Price increase--a bad look.

[gambler]

$77.32 for service at 7.0 Mbps down, 0.9 up in Alameda.

Great.

[cadoretti]

Hi Jacob,

Thanks for the details here. Could you help me understand one more piece of the puzzle? Specifically it was mentioned a long time back yall were looking to add an "10g interest" or similar option to the portal. NOT an option to upgrade, but an option that let customers express which areas had interest to upgrade.

Since this tool hasn't yet been provided, could you clarify if you have decided to use other methods to determine which of the older 1 gig areas to upgrade?

Or is it that none of the 1 gig areas have been upgraded to 10 gig and you are waiting till you are ready to upgrade any preexisting 1 gig areas to offer customers of 1 gig a way to express interest for 10 gig?

Thanks again,

Chris

[loherj]

Hi Jacob,

Thanks for the details here. Could you help me understand one more piece of the puzzle? Specifically it was mentioned a long time back yall were looking to add an "10g interest" or similar option to the portal. NOT an option to upgrade, but an option that let customers express which areas had interest to upgrade.

Since this tool hasn't yet been provided, could you clarify if you have decided to use other methods to determine which of the older 1 gig areas to upgrade?

Or is it that none of the 1 gig areas have been upgraded to 10 gig and you are waiting till you are ready to upgrade any preexisting 1 gig areas to offer customers of 1 gig a way to express interest for 10 gig?

Thanks again,

Chris

The express interest page now shows up for people who attempt to qualify but we don't have a service offering in their area yet. Just having signed up for a Sonic service of any type is good enough in our eyes to show us where our largest concentrations of users are.

As the older 1 GB areas age or break down, we won't be replacing them with 1 GB hardware but instead 10 GB hardware. We do have areas that were previously 1 GB upgraded with the new hardware but still don't have everything upgraded on the back end to offer a switch over to 10 GB.

We are working hard to make this a reality for current customers, and we appreciate your continued patience.

[jlyonzee]

Feb Bill $76.42
Mar Bill $86.42
Apr Bill $87.94

It just goes up and up, why would I stay with Sonic any more??? Almost $90 for internet stand alone service is absurd. I'm all for supporting the local guy but this is taking the p*ss.

[sonic.boom]

Feb Bill $76.42
Mar Bill $86.42
Apr Bill $87.94

It just goes up and up, why would I stay with Sonic any more??? Almost $90 for internet stand alone service is absurd. I'm all for supporting the local guy but this is taking the p*ss.

Sorry to hear about your concerns regarding our pricing. This is the first cost increase that Sonic has had in quite a few years. For context, your bill in September 2017 was $72.38. That being said, there are a number of ways to help you save money on your monthly bill. You could consider purchasing your own router and return the one you have now as it rents for $9.50 per month. We also participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program which can subsidize your costs in the amount of $30 per month. You can find out more info on how to apply for that at https://www.sonic.com/affordable-connectivity-program.

[bibihome]

I've been a Sonic customer for longer than I remember--maybe 10 years? And I've been a Sonic evangelist--I've referred dozens of people, and touted Sonic's goodness to anyone who will listen. And I pretty much never to that about any business.

So I am doubly distressed by the way Sonic handled its recent price increase. I don't have much to say about whether it's justified, though after the months of increased junk fees, it feels a bit bad.

But what has me moving from strong supporter to less so is the way it was handled. Because we are all forced to auto-bill, I have little cause to look at the document ATTACHED to the monthly email notifying me of my bill. But we occasionally get other emails from Sonic; indeed, from Dane, about important issues. Surely, a roughly 20% increase in our bill is important enough to give us an explicit heads up.

I've seen a number of topics in these forums complaining directly or indirectly about it (either amount of method). And no response from Sonic. I know growth inevitably changes a company, but if Sonic really wants to keep its very loyal core customer base, they need to do better.

Thanks in advance, @Sonic and @Dane

I'm seconding that comment.
It was not great to discover the price increase only because I was checking my CC bill. We were used to a more transparent communication from Sonic and I have been trusting the service enough that I get the urge to check my pdf bill every month. It felt like I was back to my Comcast days for a moment.
I think a posthumous official communication dedicated to addressing the recent price hike would still be appreciated.

[fiberulloast]

Any way to remove the voice line that I'm not using? That would save 10$ ish a month

Voice Federal Subscriber Line Charge Fee - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 6.50 Voice Federal Universal Service Fund Fee - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 2.60 Voice California 911 Emergency Surcharge - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 0.30 Voice San Francisco Access Line Fee - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 3.96 Voice California Public Utility Commission User Fee - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 0.08 Voice FCC Interstate Telecom Service Provider Fee - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 0.04 Property Tax Allotment Surcharge - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 1.64 Voice Regulatory Recovery Surcharge - STI-0411048-8/PAIR200 1.29

[gbrivkalns001]

I happened to look at my credit card statement and caught this latest "base price" increase. But there definitely was no explicit advance notice. My bill has gone up 21% in the last 18 months. I'm paying the same for 1Gbp service as others pay for 10Gbps and I'm forced to keep the integrated phone service which comes with the hefty "taxes". Price gouging long time customers!?

FWIW, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that you and the 10gbps folks are experiencing ANY difference in your internet performance.

[iaincole]

FWIW, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that you and the 10gbps folks are experiencing ANY difference in your internet performance.

huh? How do you figure that?

[joeyyung911]

FWIW, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that you and the 10gbps folks are experiencing ANY difference in your internet performance.

huh? How do you figure that?

Because less than 1% has the hardware capabilities at home to utilize all that. You can say the 10Gb can alleviate from someone saturating a 1Gb, but I don't think many will do that for long periods of time.

IOW, day-to-day use, you "MOST LIKELY" won't feel a difference.