Comcast vs. Sonic

General discussions and other topics.
5 posts Page 1 of 1
by zln » Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:09 am
Why should I switch from Comcast to Sonic? How are they comparable? What are the pro's and con's? Sonic looks cheaper, but why is that? -Thanks!
by liamo » Wed Jul 25, 2018 1:33 pm
When it comes to comparing Sonic v Comcast looking into it a few ways might be the best point of view.

Depending on what your main concern is and what package you are looking at can make or break the contest.

If the price is the main concern then the main thing that comes into play is the package comparison. Sonic has 3 packages to choose from depending on your location. Fusion (x1,x2) FTTN (x1,x2) and Fiber. Comcast will be similar on location as well but because they are a larger company and a larger network they might have better speeds on a person to person location.
Sonic's price point is a lot more fair as you start with a set price with a promotional and after the promotional it goes month to month that does not change (taxes can change this slightly by cents.) I have both Comcast and Sonic and the Comcast 250mbps line is costing me 95$ now after 4 years when it started at 75$ at a 2 year contract. Price increases seem to be a big thing for Comcast in which you could call them get in another contract and possibly lower the price point again. Sonic has had 1 in the last 8 years which was needed to cover fiber costs and inflation.

Comcast speed depending on the area can be better but will cost more. If you can get fiber it will be cheaper period. I can get gigabyle at my home but it would cost me 100$ more! That's almost 200 a month in which fiber for Sonic is more that half of that. I checked on this early this year for that price point. Comcast has a bigger network for speeds for people in most locations because they are a huge company. Sonic has a good portion of fiber in SF, Brentwood and expanding more in the bay area.

Sonic also does not have data caps. Coming from someone who has both services the data cap is at 1 terabyte per month. 2-3 people including myself have not hit this cap yet and I am streaming videos, gaming, Youtube, game downloading etc. If you have a bigger family that cap could be a burden with more fees tied on to it.

Sonic has a phone line with all the packages. This is included with the services which if you need a phone service it helps save on that. My 95$ a month would go to 110+ with included phone line as well. This could go into the price comparison but the phone line gets a honorable mention.

Customer support for Sonic is fantastic compared to Comcast. Thankfully I have never had to contact them personally as the service has never had an issue for me but I have heard many negative reviews from people I know and online about the support Comcast gives and it has never been great. Sonic has great support and friendly staff to help with many issues that could come across from the service to email to many things in between. I've heard horror stories from people calling Comcast going from tree to tree or Rep to Rep which does not sound like it solved the issue. When you call Sonic you get a Rep who is very knowledgeable about all the services and there is no tree to pass down or a "tier" of tech support.

If you have any questions/concerns on this let me know.
Liam O.
Sonic Community & Escalations Specialist
by shebreaksthings » Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:54 am
OP: I hope you don't mind my tagging on your thread, it seemed silly to start a new one but I'm not sure of the policy here.

I'm also considering a switch from Comcast to Sonic. Comcast has proven USELESS when it comes to troubleshooting connection issues. I once spent 45 minutes (3 calls) on the phone with them "running diagnostics" before I got suspicious and asked them to confirm the make and model of my modem. They had the wrong information. It took me 3 more calls to get the information updated.

It feels a little bit like they punish customers who don't fall for the monthly rental scheme they are running. I bought my router and modem myself after learning about the way they siphoned off bandwidth for their xfinity hotspots and since then my connection has been problematic.

Sorry for rambling, but I think my questions are relevant:

1) what are Sonic's policies around rental equipment (or the lack thereof)?

2) is it true that the $10/month discount for new subscribers only applies to accounts with rental equipment (the cost of which is $10)? And if so, is there an alternative promotion for customers who don't want to rent equipment?

3) I'm in Oakland, California and I've confirmed Sonic is available in my location, how long would it take for service to be connected if I place an order today?

4) Would it require an in-home visit or can I self-install?

Thank you in advance for any info you can provide. Have a great day!
by liamo » Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:32 pm
1) what are Sonic's policies around rental equipment (or the lack thereof)?

1a) We provide equipment for all of our services. Depending on the service we provide you can opt out of the equipment rental if you prefer. FTTN services requires the modem and can not be opted out of. Fusion x 1 and x 2 as well as Fiber can use your own equipment. If you use your own equipment it is unsupported by our tech support as we only do training on our equipment. Basic troubleshooting can still be provided but if the tech can not figure out the issue it will be up to you to contact your manufacture.

On the plus side of renting our equipment you are opted into our Wire Plan which you can find more information here : https://wiki.sonic.net/wiki/Sonic_Wire_Plan . This covers the cost of tech visits for line issues, modem replacement etc. Our equipment is fully supported and trained on so we can figure out a problem if one happens.

2) is it true that the $10/month discount for new subscribers only applies to accounts with rental equipment (the cost of which is $10)? And if so, is there an alternative promotion for customers who don't want to rent equipment?

2a) The modem is required for the promotional discount. There is currently no way to change this or another option at this time.

3) I'm in Oakland, California and I've confirmed Sonic is available in my location, how long would it take for service to be connected if I place an order today?

3a) It takes roughly about 2 weeks total to get services up and running. It takes about a week for processing the order and then another week to get a installer out to deliver the line or to install the service as well.

4) Would it require an in-home visit or can I self-install?

4a) This also depends on the service. FTTN requires a in-home visit as well as Fiber. Fusion x1 is a self install which depending on the inside wiring can lead to a tech visit. Fusion x2 can be a self install but it is recommended for a in-home due to wiring complications.
Liam O.
Sonic Community & Escalations Specialist
by oddhack » Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:20 pm
I'm not happy being a Comcast customer since I moved from Hayward, mostly on general principle, but the cost/performance numbers crush Sonic for all services except fiber. I'm getting 6x the download performance I had from Sonic VDSL x2 in Alameda, for $10 less/month. Yes, I expect them to try to raise that in a year, and that's a hassle, but even if I lowered two speed tiers, I'd *still* be getting much better price/performance than Sonic could deliver.

I'd love it if Sonic ran fiber here, but my expectation of Sonic ever doing fiber rollout in Hayward is at the same level as my expectation that the President will ever stop lying reflexively and start behaving like an adult - zero.
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