Will Sonic upgrade DSLAMs to VDSL2? (if not already done?)

[josb]

Fwiw, the availability check page is known to not work for some areas, like mine (Sunnyvale). I'm a Fusion customer but the page says It's not available. Oops.

[m2m3]

Fwiw, the availability check page is known to not work for some areas, like mine (Sunnyvale). I'm a Fusion customer but the page says It's not available. Oops.

I just think it is problematic sometimes rather than not working in some areas.

[josb]

Maybe, but I reported it to Sonic support, and received a confusing response indicating it doesn't work because I'm behind an RT, even though I do have Fusion service which I thought you could only get if you were connected directly to a CO.

Plus I just tried it again and got the same error.

[m2m3]

Maybe, but I reported it to Sonic support, and received a confusing response indicating it doesn't work because I'm behind an RT, even though I do have Fusion service which I thought you could only get if you were connected directly to a CO.

Plus I just tried it again and got the same error.

I think that the legacy DSL was behind an RT. All other circuits were working on ADSL2+ technology from the CO instead. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[mykmelez]

Fwiw, the availability check page is known to not work for some areas, like mine (Sunnyvale). I'm a Fusion customer but the page says It's not available. Oops.

I just think it is problematic sometimes rather than not working in some areas.

My girlfriend lives in Sunnyvale, and she's a Sonic customer. But I've entered her address into the Check Availability page about a dozen times over the last month (to see if the new VRAD-based service is available yet, since she's apparently far away from a CO and gets only ~1.25Mbps down). It consistently tells me that "no service is available" despite her already having service!

I've seen some issues when entering my own address (in SF, 1912 feet from the CO, although only about 1000 feet as the crow walks, around the corner and a block down the street). Usually I'm told that service is available, but occasionally I'm told it isn't (or that the service is having trouble determining availability).

But my girlfriend's address consistently comes up as unavailable, so I think it's more than just flakiness for Sunnyvale.

[Guest]

Sorry for my ignorance...but what "estimator" is this? ...and how do we check it out?

Is there any ATT/Sonic list for updating, time frames, or in what order areas will be done?

Thanks

It's the standard "check availability" page on Sonic's site: https://www.sonic.com/availability. It'll give you an estimation of how far away you are from a CO.

Well, I guess my ingorance isn't so bad...I've been confused as I get the "We're Sorry, No Service is Available - Yet!". I, too, am a legacy DSL customer in SE Santa Rosa...I've been getting just under 6mbps down. I figured this "check available" screen would give me some sort of information...distance, etc.

[dane]

At these locations, Fusion is unavailable for two different reasons.

For the Sunnyvale site, where the distance is long and we are only delivering minimal speed, neighboring homes cannot now subscribe because we have limited the distance at which we will deliver new service to a maximum of 11,000ft. This assures minimal performance of 3-5Mbps, which we see as a practical minimum for a household today.

For the other situation, a premise served by a remote terminal (RT), it may be too far as well from the CO, but additionally we do not deliver Fusion service on the far side of RTs. They are a source of interference, and this contributes to the limits of distance.

Hope that helps explain what may appear to be inconsistencies in qualification.

[josb]

Thanks for clarifying, Dane.

AT&T probably perceives the area of Sunnyvale I live in as insufficiently profitable to warrant further hardware investment (such as another CO or RT).

[dane]

Thanks for clarifying, Dane.

AT&T probably perceives the area of Sunnyvale I live in as insufficiently profitable to warrant further hardware investment (such as another CO or RT).

There will never be another CO built in America, I'd say. The node or remote architecture is clearly the future. And AT&T is building lots of fiber-to-the-node equipment as part of their Lightspeed/U-verse built-out. If/when that happens, and if it allowed us to deliver a significant upgrade, we will contact you directly.

[mykmelez]

Thanks for clarifying, Dane.

AT&T probably perceives the area of Sunnyvale I live in as insufficiently profitable to warrant further hardware investment (such as another CO or RT).

There will never be another CO built in America, I'd say. The node or remote architecture is clearly the future. And AT&T is building lots of fiber-to-the-node equipment as part of their Lightspeed/U-verse built-out. If/when that happens, and if it allowed us to deliver a significant upgrade, we will contact you directly.

Indeed, AT&T's "Shop U-verse" page says my girlfriend is eligible for "Max Plus - Up to 18 Mbps" service, so presumably AT&T has already installed a VRAD near her home, and she'll be able to upgrade to Sonic's equivalent of that service, once it becomes available. I'm looking forward to it!