Oakland Communications Service Provider Choice Ordinance

[kintobor]

Hi, my property manager is trying to deny a tenant access to Sonic in a neighboring building because they had to drill a small hole on the outside (presumably for fiber access). They did the same thing when I moved in a couple years ago and asked to get Monkeybrains installed, since Sonic fiber isn't currently available at my address. Because of that I ended up going with Sonic ADSL service at the time, which was the only alternative to Comcast or AT&T. The only reason for the denial is concern of the small hole for the cable on the outside of the building. It's hard to make sense of since it would cost them nothing, improve the lives of their tenants, and probably increase the rental value/appeal of their units.

Last year there was a bill passed in Oakland (which Sonic helped sponsor) that provides protection for tenants who want to use alternative ISPs. Am I reading this correctly that it is now illegal to deny service like this?

If so, I hope the tenant next to me has been informed and doesn't get forced to downgrade to DSL like I did.

Section 8.66.030 - No Interference by Property Owner

A. No property owner shall interfere with the right of an occupant to obtain communication
services from the communication services provider of the occupant’s choice.

B. A property owner interferes with the occupant’s choice of communication services
provider by, among other things, refusing to allow a communication services provider to
install the facilities and equipment necessary to provide communication services or use
any existing wiring not currently in use by another provider to provide communication
services as required by this ordinance.

https://www.eff.org/document/oaklands-c ... -ordinance

https://oaklandinternetchoice.com/

[brandonc]

Hi Michael,

If your neighbor's address is eligible for service on our website to order, then they should be able to get installed. We always go through thorough discussions with the landlord/property management about how to install everything and make all accommodations possible to allow us to provide service, even if we have to do things a bit differently than we would normally. We also provide proof of insurance to reassure them everything will go smoothly and be covered by Sonic. Typically that works out well in most cases and we're able to get things installed just fine.

However, in cases where they are just completely stonewalling permission to install service in areas where there is a "right-to-choose" ordinance/law in place, we can pursue means of escalation via litigation in order to try to clear the hurdle of the landlord/property management denying service at the location. Although, this is a last resort and we prefer just talking things over with them to get permission.

Kind regards,