Frequently Asked Questions

West Central Wireless has been proud to provide outstanding service to our West Central Texas communities for over 35 years, and we appreciate that you continue to trust us to be your wireless communication service provider. Entering into this agreement with Verizon will best serve our mobile and fixed wireless customers in the long-term.

This acquisition will affect both your postpaid & prepaid mobile/cellular service from West Central Wireless and your fixed internet service from West Central Net.

We will stop activating new customers for cellular and internet service on November 30, 2022. We anticipate that we will continue to upgrade customers’ phones through the end of the second quarter 2023 (or while phone supplies last).  Phone activations and upgrades will be sold with six months same-as-cash financing terms. We will also continue to repair or replace fixed internet CPE equipment. We will continue to operate  a limited cellular phone repair center at our San Angelo Knickerbocker location through the third quarter of 2023.

No action by you is required at this time. We anticipate the FCC to approve our transaction with Verizon in the second half of 2023. Once approved, we will reach out to you to let you know when you are able to transfer your wireless/mobile service and/or internet to Verizon or another provider.

In the coming months, we will share exclusive Verizon promotions to help facilitate the transition.

The majority of West Central Wireless customers will be able to retain their current smartphone device. To check your device eligibility with Verizon, go to https://www.verizon.com/bring-your-own-device. If you have an outstanding balance on your device, you will need to pay West Central Wireless in order for the phone to be unlocked.

Yes, your bill for monthly services will still come from West Central Wireless until you transition to Verizon or another service provider. You will continue to receive a bill as long as you have an outstanding balance with West Central.

You will have to pay your balance in full for your West Central Wireless phone, or starting July 1st you may return your active phone on your active WCW account to us to clear your remaining phone equipment balance. Certain conditions must be met in order for West Central Wireless to accept your phone and clear your balance. The phone must be signed out of any Apple, Samsung or Google accounts and be completely unlocked. Your phone must also be fully functional with no operational problems and no chips or cracks in front or back glass.

No, you will need to switch to one of the plans that Verizon has to offer.

Yes, in most cases you can take your number to another carrier (port your number). If you port your number to a new carrier – West Central Wireless will automatically disconnect your service. If you obtain a new number, you must call West Central Wireless at 800-695-9016 to have your service disconnected.

Yes, as long as you have backed them up correctly.

Yes, you can return your indoor unit and schedule deinstall of your outdoor unit with West Central Net after you transition to Verizon or another internet provider. You must contact West Central Net to disconnect your internet service.

West Central Wireless will not automatically move you to another provider. You must initiate the move to Verizon or another carrier (wireless or internet).

Visit our website https://www.westcentral.com to stay up to date with the latest announcements. We will also be posting to our Facebook pages along with updates via text, phone, letters and emails.

Over the coming months, we will be closing many of our offices. We will be available by phone, chat or email to assist you with any questions you may have through the end of 2023.

In areas that Verizon currently does not provide coverage, Verizon plans to be working from towers currently used by WCW to bring Verizon services to those areas. Verizon is planning to make investments in this area to bring 4G and 5G services.

All of our customers are set to receive a monthly statement which explains the amount owed and when the payment is due. West Central Net billing cycles are the 16th through 15th of each month, 20th through 19th of each month, and the 1st through 28th/30th/31st of each month. Payments are due upon receipt and are considered late thirty days from the end of the billing cut-off. A late fee of 1.5% will be charged for all balances unpaid by the 15th, 19th, or 28th/30th/31st. Customer accounts which remain unpaid 45 days from billing cut-off are subject to suspension of service unless approved payment arrangement are made in advance.

West Central Net accepts the following payment types: recurring bank and credit card payments, all major credit cards, checks, money orders, and cash.

Absolutely not! West Central Net doesn't charge you a fee to pay your bill regardless of how you pay.

Click "Pay My Bill" at the top of the page. You'll need to have the following information available: your account number and your PIN number. If you don't know your PIN number please contact our office a 325-944-9016 or 1-800-695-9016.

Requests for your West Central Net statement to be sent as an E-bill statement may be sent to: info@wcc.net. Within the request, please include your name, the name listed on the account, the account number, and an email address. Requests may also be made via phone by contacting our office at 325 944-9016, toll free at 1 800-695-9016, or by dialing 6-1-1 from your West Central Wireless phone.

Lifeline is a Federal discount program that is designed to give low-income individuals the ability to afford voice or broadband service.

