Gigabit Berkeley

Internet access discussion, including Fusion, IP Broadband, and Gigabit Fiber!
640 posts Page 8 of 64
by cmeisel » Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:15 pm
Susan wengraf also mailed our neighborhood group back and told us that:
Sonic will get the last permit needed for their fiber install later this week. A significant portion of AT&T conduit which Sonic leased and expected to be able to use for their new fiber install was recently found to be collapsed and they now are working to repair it. This delayed the project by several months due to construction coordination and additional permitting
by dane » Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:53 pm
I’m unsure if we’ll be allowed to do that work, I’m not fully informed on the local rules but I think that underground construction may be disallowed Nov 1st to the end of the year due to the holiday shopping season. But hopefully I’m not right on this - we’ll learn more when that’s issued, what the conditions are.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by alxyang24 » Thu Nov 01, 2018 8:47 pm
aanon4 wrote:
alxyang24 wrote:
bryanhaggerty wrote:Dane, what exactly does that mean for those of us in that region? MLK has always seemed like the dividing line due to underground utilities. What is slowing down this region from being turned on?

Also cool of you to share the exact details, appreciate the transparency with that.
Apparently we may be connected to Albany CO since it seems we are now live?

Hopefully you got the were almost ready email in the last few weeks and the email that was just sent out today, but it seems Sonic is scheduling out installs now for our "FDA", I just scheduled mine for Mid November, can't wait to give Comcast the boot!
Wondered what FDA you were in? I got the "almost there" email this morning ... but I often get those.
According to Dane post on beginning page 4, its FDA 22?

I got an email mid october with the following:
"SONIC GIGABIT FIBER INTERNET + HOME PHONE IS NOW AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA!
Since you've already pre-ordered service (and are a genuinely wonderful human being), we have begun processing your order and will send you email updates periodically.

Here's what happens next:

*Scheduling your installation: We have a couple steps we need to complete before we schedule your installation. As soon as we're ready to schedule, we'll contact you. Typically, installations are scheduled 1-14 days from the time we begin processing your order. Due to high order volume, installations may be scheduled up to 30 days after we begin processing your order. your After successful installation, your home or small business internet and phone service will be up and running.

Equipment: A Sonic technician will bring and install your residential gateway (router) during your installation appointment.
"

Then it lists your account info etc etc.

Today's email was the following:

"It's time to schedule your Sonic installation!

Schedule your installation by visiting the following link to choose an available date and time:

Click here to schedule
"
by wardst » Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:18 pm
These explanations make no sense. How can you be “under construction” and “breaking ground in a few months”?

Why can’t you communicate clearly to customers along the lines of
1. What has caused the delay
2. A specific date range of when my block can expect service?

Holidays are a lame reason when I was told I would have service in September.

My contract with Comcast ended in August. I am paying the higher, non-promotional rates every month I wait for sonic to connect me up. It would have been cheaper to re-up with Comcast.
by cmeisel » Mon Nov 05, 2018 10:40 am
I am in the same boat. By Comcast cost now what att fiber would cost (available now) and if we would bundle with Uverse fiber and tv would cost what I pay now for tv alone. I am holding out for sonic but if it takes me deep into 2019 I would rather not wait. Considering I see no sonic fiber anywhere near by I am not hopeful but let’s see what happens. Will re-evaluate in December
by dane » Mon Nov 05, 2018 11:18 am
wardst wrote:These explanations make no sense. How can you be “under construction” and “breaking ground in a few months”?
Because some regions are under construction, while others will start soon, pending permit issuance.
Why can’t you communicate clearly to customers along the lines of
1. What has caused the delay
2. A specific date range of when my block can expect service?

Holidays are a lame reason when I was told I would have service in September.
Delays have been caused by a number of things, including permits as well as engineering and construction delays. The issues vary by region, for example we've got a huge group of customers who we cannot get online until we do a single directional bore between a vault and a pole - but the street where that must be done was recently re-paved, so it requires a special exemption. And the City has the right to disallow any construction on downtown streets during the holiday shopping season, so as soon as November 1st arrived with no permit issued, this may result in additional delay.

The holiday moratorium is an option for the City because they want to protect local retailers who would be impacted if downtown streets were blocked by construction during this critical portion of the retail season. We are certainly understanding of the impacts on local retailers and the public, so we have got to work with the City to determine what is achievable while minimizing any impact.

We also have regions where the City would like to review the aesthetics of the passive fiber optic patching cabinets that go on the utility poles, and we are negotiating that issue too. I think that concerns about both powered Cable-TV boxes and about new wireless and 5G deployments may have caught up our passive (no electronics) splitter cabinets too. They are not a wireless facility, nor do they contain any electronics, produce any EMF, nor do they have lights or have fans or make noise, etc - they are just a passive optical splitter housing cabinet - but we need to work through demonstrating all of that and justifying their size, aesthetics and locations.
My contract with Comcast ended in August. I am paying the higher, non-promotional rates every month I wait for sonic to connect me up. It would have been cheaper to re-up with Comcast.
I am sorry for our failure to meet our projected time-frames. We have learned lessons from that experience, and have as a result stopped providing members with estimates on the signup pages at this point, as it's just impossible to assure we'll meet them as we work with each new City's standards and requirements. We had become a bit complacent due to the automated online permitting processes at the City of San Francisco, where the construction and encroachment permits and traffic plans are all managed online and are issued at a consistent and fast pace.

I do hope that you will stick with us - the savings and the reliable high-performance product should be a win in the long term.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by dane » Mon Nov 05, 2018 2:55 pm
Good news: I just got word from outside plant that our permit for the CO entrance construction on the street affected by the paving moratorium has been issued, and it is likely as a result that we will be able to complete this work before the holiday shopping season moratorium goes into effect. This will result in activation of a big group of fiber distribution areas that have been stuck pending that work, and if all goes smoothly, more rapid activation than we've previously projected. :D :D :D
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by timrmaurer » Mon Nov 05, 2018 4:04 pm
dane wrote:Good news: I just got word from outside plant that our permit for the CO entrance construction on the street affected by the paving moratorium has been issued, and it is likely as a result that we will be able to complete this work before the holiday shopping season moratorium goes into effect. This will result in activation of a big group of fiber distribution areas that have been stuck pending that work, and if all goes smoothly, more rapid activation than we've previously projected. :D :D :D
Getting my hopes up! Is the area bounded by University-Sacramento-Dwight-San Pablo (Poet's Corner) among the areas that might see service soon?

Regards,
Tim
by dane » Mon Nov 05, 2018 4:08 pm
No, that region is still awaiting review of our splitter cabinets, see above for detail on that.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by ds_sonic_asif » Mon Nov 05, 2018 4:25 pm
Thank you for the updates Dane. Looking forward to getting hooked up.
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