Petaluma Residential Gigabit

[pockyken007]

I did a search on the forums for 'Petaluma' specifically in hopes to find details about fiber coming to Petaluma (and specifically from Sonic). I am extremely interested in this. I'm as interested in fiber almost as much as I'm as interested in oxygen and clean water. Please make it available!

I read, not long ago, about business fiber becoming available (in 2017?). Should that be taken as a hint residential is not far behind?

the two don't always go in tandem but it is an indication that things are moving

[kevinmann68]

Dane, the last time I spoke to you on these boards you told me that the gigabit fiber required aerial lines here in Petaluma. Last week on my way home from Kaiser, through the business park, what do I see but Sonic Fiber now being installed and no, there are no aerial lines over there. So, when can we expect it across the street (Lakeville Hwy) here at SouthGate? I have lots of neighbors ready to dump AT&T and comcast!

Thanks,
Kevin Mann

[ekosf]

Second that! Another interested Southgate, Petaluma resident looking to spread the word and switch over to Gigabit!

[kevinmann68]

And strangely, we're met with silence ...

[andsonic]

Sonic has commercial clients in those business parks. My employer is a customer in Santa Rosa. They have said nothing of adding residential customers to lines, that they have pulled for commercial customers.
It would be cool if they could...

[mandk]

Your response does little to answer the body of my question, such as why Dane told me that it was not possible to do fiber except from existing poles. He could have clarified and said, except for business clients but I think that he and I both know that would have drawn the ire of a lot of people on this forum. It's always nice to see businesses just across the street getting something that you were promised a year ago and knowing you may not get it in your lifetime because - money=power.

At least Sonic aren't as bad as AT&T & Comcast,
K. Mann

[dane]

Your response does little to answer the body of my question, such as why Dane told me that it was not possible to do fiber except from existing poles. He could have clarified and said, except for business clients but I think that he and I both know that would have drawn the ire of a lot of people on this forum. It's always nice to see businesses just across the street getting something that you were promised a year ago and knowing you may not get it in your lifetime because - money=power.

At least Sonic aren't as bad as AT&T & Comcast,
K. Mann

Residential fiber construction is prioritized based upon two factors: construction cost, and uptake. Aerial construction is about 1/3 the cost of underground construction, so uptake in an underground region would need to be roughly 3x that of an otherwise similar aerial region for us to prioritize one above the other.

Business fiber is a different business model: we seek concentrations of business customers that are near existing fiber optic plant, and pre-sell with a success based build. In other words, if enough businesses sign up, we do the construction. And because businesses are typically spending $500-$2000 per month, and because underground construction is less costly in a business park than a residential neighborhood, we're often able to make the business case.

We continue to expand our residential fiber optic service reach, and I'm pleased to say that the business model is working and scaling well. As consumer awareness climbs and uptake continues to increase, we're able to build higher and higher cost areas, which is very good news.

That being said, it's certainly never been my intention to promise you anything, a year ago nor today. We'll continue to make our best efforts to expand as rapidly as possible, but until we open an area for orders, there's really no assurance we can give.

[andsonic]

By the way, there's a great interview with Dane on Twit.tv. They just happen to be a Sonic business customer in a Petaluma business park.

[ekosf]

For those who are curious, another "competitor" is now offering Gigabit (1000) and 2000 - Download only for $100 and $300 respectively.
Upload is probably slow just like the lower packages. Unfortunately theres the usual data usage cap.

I really hope this does not affect the chances of Southgate and neighboring areas in Petaluma getting Sonic.net Gigabit in the future.

[slo]

Full duplex DOCSIS 3.1 is out which is 10gbit down and 10gbit up over HFC. I'm afraid Sonic will just be too slow to this area. https://www.cablelabs.com/full-duplex-docsis/