West Central Wireless provides this discount to individuals whose residential address lies within the qualifying coverage area and who have been deemed eligible by the State of Texas based on their income or participation in a qualifying program (such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8), Medicaid, etc.).  West Central Wireless does not currently participate in the Lifeline broadband program but does provide the discount on voice service for eligible customers.

The current federal discount rate, if you are eligible, is $5.25 per month effective December 1, 2020. Certain other circumstances may qualify an individual for an additional state discount.

http://www.lifelinesupport.org/ls/default.aspx
http://www.puc.texas.gov/consumer/lowincome/Assistance.aspx

To apply for the Lifeline Discount, call 1-866-454-8387 or visit the following website: https://www.texaslifeline.org/

We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 325-234-5678.

Incoming: mail.wcc.net
Outgoing: mail.wcc.net (Requires Authentication)
Incoming Server Port: 110
Outgoing Server Port: 25, 587, or 1025
Webmail: mail.wcc.net
Spam: spamfree.wcc.net:8000

Incoming: mail.wcsonline.net
Outgoing: mail.wcsonline.net (Requires Authentication)
Incoming Server Port: 110
Outgoing Server Port: 25, 587, or 1025
Webmail: mail.wcsonline.net
Spam: spamfree.wcc.net:8000

Incoming: mail.centex.net
Outgoing: mail.centex.net (Requires Authentication)
Incoming Server Port: 110
Outgoing Server Port: 25, 587, or 1025
Webmail: mail.centex.net
Spam: spamfree.wcc.net:8000

Incoming: mail.omniglobal.net
Outgoing: mail.omniglobal.net (Requires Authentication)
Incoming Server Port: 110
Outgoing Server Port: 25, 587, or 1025
Webmail: mail.omniglobal.net
Spam: spamfree.wcc.net:8000

The POE (Power Over Ethernet) unit is what gives power to the antennae outside (indoor units do not have a poe unit, only a power cable), you should have one of the following:

Here are the following requirements for the top 3 streaming services:

Netflix:
 0.5 Megabits per second - Required broadband connection speed
1.5 Megabits per second - Recommended broadband connection speed
3.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for SD quality
5.0 Megabits per second - Recommended for HD quality
25 Megabits per second - Recommended for Ultra HD quality

Hulu:
720p - a minimum of 3.5Mbps downstream bandwidth is recommended.
480p - a minimum of 1.5Mbps downstream bandwidth is recommended.
360p - a minimum of 1.0Mbps downstream bandwidth is recommended.

Amazon Video:
Standard Definition (SD) videos: 900 Kbits/sec
High Definition (HD) videos: 3.5 Mbits/sec

To find out about any other streaming services, you can google “{insert streaming service name here} requirements”

As many devices the DHCP table will allow, but keep in mind that the more devices that are connected to the wifi, the slower your connection will get since each device will need a certain amount of bandwidth.

A copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work (movie, game, tv series, etc.) is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.  By law we must show due diligence in these matters.  We contact customers about copyright infringements when we have been notified by the owner or lawful representative of the copyrighted material and have checked our side to see who has downloaded it and have verified the logs sent to us and matched it to where the material has been downloaded. Please note that we have what we call the “3 strikes” rule where if we have received 3 copyright infringement notifications against your internet connection,  we will disconnect the internet connection and either set up a time to retrieve the equipment  or ask you to return as quickly as possible.

If it is our indoor equipment, we will have you bring it in to one of our main offices and have it examined to see how bad the damage is. Once the equipment has been looked at, there may be a charged that will vary depending on how bad the damage is. We will send a tech out to look at outdoor equipment to examine for any damage.

When you disconnect your internet service, we will have you either bring the equipment in or have a tech come out and remove it off the house. If the equipment has not been returned before the next billing cycle, we will charge a $500 equipment fee, but we can credit you the $500 back if you return the equipment in proper working condition.

Mailer-daemon emails are what we call “bounceback” emails, it means that the email you tried to send out to another email address was blocked by their email server due to it looking like a suspicious email. If you receive multiple bounceback emails from addresses that you have never seen, there is a high chance that your email was compromised and your email password needs to be changed. It is also a good idea to run your virus scan or take your pc to a pc tech to check for any viruses to make sure that it won’t get compromised again after you changed the password.

In order to change the wifi passwword contact tech support and we can change the password or network name (SSID) for you.

The download speed is how fast you can pull data from the server to you. Most connections are designed to download much faster than they upload, since that's the majority of your online activity like loading web pages or streaming videos.

The upload speed is how fast you push data from you to others. Uploading is necessary for sending big files via email, or in using video-chat to talk to someone else online.

