In most cases, the fastest, most economical way to get modern high-speed internet to a house or other building is with a fixed wireless connection. 

Wireless requires no construction, just installation. It’s easy to upgrade, replace or move.

Like fiber optics, wireless connections have been used for decades by large corporations and universities, often over long distances. As individual households now use as much data as whole cities used to (watching movies, telecommuting), fast technology is trickling down to regular folks.

And wireless equipment has come a long way in the past decade, while prices have dropped. Cruzio is now able to provide amazing speeds over wireless connections, in most cases for less than $100 per month. And we constantly upgrade and refresh our equipment to provide faster speeds.

What’s needed for a good fixed wireless connection:

• Line of sight/proximity to existing wireless Access Points, or APs

• Ability to put equipment high up: most often, on the roof or eave of a building

The Backbone

Cruzio's gigabit network around Santa Cruz County, called Santa Cruz Fiber, uses a data “backbone” with multi-terabit capacity traversing the county from north to south. Using this backbone, Cruzio set up a powerful, completely redundant route to and from the greater Internet with outlets on both the north and south. If one side is interrupted, an automatic failover occurs to the other side and connectivity is maintained.

The Network

Cruzio's Santa Cruz Fiber network is constantly growing. There are excellent opportunities for new Access Points all over the county: these are buildings or pieces of land which can see an existing AP and can also see businesses or homes in the area. An example of this is a house on a hill overlooking a town. Another example is a communications tower.

When a building is eligible to be an AP, not only can the occupants of the site get the best internet imaginable, but building owners or managers can get their world-class internet free of charge in return for roof placement.

In some cases, Cruzio will use one property as an AP, but offer free internet at a different property belonging to the same owner.

We’re often asked what our equipment looks like. We understand that people who own buildings — big office buildings, apartments, Victorian houses, or anything else — want to preserve the appearance of their property. We work with property owners and managers to install equipment to meet the duel goals of an attractive appearance and high performance. Contact us if you have a prospect!

What a Wireless End-User Installation Looks Like

Individual customers — both residential and business — use smaller equipment than APs. The antenna for an end-user building is generally compact, about the size of a dinner plate — smaller (and prettier) than a satellite dish. Cruzio can often mount equipment in a less visible area, such as under an eave or set well back from the front of a house.

What an AP Looks Like

Any safely accessible site with a great view may be eligible to host an Access Point (AP) which will improve internet access in their neighborhood. 

The equipment required is generally under two feet in diameter and often much smaller. Many APs are atop large buildings which then have high speed, low cost internet available to all tenants. To provide service inside a multi-tenant building, Cruzio will require space in the telco closet or room and will install wiring and/or wifi in the building to serve tenants. 

But even a small house or a spit of land, if well-placed, can serve as an AP.

We Care About Your Building...

Most people know Cruzio as an involved, dedicated corporate citizen of Santa Cruz County, serving many thousands of people since 1989.

We've also served larger organizations. Our equipment provides primary or secondary service to many of the largest institutions and businesses in Santa Cruz County, from government buildings to hospitals to hotels. Since we are local, you will have experts at hand to keep service running smoothly. We have a strong, reliable network and experienced technical staff who’ve worked in this field for decades. That’s what it takes to keep internet flowing.

...And About Our Environment

We appreciate the little things we come upon in our installations. Like this: