talking about how important privacy is to us, an ISP. We’ve spoken at length about how we won’t mine or use your data, or how we won’t ever sell your data to third parties. But what exactly does that mean? What data’s being collected, and who exactly is affected? You might’ve seen the much-retweeted post recently from @iamdylancurran outlining all the things tech juggernauts like Google and Facebook were keeping and tracking. Well, we were so blown away by that, we decided to go through the steps ourselves.

Below are 8 links and settings that you can look at on Google and Facebook that will tell you exactly what data they’re getting from you, so you can take a look for yourself.

1. Google Knows Exactly Where You’ve Been:

https://www.google.com/maps/timeline

If you have a Google account, and location services is on (most of Google’s services require location services to be turned on, so you most likely do) then Google can show you exactly where you’ve been since it’s been on. If you click through the above link while logged into your Google account, it’ll show you on a map all of the places you’ve been throughout your account’s/mobile device’s history, and even how long it took for you to get between places.

If you don’t like this timeline, you can turn it off by hitting the “Manage Location History” button and switching the feature off at the bottom of the screen. Note that this means it just stops plotting the data on a map for you to see. It’s not stopping Google from collecting the data through location services however.

As a quick aside, Google Location Services is what allows Google’s apps and apps that use Google’s account services to know where you are. Google Maps’ navigation, for example. Of course, Google can use this data to advertise to you. For example, seeing an ad for a nearby restaurant when you’re close by.

2. Turns Out Deleting Your History Doesn’t Delete Your History On Google:

Myactivity.google.com

If you’ve ever deleted your browser history and thought it was over and done with, that’s not quite true. Google stores all of the activity that’s been done on your Google Account, and you can see a record of that on the link above. And this stays around even after you delete your search history. Keep in mind this isn’t just searches, but also stuff like app usage, video history from sites like YouTube, and more. It’s surprisingly thorough.

If you don’t want this data displayed, you can change these settings on your Google Account so that it won’t show this stuff in your timeline. You can find all of these options right here: https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols. This will let you pause the timeline feature, or even delete your entire timeline history from being shown on your account. It will also stop them from being able to use this data to affect your search your results though, so your search results will no longer be personalized based on your previous usage patterns.

3. Google Knows What You Like, and Targets Ads Toward You:

adssettings.google.com

Google’s biggest money maker is its advertising business, so it’s no surprise that Google’s algorithm uses all the information it knows about you to can target ads that you’ll probably want to click on. If you want to see what Google “thinks” about you, you can click through to the link above and it will show you demographics that it thinks you fit into and subjects that it thinks you like.

On this page, Google actually does give you the option to turn this off. It even lets you delete and add topics that you may or may not be interested in, if you want to make the targeting more or less specific.

4. Google Keeps A Record of Every App You’ve Given It Permissions For:

myaccount.google.com/permissions

Have you ever opened an app and signed in using your Google account? Or allowed it to access parts of your account, like Location Services or Contacts, when you opened it? Most apps these days require some sort of permissions, so the answer to that is likely yes. At the link above, you’ll find Google’s list of all of the apps you’ve given permissions to, and it lets you edit or delete those permissions. Keep in mind, if you do decide to change these permissions, it could affect the ability to log into or use these apps.

5. Google Keeps Track of Your YouTube Search History:

youtube.com/feed/history/search_history

Google knows every search you’ve made, video you’ve watched, comment you’ve left and community you’re a part of on YouTube, and keeps a record of it. At the link above, you can take a look for yourself and see their history of YouTube videos you’ve seen. You can also delete that history if you wish, and pause/stop the site from showing this history on this page.

6. You Can Get A Copy of ALL of Your Google Data (Spoiler, it’s big):

google.com/takeout

If you really want to know everything Google has on you all in one place, Google’s takeout feature is what you’re looking for. Google will send you a copy of all of your data from its many services (with some exceptions: they’re not sending you all your emails from Gmail, for example) in a series of folders. In them you’ll find records like your search history, all the YouTube videos you’ve uploaded, your Contacts, and your transaction history on Google Pay, among many, many other things.

