Can Fusion IPBB-C be installed at outdoor MPOE without going inside?

[klhnic]

I've been a happy Sonic DSL customer for a long time, but would now
like to order the latest hotness that is supposedly available in my
otherwise fiberless area, namely the "Fusion IPBB-C" tier promising
75Mb/s (also known as "FTTN" aka Fiber-To-The-Node, formerly known as
"Fusion IP Broadband X3" (or X2? who can keep track?))

However, I had a question about the installation process that neither
Sales nor Support reps were able to answer -- they just told me to try
calling AT&T, which is always a frustrating exercise for a deaf
person. Before wasting more hours of my life dealing with AT&T, I'd
first like to try running my question past the Sonic community.

(BTW I've already found and read most of the posts that mention "IPBB",
of which the most relevant is that from "srikar":
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=15681
which was both very informative and very concerning.)

So, my question:

Can it be arranged for the AT&T installer to simply ensure that
their modem/RG works at the MPOE (where I can provide AC power for
testing) and then leave it up to me to bring their device inside
and integrate it with my head end?

(MPOE = Minimum Point Of Entry, aka Demarc, TNI, etc)

There are two reasons:

(1) The most important is COVID-19. No one except my own at-risk
family has been allowed inside since the lockdown began, and we
are trying very hard to keep it that way, especially as friends
and neighbors have been sickened. Note this plan would also
protect the AT&T installer as well.

(2) The second reason is more geeky. I already have 4 twisted pairs (3
available, so pair bonding is OK) going directly from the MPOE
into my head end patch panel, which is hidden from casual access
by a large number of racks, boxes, and assorted equipment. I have
maintained everything myself for the last 30 years or so
(including phone lines, DSL lines, sat feeds, cable feeds, muxes
and switches and routers, oh my) and would quite prefer to not
have an AT&T tech blundering about and mucking with my setup.

Can that be arranged? How? Note I can correspond via texts with the
installer if that would work -- just not via a voice call.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I also had a few other minor questions for Sonic. Some have already
been answered in this forum, but I'll toss them in here anyway:

- I want this service to be IN ADDITION to my existing Sonic
DSL/phone landline service (which is the active one of the 4
twisted pairs), not a replacement or upgrade. I'm concerned
because the order form doesn't have a place for additional
instructions, nor does the "Upgrade or Downgrade Service" menu
option, and it's essential that our landline NOT be mistakenly
disconnected. How to ensure this?

- I'm another customer who wishes IPBB-C didn't come with an ATA
(Analog Telephone Adapter) at all, since I will NEVER use it and
will be rather miffed about having to pay a monthly "ATA rental"
fee for the equivalent of a useless and unwanted nose zit.
Unfortunately it appears that Sonic's hands are presently tied in
this regard, even though I was able to decline it from Comcast.

- The 9.50 "Modem rental" fee is confusing because it says "Sonic
WiFi Gateway" although the modem/RG cames from AT&T, not Sonic,
giving me the impression that the Sonic gateway is in addition to
the AT&T device, especially as an Eero mesh is listed as another
option. (Unfortunately having no WiFi at all is not an option.)
I suggest that the text be re-worded for greater clarity.

- What is the RG model that one might expect to be renting, and do
they give customers any choice? The Sonic pages don't say,
although there is a picture of several candidates lined up which
appear to have AT&T labels. AT&T's own website lists the BGW210,
BGW320, NVG589, NVG599, and Pace 5268. Recent forum posts have
mentioned the BGW210.

- I was also wondering if there had been any more progress on
making it easier to bridge the modem/RG to our own routers, but
recent forum posts are not promising. Oh well.

- And finally, what's up with the price increase? It used to be
$49.99 and as of today is $59.99, and it's not September 10 yet.

Just to recap, the most important question is whether IPBB-C can be
provisioned while keeping the AT&T installer outside. This seems like
such an obvious win-win for sufficiently technical and at-risk
customers, but no Sonic staff seem to know the answer.

Perhaps Sonic customers do...

Thanks in advance!

(p.s. first ever Sonic forum post -- hello!)

[jerrielm]

I've been a happy Sonic DSL customer for a long time, but would now
like to order the latest hotness that is supposedly available in my
otherwise fiberless area, namely the "Fusion IPBB-C" tier promising
75Mb/s (also known as "FTTN" aka Fiber-To-The-Node, formerly known as
"Fusion IP Broadband X3" (or X2? who can keep track?))

However, I had a question about the installation process that neither
Sales nor Support reps were able to answer -- they just told me to try
calling AT&T, which is always a frustrating exercise for a deaf
person. Before wasting more hours of my life dealing with AT&T, I'd
first like to try running my question past the Sonic community.

(BTW I've already found and read most of the posts that mention "IPBB",
of which the most relevant is that from "srikar":
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=15681
which was both very informative and very concerning.)

So, my question:

Can it be arranged for the AT&T installer to simply ensure that
their modem/RG works at the MPOE (where I can provide AC power for
testing) and then leave it up to me to bring their device inside
and integrate it with my head end?

(MPOE = Minimum Point Of Entry, aka Demarc, TNI, etc)

There are two reasons:

(1) The most important is COVID-19. No one except my own at-risk
family has been allowed inside since the lockdown began, and we
are trying very hard to keep it that way, especially as friends
and neighbors have been sickened. Note this plan would also
protect the AT&T installer as well.

(2) The second reason is more geeky. I already have 4 twisted pairs (3
available, so pair bonding is OK) going directly from the MPOE
into my head end patch panel, which is hidden from casual access
by a large number of racks, boxes, and assorted equipment. I have
maintained everything myself for the last 30 years or so
(including phone lines, DSL lines, sat feeds, cable feeds, muxes
and switches and routers, oh my) and would quite prefer to not
have an AT&T tech blundering about and mucking with my setup.

