NEWCASTLE, Calif — A small town in Placer County topped a national ranking for having the slowest internet in the country among rural areas, according to one study.
Satellite Internet ranked Newcastle number one due to the town's average internet speed of 2.7 megabits per second.
Compare that to Hampton, GA, which had the fastest internet at more than 113 megabits per second.
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Newcastle's slow speeds have been a problem for locals like Sherri Perry and her family.
“I was asking AT&T when can we get a higher internet speed,” Perry said, “They just said it’s because of the lines here.”
The problem doesn’t just impact the residents of Newcastle. One of the town’s most popular businesses says they rely on their technology to keep up with their inventory.
“If we don’t have a fast enough signal, we can’t operate the machines,” said Janice Thompson, owner of Newcastle Produce.
Placer County Supervisor Jim Holmes said some people in Newcastle are fine with the current internet speed.
“Verizon tried to put a tower in the Newcastle/Ophir area and... now AT&T is trying to do that but many of the residents out there are very much opposed to it,” Holmes said. “They don't want to see these in their rural community. They just don't think it's a good fit. On the other hand, the younger families want that because they have higher expectations, and they want that for their students.”
The nearly 500 students in the Newcastle Elementary School District each rely on technology in class. Despite slow internet speeds in Newcastle, the good news is that the district is self-sufficient.
“It is separate from the community. We do use one of the providers that the community uses, but our infrastructure is created by our director of technology,” Superintendent Denny Rush said.
The community can also get emergency alerts through a county alert system that can reach landlines. Otherwise, Supervisor Holmes says residents get by the old-fashion way.
“They communicate well with each other,” Holmes said.
AT&T and Wave Broadband each provide service to Newcastle. AT&T says Newcastle homeowners can reach out to them for a new fixed wireless service plan they have for parts of the area. For more info, they say to call 1-877-990-0041 or click here.
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