Latency is the amount of delay (or time) it takes to send information from one point to the next. Latency is usually measured in milliseconds or ms. It may also be referred to as a ping rate.

Keep in mind a speedtest can be affected by other devices on your home network, they can also be affected by the traffic of the location you are running test to. It is a good practice to run around 3 test per server location.

All computers that run Windows need an antivirus program. Viruses that infect computers can seriously degrade your Internet experience. There are countless free and paid antivirus/spyware removal software applications on the market.

A.  Whether you are directly “wired” to your Internet connection or operating on a “wireless” network or Wi-Fi network.

Wired connections always deliver faster speeds than Wi-Fi.

B.  Location, location, location— make sure your modem and router are in an open space, up off the floor, in a room where the Internet is frequently accessed. Walls, doors, floors, steel, furniture, and appliances can all block or reduce your Wi-Fi signal. Don’t hide your router in a cabinet or behind walls.

C.  The number of devicesusing your Wi-Fi connection at one time may slow you down. Turn off those devices not being used.

D.  Viruses — run regular virus scans and keep your devices clean.

E.  Always use a password for your Wi-Fi connection— using a password prevents others from using your Wi-Fi without you knowing and slowing you down.

The loss of your internet connection may happen for several reasons, but usually means that one or more of the devices on your home network has lost connectivity, or may need to be power cycled.

Check Power Source

Make sure the power adapter (also called Power over Ethernet or POE) for the CPE radio on the roof is plugged in and working. (This AC power supply typically has a green LED on it). Also, make sure all network devices have power.

Connect Network Cables

Make sure the physical network cables are connected to the

POE, the computer, and to any other network devices such as a wired or wireless router.

Reboot the Computer

It seems trivial, but you should always begin troubleshooting computer problems by rebooting your computer! This is particularly important if your computer has worked fine in the past and only just began to exhibit problems.

Power-Cycle the Wireless Unit

Power-cycling the wireless unit causes it to re-synchronize with the tower.

• Unplug then wait 60 seconds.
• Plug the wireless unit back in. Wait another 3 to 5 minutes.
• Restart your computer.
• NOTE: If the power adapter is plugged into a power strip, power cycle the power adapter itself not the power strip.

You can check your speeds at speedtest.net or testmy.net. On mobile devices you can download the speedtest.net app by ookla via your app store.

You can monitor your data usage by logging in to https://billpay.westcentral.com.

You can check your password strength at https://howsecureismypassword.net/. Keep in mind that it is not a human working to get your password, but a computer.  A way to have a strong password is to have four random word put together than one word that is made of numbers, letters, and symbols.

For Example:
B3@chB4ll- it would take a computer an estimated time of 4 weeks to get this password.
beachballclambake- it would take a computer an estimated time of 898 thousand years to get this password.

Remember: make a password that is hard to crack, easy to remember.

A. Reset your network.

Sometimes modems pick up interference from nearby networks. To fix this, reboot the modem. The modem is setup to detect interference, and restarting the modem can cause the device to use a less congested wireless signal which could improve performance.

Use the power buttons on your devices to turn them off, or unplug the power cables; wait 30 seconds, and then plug them back in.

B. Check that there aren't conflicting signals.

IF you're using a wireless router, make sure its signal isn't conflicting with a cordless phone in your home or a wireless camera. If the GHz on your router (usually 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz) match the GHz on your phone, your connection might be slower when the phone is in use. Try unplugging the phone base and remove the handset battery. Now, see if your wireless network connection is stable.

Many other common household devices can interfere with the strength of your wireless connection.

Examples: cell phones, Bluetooth devices, televisions, dimmer switches, fans, fluorescent lights, copy machines, microwaves, treadmills, wireless surveillance systems, wireless speakers, wireless baby monitors, motion detector lights, garage door openers.

Try turning off (and unplugging) electronic devices in your home. If that solves the problem (but you still need to use the devices), try moving your modem so it and the other devices aren't in the same line of sight. In some cases, you may need to separate devices by as much as 5 to 10 feet before you see consistent improvement.

C. Check the other devices on your network.

If other people on your network are downloading or streaming media from the internet, it's probably bogging down your connection. Try turning off other devices to improve the speed of your connection.  Even if the devices are not currently being used they can have programs or apps running in the background, these devices can also be running massive firmware updates.

D. Place your wireless router or computer in a different area.

If you're using a wireless router, a weak signal can cause lower speeds and spotty connections. Try to place your router as close to your computer as possible, or place your computer so that it is closer to the router. Ensure that the router is in a high, open space and not locked away in a cabinet. Also, be sure your router and modem are clean of dust and properly ventilated.