7. Facebook Also Lets You Download A Copy of Everything You’ve Done

Moving on to Facebook, this site also lets you download a copy of all of your information, though you’ve got to jump through a couple of hoops to get there. If you want to download it yourself, log in to Facebook, click the down arrow in the upper right of the screen, then click on settings, then find the link on the page marked “Download a copy.”

Once you have it downloaded, you’ll have a folder that contains logs of all of your Facebook chats, every file you’ve ever been sent on Facebook, all your photos, and even every sticker you’ve ever sent, and much more.

8. You Can See What Facebook Thinks Your Interests Are

By checking Facebook’s settings, you can also see what interests and personality traits Facebook thinks it knows about you, for the purpose of targeting ads on your Facebook feed. To take a look at these, click the down arrow again, and go into Settings. Then, in the left-hand column, click Ads. From there, click Your information, then Your categories.

There, you’ll see a list of traits, such as what Facebook thinks your political leanings are, what devices you use Facebook from, what interests you have, and when your birthday is. Facebook lets you delete these traits if you think they aren’t relevant to you as well.

These 8 things you can look at are just the tip of the iceberg as far as what data about you that’s left on the internet. This is what Google and Facebook are being transparent about, as these are publicly accessible tools on their respective platforms. It’s quite likely that there’s a lot more data out there about you from Google, Facebook, or other websites that isn’t quite as transparently available.

Listen, don’t get us wrong, we love the openness of the internet and we think Google and Facebook are fantastic, innovative companies who have developed world-changing platforms.

But this is why we here at Cruzio Internet and Santa Cruz Fiber don’t mine your data: we believe that what you do on the internet is your business. It’s not our business, and certainly not some other company’s business. We don’t track what you’ve been searching or what pictures you’re messaging your friends, because we don’t think that’s right. We know that you’re an actual human being, and not a collection of data that can be used to sell a car.

By changing your privacy settings, voicing your opinion and supporting companies who share your ethical concerns you’re helping build a better internet for everyone.

It’s two months into the year, and our big Fiber Project has been at the forefront of our minds over here. But as important as that is – and it is important! – we’ve got another announcement to make: We’re very happy to announce that Wireless Pro service will now be available for the faculty housing area at UCSC.

If you live inside the blue polygon, give us a call or visit our website! We’re ready to get you connected.

If you see your address in the blue shape above, let us know! All you need to do is fill in your address on our Santa Cruz Fiber homepage to get started.

Wireless Pro has average speeds of 75 megabits per second for both uploading and downloading, and in many cases speeds are much faster than that, up to 100 Mbps. That’s not the end though, your speeds will automatically get better as technology improves as well.

So if you live in this UCSC faculty housing area, welcome to the network! We can’t wait to get you connected.

As we build out our excellent new fiber-backed infrastructure in Watsonville, we wanted to make sure we’re also giving back to the community. That’s why we’re launching our initiative to bring free WiFi to Watsonville Plaza, and we want you to come celebrate it’s launch with us.

We’ll be holding A ceremony this Friday, February 16 from 5-7 pm in downtown Watsonville to commemorate the launch of free WiFi in the Watsonville plaza.  and features District 30 Assemblymember Anna Caballero as the primary speaker. The free WiFi service is being brought to you by Santa Cruz Fiber, powered by Cruzio; the City of Watsonville, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, and the DigitalNEST.

“As our economy continues to shift it’s important that we provide the next generation with the tools they need to be successful in their own communities and careers,” said Assemblymember Anna Caballero. “I am excited that the City of Watsonville is making internet access a priority, especially in the downtown area where local families, high school and college students will be able to use it.”

“The City of Watsonville is thrilled to partner with Cruzio and continue expanding high-speed internet access in our community,” said Watsonville Mayor Lowell Hurst. “Internet access is a critical ingredient for our community’s youth, and will help insure they can successfully compete in the growing digital economy.  

Other speakers will include Watsonville Mayor Lowell Hurst,  Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez and Santa Cruz County Deputy Superintendent Faris Sabbah. Our CEO, Peggy Dolgenos, will also be addressing the crowd about the importance of serving all of Santa Cruz County, and Jacob Martinez from DigitalNEST will be speaking about why equitable internet access is important for communities to remain competitive.

