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Comments on news posted 2010-12-08 16:37:22: California-based ISP Sonic. ..


AR

join:2000-09-21
Toronto, ON

AR

How's Sonic able to do it?

I used to live in Davis and remember this company as having quite good reviews during 2000-2004 years before I moved to Canada.

MonkeyLick78
join:2002-01-27
Hixson, TN

MonkeyLick78

Member

Not bad.

That's a pretty good deal for such respectable(download) speeds.

CompNrdCR
@liquid.com

CompNrdCR

Anon

Have It Now...

Love it!

The local LOOP is having issues and it is the ATT side of things. Working with Sonic and ATT to get the service drops out of the picture... Happens a few times a day for 2 minutes. For the money it is a great FAST service.

They still have to rely on ATT so Fiber to the home would be awesome.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

1 recommendation

sonicmerlin

Member

Line-Sharing

The sad part of this tale is that Sonic would be able to reach 3 times as many people in California if we had Title II regulation-enforced line sharing. They're severely limited because they don't have access to AT&T's lines.

So no one outside of Sonic's territory will get better service because AT&T is essentially a monopoly, and paid off the FCC to prevent any regulation from disrupting their control.

caesarv
join:1999-08-02
Santa Rosa, CA

caesarv to CompNrdCR

Member

to CompNrdCR

Re: Have It Now...

I, too, have had some problems with their fusion product (the DSL portion), but Sonic has been responsive and, after some futzing with it, they now claim it is stable. Time will tell, but so far, so good.

Meanwhile, my phone service has been just fine and the fact that I could drop both ATT and my long distance provider is a great bonus. I went from 3 bills to only one and at a much lower cost.

A friend of mine now wonders why Sonic is lowing the cost since the previous price was also competitive. Mind you, we are certainly NOT complaining!!!

MonkeyLick78
join:2002-01-27
Hixson, TN

MonkeyLick78 to sonicmerlin

Member

to sonicmerlin

Re: Line-Sharing

said by sonicmerlin:

The sad part of this tale is that Sonic would be able to reach 3 times as many people in California if we had Title II regulation-enforced line sharing. They're severely limited because they don't have access to AT&T's lines.

So no one outside of Sonic's territory will get better service because AT&T is essentially a monopoly, and paid off the FCC to prevent any regulation from disrupting their control.

It really is a shame. Companies like this trying to offer a good deal are getting held back by greed and by those who are supposed to be fighting for what's best for us.
Dan2112
join:2001-08-24
San Jose, CA

Dan2112 to sonicmerlin

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to sonicmerlin
Not to mention Sonic is limited to the CO and does not have access to those of us that were on Remote Terminals (RTs). So if you are on an RT and to far from the CO - no FUSION for you.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4 to AR

Member

to AR

Re: How's Sonic able to do it?

they're still small and care about their customers unlike their other Indie competition- DSLX.

Others just cares/cared to be "carried" as a reseller/wholesaler of the full network and become as big as possible. But only ended up falling. Sonic doesn't sell out of Cali and is VERY very small.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

"they're still small and care about their customers unlike their other Indie competition- DSLX"

I think another thing is that they are deploying in COs where they can reach the most customers at the shortest distance. Plus they don't have to compete against a Muni Project

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK to AR

Premium Member

to AR
Other companies could do it too. However they pretend like they can't make any money and raise prices and lower caps.

It's because they can, because nobody like Sonic is around to stop them.
doctorlevy
join:2002-01-23
Sebastopol, CA

doctorlevy

Member

Sonic.net FUSION price drop

I've been with Sonic.net since 2002, and it just keeps getting better!! We are 11,000' from the co location and went from 1200 / 320 to over 3100 / 1400 as an average by making the switch. We started this 2-line bundled FUSION service because I'd be saving approx $ 15.00 per month, now with this new reduction, it's approx $ 35.00 per month savings compared to previous. YES, I'm happy!! RIGHT-ON!!

dataice
Premium Member
join:2002-10-27
Crisfield, MD

1 edit

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to AR

Re: How's Sonic able to do it?