Can that be arranged? How? Note I can correspond via texts with the
installer if that would work -- just not via a voice call.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I also had a few other minor questions for Sonic. Some have already
been answered in this forum, but I'll toss them in here anyway:

- I want this service to be IN ADDITION to my existing Sonic
DSL/phone landline service (which is the active one of the 4
twisted pairs), not a replacement or upgrade. I'm concerned
because the order form doesn't have a place for additional
instructions, nor does the "Upgrade or Downgrade Service" menu
option, and it's essential that our landline NOT be mistakenly
disconnected. How to ensure this?

- I'm another customer who wishes IPBB-C didn't come with an ATA
(Analog Telephone Adapter) at all, since I will NEVER use it and
will be rather miffed about having to pay a monthly "ATA rental"
fee for the equivalent of a useless and unwanted nose zit.
Unfortunately it appears that Sonic's hands are presently tied in
this regard, even though I was able to decline it from Comcast.

- The 9.50 "Modem rental" fee is confusing because it says "Sonic
WiFi Gateway" although the modem/RG cames from AT&T, not Sonic,
giving me the impression that the Sonic gateway is in addition to
the AT&T device, especially as an Eero mesh is listed as another
option. (Unfortunately having no WiFi at all is not an option.)
I suggest that the text be re-worded for greater clarity.

- What is the RG model that one might expect to be renting, and do
they give customers any choice? The Sonic pages don't say,
although there is a picture of several candidates lined up which
appear to have AT&T labels. AT&T's own website lists the BGW210,
BGW320, NVG589, NVG599, and Pace 5268. Recent forum posts have
mentioned the BGW210.

- I was also wondering if there had been any more progress on
making it easier to bridge the modem/RG to our own routers, but
recent forum posts are not promising. Oh well.

- And finally, what's up with the price increase? It used to be
$49.99 and as of today is $59.99, and it's not September 10 yet.

Just to recap, the most important question is whether IPBB-C can be
provisioned while keeping the AT&T installer outside. This seems like
such an obvious win-win for sufficiently technical and at-risk
customers, but no Sonic staff seem to know the answer.

Perhaps Sonic customers do...

Thanks in advance!

(p.s. first ever Sonic forum post -- hello!)

Hello and Welcome to the Sonic forums!

1)I right now am working with my ILEC (Team that talks to AT&T) Manager and we are working with AT&T to see if this is a possibility.

2)Your DSL line can be kept. I would communicate this to the AT&T installer which twisted pairs you would want the IPBB service on. As for ordering the service you will need to make the request on our website at

3)The ATA is sadly not removable from the services. The Router is an AT&T router. I do agree that the wording on this is a bit weird. I am going to see if we can get it changed or clarified.

4) The router's model is not told to us before the installation sadly. The BGW210 is what i have been seeing a lot with recent installations.

5)Bridging the AT&T routers is not possible. You can do something similar that is called IP pass-though.

6) Its not so much a price increase but more of a service change. These were changes that AT&T did on their end that we have to follow. Luckily this gives you a bit more bang for your buck .

I hope I answered your questions and if you have any other please fee free to message me back!

Best Wishes!

[klui]

6) Its not so much a price increase but more of a service change. These were changes that AT&T did on their end that we have to follow. Luckily this gives you a bit more bang for your buck .

What does this mean??? What kind of bang is one getting from ATT after the price increase?

[jerrielm]

more speed for a lesser price. I just got off the phone with my ILec Manager and thy said that we could try to meet your needs. We could put in the request to get someone to do what you would like for the installation but its a 50/50 shot if they do do it. I hope this answers your question.

[klui]

more speed for a lesser price. I just got off the phone with my ILec Manager and thy said that we could try to meet your needs. We could put in the request to get someone to do what you would like for the installation but its a 50/50 shot if they do do it. I hope this answers your question.

Sorry, still not following. Moving forward, for $59.99 what kinds of speeds would one expect?

I migrated from X1 to FX1 @50 Mbps last year. My first several bills were $50 for the base rate. The most recent bills showed the base rate of $49.99. ATT has always over provisioned the line and I got and continue to get 60 Mbps download/upload. After today, Sep 11 2020, what will the speed be for FX1 at $59.99?

I'm just trying to understand what the additional benefit--the more bang that you wrote about--is.

Thanks!

[amayfield]

There is no longer any tiering on IPBB offerings. Depending on your location you will qualify for IPBB-F which is Gigabit Fiber; or IPBB-C which is Fiber to the Node Copper to the Home at whatever speed is feasible at your location - up to 75Mb/s. The base, non-promo price sans taxes and fees for IPBB-C is $59.99, for IPBB-F it's $69.99.

[apl]

Just out of curiosity (I am currently satisfied with price/performance), is there an upgrade path for existing customers on FX-1 or FX-2? Member tools used to tell me I could upgrade from FX-1 to FX-2 or FX-3. Now it shows nothing available.

[amayfield]

There isn't an upgrade path no. To switch over to IPBB-F you'd have to cancel your current IPBB FX-1 service and place a new order for IPBB-F, which would result in some down time, and possibly considerable downtime.

[klui]

Thanks Andrew. I understand now. Does this mean existing subscribers will migrate to the new tier or is this policy only for new subscribers/migrators? No wonder last week when I checked for internet plan updates there were none. I like to see if Sonic has started building out your fiber network here and occasionally look from time to time.

[chirano]

Same question here. My service was set up for 50 Mbps when I signed up years ago, and the speed hasn't changed since then. According to the Pace gateway, the max user rate is about 20 Mbps higher. Will the speed cap on existing lines be lifted?