“When Cruzio launched the Santa Cruz Fiber brand and service suite last year we had always envisioned it to serve Santa Cruz County,” said Peggy Dolgenos of Cruzio. “While our first major fiber project was in downtown Santa Cruz, our goal is to bring fiber to every part of the community, which is why this moment is so important.”

The event also marks the launch of Cruzio’s expanded, fiber-backed Watsonville service, which will be available to most of the City of Watsonville through distributed wireless hubs. These access points are connected to a larger fiber backbone that connects to Cruzio’s headquarters in downtown Santa Cruz.

Also featured at the event will be complimentary beer and wine, and light snacks. If you’re ready to come on down and try the new WiFi network yourself, you’re encouraged to RSVP via the Santa Cruz Fiber Facebook Page.

We also want to give a big thank you to our co-sponsors: The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, for helping us make this event a reality.

2017 has been another amazing year for us here at Cruzio. Whether it’s growing our fiber-backed wireless network, or taking the massive first steps toward building our Santa Cruz Fiber network in the city of Santa Cruz, we’ve been busy building broadband throughout the year. Let’s take a look back at the highlights of the last year, and what we’re looking forward to in the next.

We Began Construction of Santa Cruz Fiber

Throughout the entire year, the biggest project on our mind here was our fiber project. It’s a gigantic step forward for internet infrastructure in Santa Cruz. In August, we held a big party at our offices in downtown Santa Cruz celebrating the fact that we got permits to begin construction in the city. Congressman Jimmy Panetta and others gave rousing speeches (which you can find right here!) and we flipped the switch signifying the beginning of the project.

Now, as you can see in the picture above, Construction is underway! We’re now aiming to have the first neighborhood in Downtown Santa Cruz lit up and bringing sweet, sweet gigabit internet to customers by March of this year. If you can see your address in this map, there’s still time to sign up right now and get gigabit internet for $49.95 a month with no installation cost!

Santacruzfiber.com is Alive

And with great new infrastructure, a great new website is needed to show it off! Early this year, we worked with the awesomely talented local design company Cosmic to launch our brand new santacruzfiber.com website. There, we’ve made it easy to find out where your address stands in the fiber project, how you can get your address on the list for future build-outs, and find the services you’re already eligible for. If you haven’t gone over to take a look yet, we strongly recommend checking it out.

Wireless Pro is now even faster

In 2016’s  wrap up, we proudly touted that our Wireless Pro network was faster than ever before, with speeds averaging around 50 megabits per second (mbps) and as high as 90 mbps. Last year, as you can see in the graph above, our average speed from installations is much closer to 75 mbps for uploading and downloading. In many cases, speeds have been much higher than that in the 100 Mbps+ range! Our technicians improve these speeds by constantly monitoring the network and upgrading wherever possible to the newest and fastest tech. As we get faster, we upgrade all our customers for free. So if you’re in an area that we don’t have fiber in yet, this fiber-backed option is easily the best option to go with.

We Built A Whole Bunch of New Access Points

Speaking of Wireless Pro, it’s now available in more areas than ever before as well. In the last year, we’ve built new access points across the entire county: from Scotts Valley, to two brand new points in Santa Cruz, all the way down to Watsonville (see below). That means that not only is Wireless Pro faster than ever before, it’s also more widely available than ever before as well.

So take a look at the maps right above this blurb. If you see your address in any of the colored shapes, you’re in a very good area to get connected to the newest points in our Wireless Pro network. You can enter your address right here to find out if you’re eligible for this service. Even if you’re not in any of the polygons above, let us know you’re interested. We’ve got dozens more access points across the county that you could be in range for, and we’re more than happy to help you find the best internet connection you can possibly get.

We Expanded our services in Watsonville

This year we really expanded in South County. Through a long-term partnership with the City of Watsonville and the County of Santa Cruz, we extended our fiber optic path fiber optic internet path to Watsonville and are now offering much faster internet services. As our CEO Peggy Dolgenos said at the time, “for all practical purposes we now have infinite broadband capacity in downtown Watsonville and we’re looking to get as many people as possible connected to it!”

We’re also working with our friends at the City of Watsonville, Digital Nest and the Pajaro Valley Unified School District to bring free, high-speed wifi to the Plaza which we expect to launch in January.

