Fiber in South San Jose

[Marcel]

Dear Sonic (and Dane):

A few years ago, I inquired about Fusion service in deep south San Jose, (out of SNJSCA22 which has no DSLAM). You researched it, and told me that there were only 2 loops out of that office, neither of which I live in. (Thanks again for checking)

I'm wondering: what could we (our neighborhood) do to entice SONIC to run fiber? We know where the CO is, we're all on overhead phone lines.

Thanks so much!

=Marcel

[wa2ibm]

I wouldn't hold my breath on this one. SNJSCA22 serves only one exchange (408-463) and is located in a rural area (Coyote Valley). It was built when IBM built their Silicon Valley Laboratory down the block and needed a Centrex switch to serve them (they have since replaced this with their own in-house switch). The commercial development that was expected in that area dried up, so the exchange hasn't seen much growth.

There are no overhead wires near the exchange itself as well. The most dense housing area served is just south off of Tilton Avenue and is all underground service. I would guess that Sonic wouldn't see this as a prime spot for fiber.

[Marcel]

Actually, it's worse than that: The housing at Tilton is not served by AT&T: that's served by Verizion. (who put an RT/pronto box to serve the South Coyote Valley). The dividing line is Kalana Ave.

That's quite interesting that there are no overhead wires going into the CO, but all of us living in the Coyote Valley have our phone lines overhead.

A couple of years ago, Dane did some research, and figured out that there were only 2 loops out of that CO that could do Fusion, and one loop had _no_ houses in it. The other? I was > 15K feet from the CO (more like 35K, as the electron flew).

Really, I was just hoping for an alternative to the Cell Data card we've been using (and cursing) for last 7 years.

Thanks for the insight,

=Marcel
(a wanna-be sonic customer)

[virtualmike]

That's quite interesting that there are no overhead wires going into the CO, but all of us living in the Coyote Valley have our phone lines overhead.

That's no big surprise. Almost all COs have all the incoming wires underground (they enter through the "vault"). At some point in the field, some number of lines will come out of the ground, typically at a B-Box (the big beige pedestals you see in some neighborhoods), at which point some lines may go back underground, while others can go overhead.

[wa2ibm]

You might want to check with South Valley Internet (http://www.garlic.com/) to see if you're within range of one of their WISP networks.

[Marcel]

I've already contacted Garlic.com: yes, we're going to get their wireless. However, I also hoping to get rid of AT&T, those ....

Thanks for the info and the insight.

=Marcel

[wa2ibm]

I also hoping to get rid of AT&T...

After you get the wireless internet access, check on its reliability. If sufficient, just port your phone number over to a VoIP provider to dump AT&T.