I am writing on behalf of the residents of the 1900 block of Yosemite Road in Berkeley, CA. When Sonic installed fiber in our neighborhood in about 2019 (?), Sonic did not install fiber on the 1/4 mile long portion of our street. We are 27 homes and potential fiber customers for Sonic (some of us are already DSL customers). Help us understand why you created our fiber-less island and what we can do to help Sonic fill in this gap in Sonic fiber coverage.
I have been a loyal Sonic customer since about 2019. Shortly thereafter, I was elated to witness the team of Sonic crews who installed fiber in the neighborhood. When I noticed they did not come to the 1900 block of my street, Sonic managers on site repeatedly told me it was because of a “bad pole.”
During that 2019 install, seemingly every street around me, the streets immediately to the North, East, South, and West, have Sonic fiber. We are a 1/4 mile long fiber-less island surrounded by a sea tens of miles wide of Sonic-installed fiber.
In a January 4, 2024 response from the Sonic team (Sonic #7372126) to my request for Sonic to install fiber, your team responded with the following:
]We appreciate your frustration with the DSL service, and the service availability with the fiber. To clarify, our Fiber engineering team has reviewed the address, and in order to expand into that area, we would need to perform undergrounded work to access the "island" of your neighborhood. While you have utility poles and aerial service at the local street level, our Fiber engineering team has determined that those poles are serviced through an undergrounded area that we cannot access and build out at this time.
Why exactly can’t Sonic access the underground area and what can the residents of the 1900 block do to help Sonic gain access? We are willing to lobby on your behalf and to ask local politicians for support. The street at the end of our street, Arlington Ave, does not have utility poles. The utilities are undergrounded. Does this have something to do with it? I believe Sonic provides fiber service on Arlington Ave. It just doesn’t make sense.
Last week, a Sonic technician and an AT&T technician visited my home to try to determine why my Sonic DSL connection regularly drops. Unfortunately, they failed. After five months of working with Sonic technicians on this problem, I have to give up my Sonic DSL; it is no longer reliable. (In fact, while writing this, I had reset my modem again, because internet dropped.) You are about to lose a loyal customer.
I know that another neighbor on my block who is a current Sonic DSL customer is similarly being forced to leave Sonic. We love Sonic’s great service. But without fiber, we are going to have to switch to an ISP that provides internet over coaxial cable. That’s sad for us and bad business for Sonic.
What is Sonic going to do to retain me as a customer and potentially gain 20 plus more customers on Yosemite Road?
Many thanks!
I have been a loyal Sonic customer since about 2019. Shortly thereafter, I was elated to witness the team of Sonic crews who installed fiber in the neighborhood. When I noticed they did not come to the 1900 block of my street, Sonic managers on site repeatedly told me it was because of a “bad pole.”
During that 2019 install, seemingly every street around me, the streets immediately to the North, East, South, and West, have Sonic fiber. We are a 1/4 mile long fiber-less island surrounded by a sea tens of miles wide of Sonic-installed fiber.
In a January 4, 2024 response from the Sonic team (Sonic #7372126) to my request for Sonic to install fiber, your team responded with the following:
]We appreciate your frustration with the DSL service, and the service availability with the fiber. To clarify, our Fiber engineering team has reviewed the address, and in order to expand into that area, we would need to perform undergrounded work to access the "island" of your neighborhood. While you have utility poles and aerial service at the local street level, our Fiber engineering team has determined that those poles are serviced through an undergrounded area that we cannot access and build out at this time.
Why exactly can’t Sonic access the underground area and what can the residents of the 1900 block do to help Sonic gain access? We are willing to lobby on your behalf and to ask local politicians for support. The street at the end of our street, Arlington Ave, does not have utility poles. The utilities are undergrounded. Does this have something to do with it? I believe Sonic provides fiber service on Arlington Ave. It just doesn’t make sense.
Last week, a Sonic technician and an AT&T technician visited my home to try to determine why my Sonic DSL connection regularly drops. Unfortunately, they failed. After five months of working with Sonic technicians on this problem, I have to give up my Sonic DSL; it is no longer reliable. (In fact, while writing this, I had reset my modem again, because internet dropped.) You are about to lose a loyal customer.
I know that another neighbor on my block who is a current Sonic DSL customer is similarly being forced to leave Sonic. We love Sonic’s great service. But without fiber, we are going to have to switch to an ISP that provides internet over coaxial cable. That’s sad for us and bad business for Sonic.
What is Sonic going to do to retain me as a customer and potentially gain 20 plus more customers on Yosemite Road?
Many thanks!
