Tag Archives: San Mateo

Faster Internet Coming to Coastside San Mateo

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Earlier this year, the state of California awarded Cruzio $5.65 million to improve internet infrastructure in our region. Using state-of-the-art technology, the funded project will bring high-speed connectivity to large parts of San Mateo. Serving homes, businesses, and public safety agencies, the Equal Access Summits to the Sea (EAS2C) initiative is a game-changer, and it’s been years in the making.

The seeds of EAS2C were planted back in early 2021, when Rob Genovesi, a well-respected figure in the community and long-time owner-operator of Coastside.net, sat down with Cruzio’s Chris Frost and James Hackett. As longtime friends and collaborators, the three had often bounced around ideas, having worked together on everything from cutting-edge wireless tech to customer support strategies. But this conversation felt different — this time, they saw a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

In the wake of COVID-19 and a series of devastating wildfires, the state of California was making broadband expansion a priority, pushing to bridge the glaring digital divide. Many residents were still struggling with limited or no internet access, hampering their ability to work, study, or get vital information during emergencies.

Cruzio had a track record of securing grant funding and successfully completing complex projects, to reach unserved areas, even ones larger ISPs had passed on. Our Equal Access initiative had already made strides in providing affordable internet to low-income families, working closely with local schools and nonprofits. Meanwhile, Rob had extensive knowledge of the Coastside region — its beauty, its connectivity challenges, and the urgent need for better service. Recent advances in fixed wireless technology, allowing ultra-fast speeds over longer distances, was the final piece of the puzzle.

The three quickly realized that by combining their resources, they were in a perfect position to secure upcoming grant funding and solve a major regional issue.

By the end of 2021, the partnership between Cruzio and Coastside.net was official, and the combined teams launched into action, working tirelessly to craft the technical and financial framework to secure a multimillion-dollar grant.

Fast forward to February 2024: The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously in favor of Resolution T-17810, green-lighting the EAS2C proposal. With the funding locked in, we wasted no time rolling out high-speed, resilient telecommunications infrastructure. Cruzio is set to connect the first wave of subscribers within weeks and by September the network will be fully operational.

The impact? Thousands of homes and businesses will finally experience the speed and reliability they’ve long needed. Beyond that, we’ll integrate fire alert cameras into the network, bolstering safety across the region. Cruzio has already started partnering with local organizations, including the Department of Emergency Management on their Coastal Resiliency Infrastructure Strategic Plan (CRISP), to ensure that this new network benefits the entire community.

We’re excited to see how this infrastructure will shape the future of the Coastside area, and we’re eager to hear from residents and local groups on how we can collaborate to make the most of this new resource. If you’d like to connect with a member of our senior project team about EAS2C, feel free to reach out at cruzio.com/contact.

Cruzio Receives State Grant for Equal Access Summits to the Sea Project

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On February 15th, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved Resolution T-17810, giving the green light to Cruzio’s Equal Access Summits to the Sea (EAS2C) grant proposal.

EAS2C is a game-changer, bringing high-speed connectivity to large areas of San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Monterey Counties where internet service is inadequate. Many folks in these rural and remote regions have been left behind, dealing with outdated copper networks and limited internet options that are both scarce and pricey. Cruzio came up with an economical plan to address the problem, and the State of California has approved and will fund some of the work.

Using state-of-the-art fixed wireless hardware, Cruzio will rapidly deploy gigabit broadband to thousands of locations in this under-served region. And EAS2C’s middle-mile infrastructure is “open access,” meaning other ISPs can hop on board to offer speedier, more reliable services to residents across the Central Coast. The network will lighten the load on smaller providers, paving the way for fairer prices and better service for all.

And it’s not just about binge-watching Netflix and making Zoom calls. In rural areas like these, reliable internet is a lifeline, especially when it comes to public safety. That’s why Cruzio has partnered with the AlertWildfire consortium to install internet-connected cameras along the network, keeping an eye out for wildfires and helping keep communities safe.

EAS2C project area

EAS2C project area

For the last few years, Cruzio has worked with local school districts, municipalities, and non-profit partners to provide subsidized internet to low-income families through our Equal Access initiative. The populations are diverse, including everyone from recent immigrants in crowded farmworker communities to families who’ve lived in isolated mountain homes for many generations.

