Anything other Sonic approved equipment is considered nonstandard; as such, troubleshooting with such equipment makes it more difficult for tech support since part of troubleshooting is done using the modem itself which has firmware specifically customized for Sonic.digitalbitstream wrote:You speak with a forked tongue. On one side of the tongue customers can "bring their own equipment",dane wrote:I recommend members use the equipment we supply. YMMV with anything else.
on the other side they really can't.
Offer us a buyout option: sell your loyal advanced customers a suitable bridge with no inside wiring plan, for a fixed price. You'd have a new Fusion X2 customer today, if you changed this silly rental policy.
From Sonic's POV, the policy is not silly if you look at it as insurance, which is what it amounts to. Insurance has no real payoff if you never have to use it except that you can feel safe that you have it if something does go wrong. I'm stating the obvious, here. When I had ATT U-verse, I did have the option for inside wiring and it costs about as much as what Sonic is charging.
I can see your point on some kind of buyout; but, if you desire that, don't complain if have a problem that can't be resolved without a technician coming to your door. Just one visit could cost you more than one year of rental. Look at it that way. If you are able to do your own troubleshooting, then the rental fee makes no sense, unless you just like to save the few $ per month.