$20 surcharge coming for legacy Fusion ADSL service?

Internet access discussion, including Fusion, IP Broadband, and Gigabit Fiber!
11 posts Page 1 of 2
by leeep » Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:46 am
So this is somewhat disturbing to hear....

From: https://help.sonic.com/hc/en-us/article ... -Questions

"Because our costs are significantly higher when delivering service over copper, a $20/month legacy technology fee will be added to your bill to cover the overhead of Sonic supporting these legacy technologies with a diminishing number of customers."

So here's my predicament..... my location was late 1990s construction and has zero modern infrastructure to support FTTN or Fiber services on-site.... we are quite literally a small 7-building condo complex stuck with legacy copper infrastructure from the street into our homes. The cost for the HOA to modernize and accommodate fiber connections is magnified by the fact we have literally 7 separate buildings with 8x independent utility connections to support (one building is split north/south), so it's simply not financially feasible for the HOA to make this investment at this time, if ever.

So since I basically have two options.... ADSL or the evil Comcast.... for internet, this leave me in a pickle. I am with Sonic for various reasons (mostly since I detest Comcast)... but now Sonic is going to quite literally penalize this loyalty for the past 20+ years because technology has moved on while actual practical infrastructure has not.

Not a good look, Dane and team. Is this indeed the future ahead of us?
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...on Sonic.net since 2011...
by kyle.depasquale » Fri Aug 19, 2022 12:09 pm
I believe this fee is only for situations where Sonic fiber is available but folks don't want to switch. My old condo complex was from the 70s - and was in a very similar situation to yours with no modern facilities for fiber, but Sonic recently got them all hooked up, and now every unit has a direct fiber connection. I'd be willing to bet if Sonic Fiber is available and your HOA were to coordinate with Sonic's MDU team, you'd be able to be all squared away.
by dane » Fri Aug 19, 2022 1:23 pm
Yes, as Kyle says, this is only applicable if we build fiber to your location but you for some reason won’t connect to it instead of the rented copper line.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by kds » Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:09 am
I am not so interested in the fiber for several reasons.

Number 1 is my understanding that the phone won’t necessarily work in power outage. Right now my traditional land line will work in an extended power outage. And I can plug it into any phone jack in any room. I understand I can purchase a back up battery for the fiber modem, but that a shorter time period, not indefinitely like my copper lines. And I was told it on,y works as long as sonic is powered, no no one could tell me how long that might be. And these days power outages can last a very long time.

Second, I own my own equipment. I do not like renting equipment. I do not see this being offered for the new fiber. I want the option to purchase outright the modem/router/wifi.

Third is just me being a baby, but does this mean I have to re-setup all devices to a new wifi network as now my existing wifi equipment won’t work? The vaccume, then security cameras etc? Cuz that just sounds like another chore I didn’t even ask for.

So now all of a sudden I am faced with my bill going up $20 a month to keep what I have, or my bill going up $20 a month in “rental” fees. And honestly, that is a BIG price increase.

I have never in my life had anything but sonic. And I have always recommended you. But right now I am feeling sad. And trapped between a rock and a hard place.

I am sure I am not alone on this.
by dane » Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:51 am
I’ve got some thoughts and ideas on all of these points, but will respond with those shortly.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by kds » Wed Aug 24, 2022 10:02 am
Thankyou Dane! Look forward to your advise.
by dane » Wed Aug 24, 2022 3:27 pm
kds wrote:I am not so interested in the fiber for several reasons.

Number 1 is my understanding that the phone won’t necessarily work in power outage. Right now my traditional land line will work in an extended power outage.
Yes, you do need a small UPS on site. Or a bigger one, if you want to run for days. Or a tiny generator if you want to run "forever". (More on power below.)
And I can plug it into any phone jack in any room.
You can do the same with fiber - the optical network terminal outputs POTS voice, just like you'd see from our DSL/POTS platform. Our installer will connect it to one of your jacks, disconnect the jack from the AT&T plant at the MPOE, and all jacks in the home should work as before.
I understand I can purchase a back up battery for the fiber modem, but that a shorter time period, not indefinitely like my copper lines. And I was told it on,y works as long as sonic is powered, no no one could tell me how long that might be. And these days power outages can last a very long time.
Sonic's fiber-optic network is a passive optical network (PON), meaning it generally has no active electronics in the outside plant. The optical line terminals are instead inside the central office, which has the same battery and generator power plant which powers the old POTS platform, and which should run indefinitely. But as you note, you will need on-site power for the optical terminal, so a large UPS or small generator is worth considering. Size it so you can run your refrigerator too if you expect long power outages!
Second, I own my own equipment. I do not like renting equipment. I do not see this being offered for the new fiber. I want the option to purchase outright the modem/router/wifi.
All of Sonic's on-net services allow for customer-provided equipment. While we don't support it and don't recommend it, if you want to manage your own router, you can.
Third is just me being a baby, but does this mean I have to re-setup all devices to a new wifi network as now my existing wifi equipment won’t work? The vaccume, then security cameras etc? Cuz that just sounds like another chore I didn’t even ask for.
This is an easy one: just set up the new router on the same SSID and same WEP key as the old one was. Everything will just work!
So now all of a sudden I am faced with my bill going up $20 a month to keep what I have, or my bill going up $20 a month in “rental” fees. And honestly, that is a BIG price increase.

I have never in my life had anything but sonic. And I have always recommended you. But right now I am feeling sad. And trapped between a rock and a hard place.

I am sure I am not alone on this.
Hope these responses help! Fiber is nothing but better, with the only caveat being that you do need on-site power. I've got a small $80 APC UPS that I got on Amazon, that's enough to cover outages of reasonable length for me.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by rustyhodge » Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:50 pm
Something like this could be a good alternative for a UPS for the fiber terminal:

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Backup-2 ... B089SQFCBW

(As I recall the terminal runs off 12v, correct?)

That would at least keep your phone line running and even WiFi.
by kds » Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:51 pm
Dane

Thank you for taking the time to answer my concerns very thoroughly.
by dane » Wed Aug 24, 2022 10:40 pm
rustyhodge wrote:Something like this could be a good alternative for a UPS for the fiber terminal:

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Backup-2 ... B089SQFCBW

(As I recall the terminal runs off 12v, correct?)

That would at least keep your phone line running and even WiFi.
Interesting UPS solution! Nice how small it is. Outputting AC power just makes no sense when you’re backing up consumer electronics. I’ll order one and see if it happens to have the right voltages and plugs for the devices.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
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