Cruzio’s mission is to provide every household with the same level of service that we make available to our more urban customers. Recent advances in fixed wireless technology, matched with Cruzio’s familiarity with the area, are making that mission a reality.

“Our region has a problem.” James Hackett, COO at Cruzio, explained. “We’ve got rural communities, farmers, low-income communities out here. Then just a hop away we’ve got Silicon Valley, high-tech and bustling. It’s quite the gap. But getting reliable internet out here? Not so easy with our geography. And that digital divide? It’s real, making life harder for folks. With the Summits to the Sea project we’re working to level the playing field and give everyone a fair shot.”

This project represents a generational leap forward in broadband access, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of concerned community groups and elected officials. Big thanks to Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Anna Eshoo, State Senator John Laird, State Assemblyman Robert Rivas, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, Monterey County Supervisors Chris Lopez, Mary Adams, and Luis Alejo, as well as the Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Santa Clara Offices of Education, the Central Coast Broadband Consortium, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, and many others. We especially want to recognize the incredible work being done by Cruzio’s growing team of all-local employees, many of whom have been with us for decades. It’s been a team effort, and fast, affordable internet is going to make a world of difference for folks across the region.

Keep an Extra Eye Out for Scammers

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internet security logo

Whenever there’s a crisis — like the current war in Ukraine — spammers and scammers take advantage. You may receive extra email or calls soliciting donations, or you may find a higher amount of more convincing phishing email.

We’re even being warned, in a very general way, about possible hacking by Russia. Earlier this month the FBI announced it had prevented a massive hacking project on American routers and firewall devices by the Russian military. Many forms of computer hacking and interruption depend on large networks of virus-infected computers (“botnets”), whose owners don’t know their machines are carrying out nefarious tasks. That can affect home and office computer equipment.

Internet security experts around the country are urging extra caution.

Our users and community are not likely to be the specific target of any particular scheme, but large sweeps looking for access to private and small business computers can sometimes catch unsuspecting people.

Resist hacking! Some principles to remember:

  • The more urgent it seems, the more likely it is to be a scam
  • Don’t submit personal information and passwords to forms you’re directed to in unexpected email or texts, even if the sender seems familiar
  • Directly contact whoever supposedly wrote the email (bank, relative who’s apparently in trouble, technical service) directly if you have any doubts. Don’t just answer the email or stay on the phone, use an independent way of reaching them
  • Check whether you have compromised accounts or passwords by visiting haveibeenpwned.com
  • If your personal data has been compromised, or just every so often for the heck of it, change your passwords. Use different, unusual passwords for sites where security is most important (like a bank)

If you have one of those moments when you suspect you’ve fallen for an internet scheme, don’t panic. You’ll need to change your passwords right away. Feel free to contact Cruzio to ask for advice.

Note from Cruzio’s CEO

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Kitten at the laptopWhat area does Cruzio serve? Well, that’s changing. Our footprint is getting bigger.

Cruzio recently merged with neighboring best-buddy ISP Coastside Net. Coastside is based in San Mateo County, and Cruzio realized we’re not hyperlocal anymore.

Now we’re regional. But what’s our region called?

Our marketing staff have puzzled over this change. We used to say, “Santa Cruz County” in front of everything we did.

And we loved highlighting Santa Cruz County, although it’s a bit difficult having a city (Santa Cruz) and a county (Santa Cruz) with the same name. That’s challenging for advertising because people tended to think we provided internet just in the City. They didn’t realize Cruzio reaches a lot of odd places where you wouldn’t expect great internet to be.

We get around.

Now we’ve got even more territory to name. We all have a lot in common. The stretch of mountains-to-sea running from Pacifica all the way down and around Monterey Bay is an area of great natural beauty dotted with charming towns. Yes, if you are reading this, you likely live in a charming town. Or at least near one.

In the springtime we’ve got fields of brilliant yellow cowslips and starry purple ice plants. Cedars give way to scrub oaks give way to towering redwood trees, each with a distinct color, shape, and smell. Seals or sea lions nap at our beaches — some beaches even host elephant seals.

We surf. We sail. We bicycle. Our roads zigzag up into the mountains, our farms draw straight furrows below, and some of us may work in Silicon Valley but we’re much happier when we’re home.

