by
dane » Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:35 am
bwanaben wrote:Hi Folks
I live 7 miles outside of downtown Healdsburg. My connection is DIAL UP !! When will Sonic provide high speed internet accesibility in not so rural Sonoma County? It’s 2018, not 1994 (which incidentally,is how long I have been a customer of Sonic.net)
Rural markets are a huge challenge, for every carrier. Incumbents (AT&T and Comcast) have an advantage over Sonic, as they've got existing infrastructure to leverage, but even they cannot serve some locations.
Is fixed wireless an option, from Vista, Rhinobee, AVISP, etc? A mobile hotspot may also be an option, if you've got coverage, but don't plan to use it for streaming - pair with DISH TV or another solution for entertainment. Satellite internet also has gotten better and better over the years.
We have seen some success in rural areas with subsidized projects for un-served regions. Race Communications is currently building a gigabit fiber network in Occidental, and Sonic is assisting by providing them their backhaul from the rural market back to San Francisco. They're also doing projects in Boron, Phalen, and are in the process of acquiring a struggling project in the foothills of the Sierras. These subsidized projects are funded by the State of CA, typically 70% of the cost of building them, but even then it's a struggle for these builders sometimes.
