Sonic no longer an AT&T VAR?

[nhbriggs]

I went to order an upgrade from my Fusion X1 service to the resold AT&T fiber and discovered that this is no longer available. It appears that Sonic is no longer an AT&T VAR in Palo Alto. Sonic Sales also indicated that continuing my existing service was only "for now." There was no press release, nothing I can find on the Sonic website, just people starting to complain in these forums.

I am disappointed that Sonic is treating its VAR customers so poorly.

[virtualmike]

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viewtopic.php?f=10&t=17565

[sonic.boom]

Sorry that we didn't give any notice about discontinuing resold AT&T services. Unfortunately, in renewing our contract, AT&T was going to raise the price to the point where we couldn't continue without passing along the cost increase to our customers. Your Fusion X1 service is provided entirely on Sonic infrastructure so you will be able to keep it until we can expand our fiber to your area.

[todd.rising]

I was just looking to get some family members in Palo Alto connected with Sonic and see that there are no options Sonic currently offers.

Any chance you might be able to drop a hint re: Palo Alto area being on your radar for fiber build outs?

Also, I see the City of Palo Alto is investigating/taking action on creating what looks like a municipal fiber build. Any thoughts you can share on how this might impact Sonic's presence there?

Thanks!!

[jessieandrob]

Sorry that we didn't give any notice about discontinuing resold AT&T services. Unfortunately, in renewing our contract, AT&T was going to raise the price to the point where we couldn't continue without passing along the cost increase to our customers. Your Fusion X1 service is provided entirely on Sonic infrastructure so you will be able to keep it until we can expand our fiber to your area.

There seems to be a LOT of "didn't give any notice" going on at Sonic. Folks, what is happening over there? Sudden price increases, no warning on a loss of internet coverage (even if resold AT&T). This is not the standard we're used to from Sonic.

Why isn't anyone from Sonic addressing this clear problem?

[spencerw]

We are always working to improve our communication with customers and this feedback helps improve that process. We planned on continuing to offer AT&T services however the new cost AT&T was proposing was not sustainable. With limited time to act before our contract expired, we emailed customers who were eligible for an upgrade, so they could order it before we were unable to. As for our price increase, we attempted to notify customers via the important notifications section on their prior invoice. We understand that in both cases, communication could have been better and we are working to make sure in the future it is.

[dkirker]

Well that sucks.... I was actually looking at bumping my AT&T-based Fusion to the higher rate tier -- though I did see the other day that it isn't there. I'm noticing that the Sonic based Fusion, which I used to have, is no longer listed as an option for my address in Sunnyvale. Is this the case now? Am I not able to switch over to the Sonic based Fusion anymore?

Given all that... Since I have no idea when or if Sonic fiber will ever be available, should I expect that I will get some sore of warning if my Internet service were to no longer be provided? Or should I just give up and start looking elsewhere? :-/

[dkirker]

With limited time to act before our contract expired, we emailed customers who were eligible for an upgrade, so they could order it before we were unable to.

What did the content of this email look like? I received the following email from Sales on Dec 15, 2022, however it didn't indicate ANY urgency in doing such upgrade:

Dear member,

Did you know you may be able to get faster internet service? Sonic is committed to providing the best possible internet experience to our members. We want to inform you that we may have upgrade options available at your address. Some options may be faster and more reliable than your existing service. Log into your member account today and check for upgrade availability.

Please visit MEMBER TOOLS to check your account for an available service upgrade. You can also contact us at 1(855) 757-6111 if you have any questions or need support.

We thank you again for choosing Sonic.

Please be advised that upgrade availability is not guaranteed at each address. Also, price, speed, and equipment associated with internet upgrades may vary based on service address.

The only other emails that I have received are paperless billing auto-pay scheduled (or failed when they have), the MOTD emails, the PUC public hearings, and the annual survey...

[daniel15]

As for our price increase, we attempted to notify customers via the important notifications section on their prior invoice

I doubt even 5% of customers read the invoices. I've got automatic payments enabled and so never have a reason to look at it, and I imagine that's not uncommon.

[spencerw]

Well that sucks.... I was actually looking at bumping my AT&T-based Fusion to the higher rate tier -- though I did see the other day that it isn't there. I'm noticing that the Sonic based Fusion, which I used to have, is no longer listed as an option for my address in Sunnyvale. Is this the case now? Am I not able to switch over to the Sonic based Fusion anymore?

Our Fusion Broadband and IPBB services both required AT&T infrastructure which is why they are no longer available. While our Fusion Broadband was provided using our own network, the physical copper lines used had to be leased from AT&T. At this point, we are only offering new orders/upgrades for our 1g and 10g fiber services.

Given all that... Since I have no idea when or if Sonic fiber will ever be available, should I expect that I will get some sore of warning if my Internet service were to no longer be provided? Or should I just give up and start looking elsewhere? :-/

Currently the service for existing IPBB/Broadband customers is not impacted by our change in offerings. If that changes in the future, we will definitely warn you with enough time to find a new provider and switch to them.

What did the content of this email look like? I received the following email from Sales on Dec 15, 2022, however it didn't indicate ANY urgency in doing such upgrade

That email from our sales team is the one I was referring to.