We have common struggles, too. It’s hard to find housing. It takes way too long to get from one place to another on our crowded highways. We worry about fire in one season and flood in another. A lot of us struggle with the cost of living in such a beautiful place. We’re often far from needed services, especially during crises like fires or heavy storms.

As a region, we have a lot of decisions we need to make, and we do better when working together. More reliable internet reaching more places should help us.

So what’s the name of our new service area? We’re cogitating on that, but we don’t know yet. If you have any suggestions, send them in! Meanwhile Cruzio will continue to connect people from all around our unnamed region with the best internet possible, because we live here, too.

Coastside Net and Cruzio Join Forces

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San Mateo and Santa Cruz County ISPs merge

Santa Cruz and San Mateo have a lot in common. We’ve both got great lighthouses, for one

Big News!

The very big news is that Cruzio has merged with our neighbor ISP just to the north — Coastside Net. Welcome Coastside subscribers! We know you’ll like working with our friendly staff, and we’re happy to have the chance to serve you.

We Both Started Early

Here’s a little history. Like Cruzio, Coastside started up in the early dot-com wildcat era when people wanted to get everything from library card catalogues to psychic readings onto the internet as fast as possible. Thousands of internet providers sprang up to fill the demand. Every hobbyist gave it a shot. Even David Bowie had his own ISP!

Not long after, in 1999-2000, the dot-com boom ended. The overinflated industry was brought down to earth. Although the need for the internet didn’t disappear — My Space and other social media was lurking on the horizon, after all — small ISPs were mostly muscled out by big corporations who’d suddenly taken an interest when it looked as though a profit could be made.

Coastside Net, like Cruzio, was one of the independents that survived — against odds — to maintain the early culture of the internet: creative, clever, Net Neutral, respectful of privacy.  And we both ran our businesses in a friendly, human way.

Indies Make the Internet Better for Consumers

Competing against some of the largest — and most disliked — companies in the country isn’t easy, and independent ISPs do it every day.

“Local, independent ISPs not only provide competition, helping keep prices down and improve service quality,” said James Hackett, Cruzio’s long-time Director of Business Operations, “we’re also more nimble and imaginative with our solutions, and we’re far more connected with our communities than those big corporate giants.”

Smaller companies also do better when working together, sharing tips with other independents around the country. Cruzio’s Director of Technology and INfrastructure, Chris Frost, has served for years as President of FISPA, the national association of independent ISPs (it’s Federated ISP Association, if you want to decode the acronym). He got the gig because he’s always bringing people together to make technology work.

We’ve Been Buddies for a Long Time

Cruzio is friendly with lots of ISPs. But our very favorite ISP has been Coastside Net, and not just because the drive up Highway 1 to Half Moon Bay is world-class gorgeous. Over the years Coastside Net and Cruzio developed a close relationship, even loaning each other equipment to help out when needed. Both companies stand up during fire season, helping mountain lookouts stay connected. We support the ham community, who keep emergency radio communications up and running and with whom it’s fun to geek out.

And We’re Both Builders

There’s a lot of network out there that needs to be built, and we want to get to it. Cruzio and Coastside Net are both experienced with construction of fiber optic and fixed wireless networks. These technologies can deliver a lot of internet — more all the time.

In 2020 Cruzio launched Equal Access, a program designed to address issues of digital equity in our region. Since then we’ve connected over 700 families to free or very low-cost internet. We’re ready to do the same in neighboring counties. Coastside Net, just to our north, shared our priorities.

So we Tied the Knot

As we talked about it, it made sense for Cruzio and Coastside Net to take the next step and merge our companies. At the end of 2021, that’s just what we did.

“We’ve worked closely with Cruzio for years so when the opportunity arose to join forces, we could all see what great sense it made”, said Coastside Net CEO, Rob Genovesi. “I couldn’t be more excited for the future and the great things we can accomplish together.”

The Coastside community responded to the announcement with congratulations and enthusiastic encouragement. They have a lot in common with Cruzio members. They’re just the best.

And we welcome Rob and Steve to the Cruzio team! They are smart, experienced, and fun to work with. We think you’ll enjoy meeting them and you’ll see us continue to make progress towards our goal: good quality, reasonably priced internet for all.

More questions? Check out our FAQ on the merger.