That's an excellent price. I'm paying $80 a month ($95 with taxes and fees) to Verizon for 10/1 DSL and a unlimited nationwide calling package. That's a $25 a month savings off their regular price, which goes up to $105 after two years. The customer support is outsourced and poorly trained. They can't even deal with minor issues.

ruraltn
join:2008-05-16

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Re: Line-Sharing

said by sonicmerlin:

So no one outside of Sonic's territory will get better service because AT&T is essentially a monopoly, and paid off the FCC to prevent any regulation from disrupting their control.

I am no fan of AT&T. Quite the opposite, in fact.

But I can't see how they could "pay off" the FCC. The FCC is a federal agency with appointed Commissioners and a salaried professional staff. How exactly do they go about it? Are you alleging that one of more Commissioners and or their staff have been bribed by AT&T?
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray to sonicmerlin

Member

to sonicmerlin
said by sonicmerlin:

The sad part of this tale is that Sonic would be able to reach 3 times as many people in California if we had Title II regulation-enforced line sharing. They're severely limited because they don't have access to AT&T's lines.

So no one outside of Sonic's territory will get better service because AT&T is essentially a monopoly, and paid off the FCC to prevent any regulation from disrupting their control.

Simply untrue.

AT&T is NOT a monopoly, and Sonic does have access to their lines. Fusion uses their lines.

We have Sonic services in greater Los Angeles via line-sharing.

Sonic anon
@sfsu.edu

Sonic anon

Anon

Not always 20/1

The blurb is a bit misleading. The line may be capable of 20Mbps, but they only sell one tier of full speed service. Speeds will still be distance limited - especially since the higher frequencies used by ADSL2/2+ tend not to do so well over long distances. At about $50 after fees and taxes, it's still a very competitive product those those who can only get 3 or 6 Mbps service compared to AT&T with wet loop.

anoname
@comcast.net

anoname

Anon

I like the fries at sonic too...

I just signed up! Smell ya later comcast!
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin to elray

Member

to elray

Re: Line-Sharing

"Unfortunately, Dane and others have to turn away about two-thirds of prospective customers. About two-thirds of lines in the U.S. are behind remote terminals or fiber (U-Verse, FiOS, etc.) Our rules prevent a competitor like Dane from getting access. That doesn't just limit the ultimate potential to less than a third of the market, it cuts back the scale and efficiency and seriously raises costs. Canada's CRTC just made the opposite decision, requiring fiber unbundling. I doubt anyone in D.C. has the courage, so no matter how successful efforts like Sonic.net they won't affect most of the market."

»www.dslprime.com/dslprim ··· lifornia

caesarv
join:1999-08-02
Santa Rosa, CA

caesarv

Member

I hope Dane can overcome some of these obstacles. It is very refreshing to deal with a great company like them...a company founded by geeks, run by geeks, for geeks (and others.) The unusual part is that they also seem to have the business smarts to go along with their geekiness.

Look for more news about Sonic on Monday when there will be another interesting announcement.

DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium Member
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA

DaneJasper

Premium Member

said by caesarv:

Look for more news about Sonic on Monday when there will be another interesting announcement.

Yes there will.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray to sonicmerlin

Member

to sonicmerlin
said by sonicmerlin:

"Unfortunately, Dane and others have to turn away about two-thirds of prospective customers. About two-thirds of lines in the U.S. are behind remote terminals or fiber (U-Verse, FiOS, etc.) Our rules prevent a competitor like Dane from getting access.

»www.dslprime.com/dslprim ··· lifornia

U-verse ain't fiber, nor does it or FiOS prevent access for ISPs to install DSL. Forbearance does actually permit them to rip out the copper, but that trend was thwarted years ago.

Here in California, you can order a dry-line/naked DSL from one of the surviving ISPs, in a FiOS building, and VZ will install a new copper pair - at no charge.

RT's don't prevent ISP's from selling DSL.

The 2/3 quote is grossly misleading.

I would, however, agree, that the last mile / local-loop access needs some fine-tuning, such that we might see a few more Danes.