Modoc's Rural Telecommunication Options (Phone/Internet/TV)

About as necessary as the telephone in today's home is a computer and Internet access. Improvements in rural telecommunication infrastructure during the past 15-20 years now make it almost as easy to get quality Internet access in the country as it is in any metropolitan area.

Thanks to advances in technology, rural customers today not only enjoy adequate basic voice telephone service, but they also enjoy many perks previously offered only to customers in larger markets. Rural telecommunication technology and service to rural customers has expanded tremendously over the past 20 years, due in large part to lobbying efforts by such organizations as the National Rural Telecommunication Cooperative (NRTC). NRTC members are rural utility companies who provide rural telecommunication and power and related products to rural customers. The NRTC and its members partner with industry leaders to ensure that rural telecommunication customers enjoy the same advances in voice, video and data transfer technology as do customers in larger metropolitan markets. NRTC and its partners further such technological advances as Internet protocol television (IPTV), and makes them available to rural telecommunication customers. IPTV provides both standard and high definition premium television programming over existing (DSL) or fiber-optic cable.

In Modoc County, the primary, provider of rural telecommunication telephone service is Frontier Telephone, a Citizens Communications company. Because of its rural setting and low population numbers, it's pretty easy to remember phone numbers here in Modoc County. There is only one area code (530), and only a handful of prefixes to remember. It reminds me of the telephone service we had when I was growing up in 1950s north-central California, with no area codes and only two or three prefixes.

Having adequate Internet connectivity in Modoc County is second in importance only to telephone service, as an Internet-based business is one of the viable means of earning a living here. Internet access is about as easy to get in Modoc County as anywhere else. Naturally, dial-up access is available anywhere in the county that has telephone service. A pioneer in the Internet Service Provider (ISP) business in Modoc County is locally owned High Desert On-Line who offers basic dial-up in addition to high-speed broadband products as well as web-hosting services. Many other companies also offer dial-up Internet access to customers in Modoc County, with the only limiting factor being personal preference, price and access to a telephone line. As with Internet access in any other location, a potential dial-up subscriber must shop around to ensure server numbers are local or toll-free. Frontier Telephone also provides dial-up ISP services to Modoc County rural telecommunication customers, as well as High Speed Internet (Frontier's brand of DSL) to many areas. The area covered by DSL is still limited, but is growing steadily as the number of potential customers grows. Frontier High Speed Internet is available in the Modoc communities of Adin, Alturas, Cal Pines, Cedar Pass, Cedarville, Davis Creek, Eagleville, Fort Bidwell, Likely, and Rush Creek. Frontier provides this DSL coverage over approximately 667 miles of cable in the Modoc County area. Although cable TV service is available in Alturas, as far as I can determine, cable Internet access is not available anywhere in Modoc County.

If you live in an area of the county that isn't covered by DSL, and must have broadband Internet access, about your only option is satellite. In order for any Modoc County rural telecommunication customer to have broadband Internet, all they need is power, a PC and, as they say in the TV commercial, "a clear view of the southern sky"! While dial-up and DSL service require only a phone jack (DSL also requires a few company-provided line conditioners), satellite Internet access requires a little more hardware.

In helping potential Modocers choose the right Internet option, I provide my opinions and recommendations: If you are an occasional web surfer and don't use email too much, dial-up is definitely the way to go. Dial-up Internet service is pretty slow by today's standards, but it's a relatively inexpensive, fairly reliable service, and available to almost all rural telecommunication customers. If you've already been spoiled by cable or DSL speed of service, then your only option in Modoc County is DSL or satellite. Of the two broadband options, I strongly recommend DSL if its available in your area.

Satellite Internet and TV antennas

Television coverage is available anywhere in Modoc County by satellite, cable and limited off-the-air reception. There are no television stations in the county, so network channels are broadcast from larger cities outside of the county. Cable TV service is offered only in Alturas, generally within the city limits. The cost for basic service is reasonable, and includes all network channels with a few common non-network channels. Network channels from Klamath Falls and Medford in Oregon, Reno, Nevada, and Denver, Colorado are provided in the basic service package. Expanded service plans are available, including HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and Pay-Per-View channels, among others. Satellite TV is available everywhere in the county, offered primarily by two of the largest rural telecommunication providers, DirecTV and Dish Network. C-band satellite television service using the larger dish antennas is also available in the county. The satellite companies provide the same programming packages that are available anywhere in the nation. Prior to 2004, the only network channels available via satellite TV for Modoc's rural telecommunication customers were the New York and Los Angeles stations. The FCC’s Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004 (SHVERA) ruled that satellite companies may provide delivery of local television stations within a particular designated market area (DMA), and may charge for that service. This practice is referred to as local-into-local television delivery service. DMAs are determined by Nielsen Media Research and are based primarily on its measurement of local viewing patterns. SHVERA was enacted after a few court battles between networks, satellite companies and the NRTC, with NRTC championing the causes of rural telecommunication subscribers. Type of programming provided and where it’s available are determined more by market size (satellite company income) and contracts, than by FCC rules. NRTC represents rural telecommunication customers to get the best deal for them from providers, Congress and the FCC. Modoc County falls into the Redding-Chico DMA, so those are the local network stations (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, FOX and WB) we receive. Modoc viewers who were receiving the New York and Los Angeles network stations via satellite prior to December 8, 2004, are grand fathered, and can continue to receive them as well as the Redding-Chico local stations. New rural telecommunication customers will receive the Redding-Chico network stations as local stations. The individual satellite companies generally determine what programming customers may receive, but as always there are waivers available. Details on waivers and other general information details can be found on the FCC website: SHVERA. Limited digital high-definition television (HDTV) is available in Modoc County via satellite. HDTV programming and channels will continue to grow as technology advances, and I’m certain that Modocers will be afforded the same opportunities as anyone.

While it is possible for Modoc’s rural telecommunication users to receive some distant television stations’ signals off-the-air, reception is difficult and generally poor. Even with sophisticated antennas and tall directional masts, the results are rarely worth the effort. Perhaps the most successful effort has been made by a Surprise Valley cooperative that was formed quite a few years ago by citizens intent on getting television reception without satellites. Members of the cooperative pay a fee, and the cooperative pays southern Oregon stations to trunk signals to a re-broadcast facility in Surprise Valley. The amplified and useable signals are then transmitted over-the-air to members’ homes.

As you can see, rural telecommunication customers in Modoc County have about the same media options as customers in any metropolitan area. Whether telephone, Internet access, television or wireless communications; you will have ample choices here. However, rural telecommunication customers in Modoc County can enjoy those options with clean air (Modoc County was recently determined to have the cleanest air of all 58 counties in California!), low crime rates, no crowded freeways and good country living.

More Modoc Country Living…

Modoc Power, Water & Sewer
Modoc Transportation & Rural Roads
Modoc Lodging & Restaurants
Modoc County Country Shopping
Modoc Merchants Directory

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