Required Modem--Extra 16.3% - 32.5% Per Month?

[tanzella]

Hi,
I too was surprised to see the modem rental on my bill upon checkout. I don't remember seeing that option during sign-up. I would like to own and maintain my own separate DSL modem and router. I will be using an Apple Airport Extreme router for compatibility with Time Machine. My modem arrived today (the UPS package is still unopened) but my service doesn't start for a few days. Can I return the modem and remove the $6.50 rental charge from my service?

[dane]

No, the modem is required for service. It is our point of test and demarcation, and is integrated with the service. This allows support to see performance and troubleshooting resources for your DSL and LAN.

[msyi1204]

digitalbitstream,
I nearly agree with you, but I think they should truly take the high road, and market the service at $49.95 per month, with a $3.50 discount for putting up with storing a buggy pace unit with a poor user interface, and buggy bits for device discovery and port forwarding. But the people doing support have a GREAT attitude, and flawless communication and relationship skills.

[bbusby]

It is time to admit defeat -- SELL the bloody modem and/or goose the rate a tsukoshi if you have to... just lose this leased model that fools no one and hurts your (you heard the prideful joy with your support staff in their post!) very positive and customer accretive image.

[aaazen]

I'm a new Fusion customer that started in August 2012 and I was an At&t DSL customer for many years.

It is silly to point to one fee on a bill and complain.
Will your overall cost of phone/DSL be lower with Sonic?

My overall cost is lower and I get the following benefits of Sonic over At&t:
1) Faster DSL speed by 30%
2) Great customer service.
3) Free long distance anywhere in the US and Canada.
4) Free voicemail.
5) A new 802.11n router which is much faster than my old g router, especially for in-home video streaming.

I'm a happy camper and my bill is much lower than it was with At&t.

[tanzella]

I was strongly recommended by a present Sonic customer who said he pays $40/month, uses his own modem and router, and the extremely friendly and knowledgeable tech support people are more than happy to help him troubleshoot his personal modem and router. With that sort of recommendation it was a bit of a shock to see the modem charge for the first time at checkout and not sooner in the sign up process. He was also stunned when I told him that it would sot me another $4 to get an extra email address. I guess this isn't the same company that he joined last year.

[dane]

Your account includes 15 email boxes, so there is no charge there. The only difference is the new equipment, which also brings a number of benefits - better wifi, end-to-end Sonic service responsibility, future automatic upgrades and features for example.

New customers today save $35 as there is a waiver on activation now, and get better equipment, but do now pay an equipment fee, so yes, it's not quite the same price point and offering as it was.

[kkeller]

Hi Dane,

I agree with digitalbitstream's comment: why not simply roll the "lease" price into the Fusion charges for new customers? Or, if you need a monthly lease payment in order to maintain ownership of the DSL modem, make it a more reasonable price: say $45/month for Fusion, and $1.50/month for the modem rental. I think prospective customers might feel less bitter about the mandatory lease fee if it doesn't seem like such a large proportion of the overall monthly rate. If you haven't been reading ba.internet recently, there's yet another thread of people complaining about the high lease charges: they see it as "I could have bought a new ADSL2 modem after less than a year of lease fees". But if it's $45 for Fusion and $1.50 for the modem, the mental calculation feels different even if it comes out to the same dollar amount.

If there's a particular reason for maintaining such a large rental charge for the modem, I think the Sonic community would benefit from hearing it even if many of us have been grandfathered in.

[dane]

If we embed the cost of the equipment into the price of service, various taxes attach, which drives up overall cost for customers. This is one of the reasons that all the major service providers now separate the cost of equipment as a monthly fee.

[kkeller]

Hi Dane, that is a great explanation, thanks. Are you allowed to put this explanation somewhere on the web site, so prospective customers can see it? They might feel better about the equipment fee if they realize it ultimately saves them money.

Come to think of it, maybe Fusion should be free and the equipment lease should be $47/month. ;-)