Cruzio Remains Dedicated to Net Neutrality

Not all news was good in the world of the internet this year; it wasn’t all fast speeds and fiber. On December 14th, the FCC voted to gut current net neutrality rules, and all but erase a free and open internet. That means ISPs could throttle connections to some websites, and create paid “fast lanes” to others without any repercussions.

Being an ISP ourselves, we’ve been asked a lot this year what our thoughts on this subject are, and what we would do if net neutrality was obliterated. In short, we’ve been dedicated to the tenants of a free and open internet since the very beginning and that’s never going to change. Throughout the year, we’ve made it readily apparent that we’re not giving up on net neutrality without a fight, and that it’s not time yet to give up; there’s still lots of ways to fight back and make your voice heard.

Thanks to a New Fiber Backhaul, Our Services Became Fully Redundant

Fiber cuts can be a real pain. In 2016, when pounding rain and bad weather brought mudslides to the area, there were times where a cut created major headaches for users throughout our network. This was unacceptable to us, so we took massive steps to beef up our secondary connections.

Last year, we completed our redundant backhaul fiber connection. That means system-wide problems like the ones we saw before are now a thing of the past. In fact, last year we actually had multiple fiber cuts like the ones from 2016 — some that lasted for as long as two days — but not a single user was actually affected by them because the redundant backhaul kicked in and took over for the broken fiber line, like a relay runner passing a baton.

In the words of our Director of Technology and Infrastructure, Chris Frost: “Our network is healthier than it’s ever been before,” largely because of this redundant fiber backhaul.

Looking Toward 2018

2017 saw a lot of big improvements coming to Cruzio and Santa Cruz Fiber, and you can be sure we’ll be carrying all of this momentum into 2018. Now that construction has begun on Santa Cruz Fiber, we’re looking forward to taking it outside of Downtown Santa Cruz, and farther into the city and beyond.

At the same time we’ll be building new wireless access points and continuing to hook up multi-tenant buildings to our certified building program. We’re  planning big improvements on our email services early this year that include bigger mailboxes (15GB!), better webmail and much better spam filtering. And we’ll be lighting up the aforementioned wifi in Watsonville plaza and having a kickoff event to celebrate on Jan 31st.

And with that, we say goodbye to a stellar 2017 and look toward an even better 2018!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year From,

This week Cruzio Internet begins construction of its independent, net neutral, high-speed Santa Cruz Fiber network in downtown Santa Cruz. We’ve worked with leading design, engineering and construction companies to build a new network, which will bring affordable gigabit (1,000 Mbps) broadband service to downtown homes and businesses early next year.

The construction technique being we’re using, called directional boring, allows the build team to install cables underground without costly and invasive open trenching. Instead, by making small potholes at opposite ends of a segment, and through use of special, electronically-guided equipment, crews are able to bore safely and quickly underground in between the points. As is the case with all underground construction, this process required that other utilities locate their underground assets for safety reasons. Hence the paint marks on the streets downtown that will soon be gone.

While the preparation for construction has been a lengthy process, Cruzio believes the final product, Gigabit speed internet, will be well worth the wait. “Any time you build new infrastructure it takes a lot of planning and preparation” says Chris Frost, Cruzio’s Director of Technology and Infrastructure. “Our goal first and foremost was to make sure we did it right the first time, and that we didn’t inconvenience our downtown neighbors.”

“In keeping with their history of supporting the local business community, Cruzio/Santa Cruz Fiber, has been quite thorough in reaching out and educating the community about the benefits of Fiber, and more importantly has been very responsive to the needs and concerns pertaining to installation,” says Chip, Executive Director of the Downtown Association. “We’re very much looking forward to the value that this project will bring to the business district.”

This new fiber optic infrastructure is a huge step forward for Santa Cruz broadband and will immediately increase the value of any building that is connected. We encourage any local residents or business with questions or concerns about the project to contact them directly at www.cruzio.com/contact.

The Santa Cruz Fiber network will start in downtown Santa Cruz, but we’ve already got plans to take it to other parts of the County such as downtown Watsonville. The new network also allows Cruzio the ability to upgrade many of its existing services, which will now be classified as “fiber-backed.” These services, which include point-to-point wireless distribution, make Gigabit speeds outside of the initial build area possible, increasing coverage throughout Cruzio’s existing customer base. Fiber-backed Gigabit services are already available at a number of locations, and interested people can check availability at SantaCruzFiber.com. Those interested in getting fiber service at their downtown home or business should visit Cruzio’s website at www.santacruzfiber.com/downtown. We encourage anyone in Santa Cruz County interested in high-speed internet service to reach us at Cruzio.com/contact.

