by
emp-12 » Wed Jan 15, 2025 2:41 pm
After reading through some of the recent posts on this thread, we wanted to provide an update on the situation in Concord as well as some context as to why simply the presence of Sonic fiber on a bypass pole, while certainly some level of progress, does not necessarily correlate to internet service being turned up immediately. This information is also inclusive of recent updates from our regulatory team and their efforts working this issue as I assure you this is a critical area of concern and focus for Sonic in Concord, Walnut Creek and many other communities in California that we have plans to serve.
As you know, Sonic has been working with the city of Concord and both AT&T and PG&E (joint owners of many of the poles in question impacting our build efforts within Concord) for some time. Without getting into too many specifics, we have accelerated the exploration of our regulatory options to advance our arguments about more timely pole replacement the last 6-9 months. This effort has resulted in more frequent and direct operational discussions with PG&E (and others) with respect to how to better address the “backlog” of poles that have previously been identified as needing replacement but have not yet been remediated or replaced to date. For what it is worth, although this is a broader issue for Sonic, we used the poles identified in our Concord projects as needing replacement as our most critical example of need for improvement in this area with PG&E.
Unfortunately, while there have been some verbal commitments and updates provided to Sonic on pole replacement efforts and plans by PG&E, at this time we don’t have any firm commitments that we can take to the city yet on replacement schedules that will completely free these projects up to move forward as we would like. As you are aware from your own engagement, having that pole replacement schedule committed to by PG&E is the linchpin in moving this entire process forward from the city’s perspective on granting bypass pole permits. Sonic remains committed to these efforts and we continue to look at all our options and reach a final decision point soon. I know it may seem obvious that litigation with the CPUC is the only choice remaining, whether it be via a formal complaint or other means (such as seeking modification to the existing pole attachment rules in California). That very well may still be the case as we agree the existing status quo cannot continue, but doing so comes with a risk of having the short-term goals delayed further as once something formal is filed with the CPUC, the cooperations and collaboration we have been seeing from PG&E (or any entity) will likely dissipate, as they would focus on preparing to defend the merits of their arguments against accelerating or defining pole replacement timelines rather than the issues at hand. Sonic takes none of that lightly when assessing all these options. Rest assured this is an issue that is impacting Sonic and our prospective customers in many communities, not just Concord, so it will remain a critical issue we keep focus on.
There was also mention of seeing Sonic fiber attached on some bypass poles and some frustration with still not seeing any improvement for a go live date for internet service from us in those areas. That is completely understandable when you see that progress “on the ground”. However, what may not be as evident in those locations is that there are still other pole runs within the scope of that same project for a particular fiber distribution area that are impacted by poles we cannot yet attach to as they stand. In order for us to go live for an area, we must complete all the fiber deployment in a given area. If some of those examples of bypass poles with Sonic fiber now attached are recent, that very well may be due to some of the aforementioned collaboration we have had with PG&E in the back half of 2024 to try to drive to a better process for replacing poles. We hope to see that progress continue and accelerate in the coming weeks and months.
We know the lack of tangible updates are frustrating. It is a direct by-product of the underlying disagreements we are currently working through with PG&E (on timing of pole replacements) and the city (on assurances of bypass pole timelines due to said replacements). We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to work towards our goal of serving your community with our services.
Thank you,
- Eli Caul
Director of Customer Care
Sonic.net, Inc