Maybe I'm being too picky? Or a maybe I'm just in the minority, bit I don't really like using Sonic. I mean, their internet works, and customer support is fine (but I've had as good a service from Comcast too). What I find annoying from Sonic is their billing process. I dislike that they foist a random router onto you and charge you $10 a month (and charge you if you want to return it). I also dislike that they force…
I recall reading something about Sonic may be including the landline so they can collect some government subsidy.
I miss the days of competing ISPs. I remember having Speakeasy for my DSL back in the early 2000s and being impressed at the range of services they offered and relatively high speeds they offered for less than what Verizon wanted to charge for a DSL line. Usenet, a shell server, personal webhosting, a POTS phone bank you could use as a backup when you were on the road. But the limitations of DSL meant they couldn't c…
FIOS wasn't actually why that market segment died; it was due to the FCC decision to re-classify DSL [0]. This was in response to a lawsuit resolved a few months earlier that did the same for cable internet connections. [1] By re-classifying both cable and DSL as Title 1, rather than Title 2, that meant that they were no longer common carriers, and could kick all the competing ISPs off their network. This is why it s…
Is that what happened? Makes sense. Back in 1999-ish I was a software programmer for a regional ISP. We served the San Francisco-San Jose-Monterey-San Luis Obispo areas. We did dial-up, DSL, ISDN, T-1, 3, OC, wireless (certain areas). We also had a data center and offered a lot of so-called “cloud” services, before it was a buzzword. We did a lot of cool things. But after I left it seemed like the company died when the big ISPs took over.
I never use ISP provided equipment, I always use my own. Except when I had AT&T U-Verse, since I was forced to use their proprietary 2-wire modem (which was absolute garbage and required weekly reboots). However, with Comcast, I can use my own NETGEAR DOCSIS 3.1 modem which has been absolutely rock solid, I have never rebooted it in the two years I've had it.
> I have never rebooted it in the two years I've had it. That's awesome, but perhaps it needs a software update by now?
No ability to update the firmware manually of Netgear cable modems
I used to be a big support of Sonic for years, but have changed my mind as of late. They skipped my block for fiber, and I thought there could be some issue (like the fact that a Muni electric line runs down it) that might make it impossible for them to install it. So I asked their tech support if it was going to someday come, or never come. Sonic would not give me any information. They wouldn't confirm or deny that…
> Wait, I think I know the answer: if they admit that fiber isn't coming any time soon (if at all) people might go to a competitor for faster service!
It's the opposite: if they say they'll string fiber in 2 years, they get drowned by anrgy requests for status updates if they slip. It's lose-lose for them: commiting to a delivery date gets people angry at them if they slip does to regulatory/admin delays, not commiting to a date gets people fed up and impatient.
As a Sonic subscriber, I can vouch that this is an accurate report, and that their business model is fundamentally to advertise a low price and charge a high one hoping you’ll like gigabit Ethernet enough to keep it. Another way of looking at this is search engine- and eCommerce-driven price discovery hasn’t given us better prices or more accurate ones, it has just moved money from one set of bad actors (people who r…
That's just not true. They simply don't include taxes in the advertised price, same as everybody else, and because they include voice service in all their plans the taxes add up. You also don't need to use their routers (I don't), but they charge you an extra $10--presumably because of the increased support calls. Here's my latest invoice. I've had Sonic Fiber for a few years so these are the non-promo numbers: Voice…
> As you can see above, the taxes can vary between localities, so it would be difficult to advertise a specific price if they included them.
How is it difficult to advertise $65 for this, and then bill exactly $65?
My ATT is exactly the advertised price. It includes all fees, taxes, and equipment. $90/mo for gigabit (was $70 when I signed up, which reminds me I need to ask about getting the promo rate again).
Interesting. Where do you live? This page, https://www.att.com/local/fiber/california/san-francisco , advertises $50 "Plus taxes. 12mo. agmt req’d. Incl 1TB data/mo., overage chrgs apply. Ltd. Avail/areas. See offer details" EDIT: Lower down the page it says "Starting at $70/mo. plus taxes for 12 months for Internet powered by AT&T Fiber", so looks like the top of the page is some kind of algorithmic promo? Also, jus…
sonic customer here (past through sonic, currently through LMI.net as a reseller). they're the best ISP i've ever dealt with, and the fact that they've won a court case against AT&T to run fiber through oakland and berkeley is just amazing. their teams are working in my neighborhood now to get this all installed. i can't wait for my $50/month gigabit internet, complete w/the best customer service ever!
Completely agree. Sonic is a customer service provider that happens to be an ISP. I've had their gigabit fiber service in SF for the past two years. The few times I've had to call and inquire about a service issue, I was able to speak to someone within a minute of calling. And if you check their forums, you'll find their CEO responding to questions.
omg omg omg! the sonic cherry picker truck was finishing up the fiber work right outside my house this morning... talked to the amazingly nice cablemen and i should have fiber in ~month!
I used to be a big support of Sonic for years, but have changed my mind as of late. They skipped my block for fiber, and I thought there could be some issue (like the fact that a Muni electric line runs down it) that might make it impossible for them to install it. So I asked their tech support if it was going to someday come, or never come. Sonic would not give me any information. They wouldn't confirm or deny that…
> Wait, I think I know the answer: if they admit that fiber isn't coming any time soon (if at all) people might go to a competitor for faster service! It's the opposite: if they say they'll string fiber in 2 years, they get drowned by anrgy requests for status updates if they slip. It's lose-lose for them: commiting to a delivery date gets people angry at them if they slip does to regulatory/admin delays, not commiti…
What you're saying is the reverse of the situation I'm complaining about.
I'm not saying that they should specify how soon fiber is coming. Yes, then they'd have a support issue as you describe.
I'm saying that they should admit it when they know that fiber definitely isn't going to come any time soon at all, so that people can make an informed decision not to waste their time waiting for it to come.
Sonic Fiber is available in my neighborhood two blocks away in every direction. Just not my block. :-( Still switched because I was so sick of Comcast.