It’s that time of year again! Santa Cruzans are gathering together to enjoy free drinks, excellent entertainment, fresh local food and fascinating new people. No, we’re not talking about the holidays, we’re talking about Cruzio’s seventh-annual Open House Extravaganza!

We’ve held a rockin’ party in Downtown Santa Cruz every year for the last seven years, and this year is no exception. On First Friday December 1st, from 6PM to 9PM, we welcome you to eat, drink and socialize with some of the finest folks in Santa Cruz County: our coworking members. A highlight from years past has been our creative Cruzioworks members, and the work they do every day right here in downtown Santa Cruz.

And don’t worry, we know it wouldn’t be a party without food and drinks. The award-winning Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery will be pouring up glasses of beer all night for free. And if you’re coming hungry, you can enjoy the food truck parked right outside.

With light-speed Santa Cruz Fiber internet coming to Downtown Santa Cruz very soon, our lovely Cruzio/Santa Cruz Fiber staff will be on hand to answer all of your questions about the fiber project, and even give away some free stuff.

We’ve got a long, storied history of excellent open house parties here, and our Open House Extravaganza 7.0 will certainly keep that history strong. So we’ll hope you’ll join us on December first, right here at our building in Santa Cruz. (It’s got a big “Cruzio” sign on it, you can’t miss it!)

It’s been a wild ride these last few months for us, as we’ve announced brand new Wireless Pro access points on the Westside in Santa Cruz, North of Live Oak, and throughout Watsonville. We’re not done yet though, as we’ve added yet another access point. This time, looking toward our neighbors up to the north: Scotts Valley. Take a look at our new access point at the Enterprise Technology Center.

If you live or work inside the blue shapes above, we’re ready to connect you to our fiber-backed wireless network as soon as you are. The first step towards your new Wireless Pro connection is filling out your address on our Santa Cruz Fiber Homepage.

Now, let’s talk speeds. Wireless Pro has speeds up to 100 megabits per second for both uploading and downloading, and average speeds of around 75 megabits per second. It’s especially great for activities like putting videos on YouTube, or watching your favorite movies in glorious 4K. (Netflix recommends connections speeds of around 25 mbps for 4K video, so we’ve got you covered.) In many cases speeds are much faster than that. And as always, your speeds will automatically get better as technology improves as well, with no extra cost to you.

So if you live in this zone, we’d love to hear from you! We can’t wait to get you connected. And if you don’t live in this area, keep a weather eye on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages for even more announcements very soon about our constantly expanding network. Maybe we’ll be in your neighborhood sooner than you think.

Last month, we made a huge expansion to our Wireless Pro services in Santa Cruz. We added a brand new Alta Vista access point, that’s brought internet services to dozens of new people in the area, and has given them speeds at least 10 times faster than before. Now, we’re making even bigger additions to our network through two new access points that we’ve just completed in Watsonville. Thanks to these new access points, we’re able to bring fiber-backed wireless internet to more people than ever before.

If you can see your home or business inside any of these colorful shapes above, you’re now in a great area for our excellent fiber-backed Wireless Pro service. That means if you have direct line-of-sight to our access points at the Watsonville Airport, Watsonville Community Hospital, or the Watsonville Civic Center; you’re able to connect to average speeds up to 100 megabits per second., with average speeds of more than 75 megabits per second. Just fill out the inquiry form in the link above to get started.

Even better, Cruzio is looking for office and apartment buildings, neighborhood groups and HOAs in these areas, to bring them even faster speeds — we’re talking 1 Gigabit per second, or 1,000 Mbps — to as many areas as we possibly can. So if you’re ready for some of the fastest speeds in the nation, we’re ready to hear from you!

In our last post about Wireless Pro, we said we’ve got even more big news about our growing Wireless Pro network on the horizon. Well, we’re not done yet. Our network is constantly growing, and we’ll have even more to share about our growing Wireless Pro network very soon.