Sonic.net

allenk wrote:From "the Box", I'm probably 300-500 feet. I get about 5.5mbps down on legacy at this time. How do you figure out the distance??...every time I put my info into Sonic's site, it states that they aren't able to offer it at this time.

You're probably on Sonic's FTTN service that they're just pushing out now. It's a little bit different than the VDSL plans they are offering from central offices.

Enjoy the speed bump!

So with all the threads, I'm a little confused. Let's assume I'm getting 6mbps/down on my legacy. There is:

VDSL
Fusion FTTN

What max speed can I assume from each?

allenk wrote:So with all the threads, I'm a little confused. Let's assume I'm getting 6mbps/down on my legacy. There is:

VDSL
Fusion FTTN

What max speed can I assume from each?

Sonic Fusion VDSL2 - no improvement, as you are on (AT&T) legacy DSL with probably the reason being that there is no Sonic CO close enough to your location and as a result Sonic's own Fusion VDSL2 won't be available at your location.

Sonic Fusion FTTN - 18Mbps for the single line version or 45Mbps for the X2 version if there is an AT&T U-verse VRAD in your area. (Which you should be able to find out by checking AT&T's website qualification and if it shows tiers with 18Mbps and more than that would be a good indication.)

agav wrote: I am paying $60 for a line that I use for internet only. Real world around 9Mbits/sec down, up around 1. SF is a tough market for broadband, but there are (admittedly sh**ty) alternatives to get faster speeds at competitive prices. When I look at this chart, I get jealous: http://www.netindex.com/download/2,1/United-States/

If I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up that you'd benefit from Sonic's own Fusions VDSL2 product at all. Your current speed would suggest that the actual line length is too far out for VDSL2 to kick in. (The qualification tool showing you the distance of less than 5k feet can at times be rather inaccurate.)

I am at 12Mbps with a suggested distance of 4,100ft and I am starting to doubt that the 4,100ft is correct and that I would at all benefit from the VDSL2 upgrade. (Any ADSL2+/VDSL2 speed-distance chart seems to suggest that I am at a distance of about 2.4km, so beyond 5,000ft.)

allenk wrote:So with all the threads, I'm a little confused. Let's assume I'm getting 6mbps/down on my legacy. There is:

VDSL
Fusion FTTN

What max speed can I assume from each?

VDSL is a protocol that can run off of Sonic or AT&T gear. Most Fusion customers are currently on ADSL2+ equipment, though we have been deploying VDSL-capable gear for a little while now and have been turning up some circuits on that new equipment.

Fusion FTTN is a service we're rolling out in the near future that uses a variety of means (including VDSL) to deliver Internet connections through AT&T-owned equipment.

In some cases placing a Fusion FTTN order will result in the same kind of connection that placing a legacy ADSL order would have (that is to say the equipment serving that location is old-fashioned ADSL gear), in which case there would be no increase in speeds compared to the existing circuit. If I recall correctly I ran a prequalification through the FTTN system and this was the case for your location.

dane wrote:

allenk wrote:Dane, I'm currently getting close to 6Mbps on my Legacy DSL with Sonic. With the box that I'm near...corner of Summerfield/Rock Springs SESR...can you give ANY indication that there is a speed upgrade coming in the next 1-3 months? A Yes/No will do.

Yes.

(That was easy!)

So where Dane, told me there would be a speed increase, you're telling me there won't be?

torstenb wrote:

agav wrote: I am paying $60 for a line that I use for internet only. Real world around 9Mbits/sec down, up around 1. SF is a tough market for broadband, but there are (admittedly sh**ty) alternatives to get faster speeds at competitive prices. When I look at this chart, I get jealous: http://www.netindex.com/download/2,1/United-States/

If I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up that you'd benefit from Sonic's own Fusions VDSL2 product at all. Your current speed would suggest that the actual line length is too far out for VDSL2 to kick in. (The qualification tool showing you the distance of less than 5k feet can at times be rather inaccurate.)

I am at 12Mbps with a suggested distance of 4,100ft and I am starting to doubt that the 4,100ft is correct and that I would at all benefit from the VDSL2 upgrade. (Any ADSL2+/VDSL2 speed-distance chart seems to suggest that I am at a distance of about 2.4km, so beyond 5,000ft.)

The state of internet in SF... I'll call Sonic tonight and see what my options are / will be. I hope there are some.

thulsa_doom wrote:In some cases placing a Fusion FTTN order will result in the same kind of connection that placing a legacy ADSL order would have (that is to say the equipment serving that location is old-fashioned ADSL gear), in which case there would be no increase in speeds compared to the existing circuit. If I recall correctly I ran a prequalification through the FTTN system and this was the case for your location.

Interesting. While the speeds may be the same, one could ditch the requirement of having an AT&T landline with legacy ADSL, no? We would save the cost of approximately $35/month on top of Sonic internet.

Is this prequal available on all legacy ADSL1 circuits?

allenk wrote:So where Dane, told me there would be a speed increase, you're telling me there won't be?

You will get a speed increase from FTTN but no benefit from VDSL2.

torstenb wrote:I am at 12Mbps with a suggested distance of 4,100ft and I am starting to doubt that the 4,100ft is correct and that I would at all benefit from the VDSL2 upgrade. (Any ADSL2+/VDSL2 speed-distance chart seems to suggest that I am at a distance of about 2.4km, so beyond 5,000ft.)

The distance suggestions I've got over the last few weeks have been between 5,000 and 5,600ft. I get a pretty steady indication of 11458kbs from the modem's broadband page, and actual use is close enough and fast enough for me today.

If I needed an upgrade today, I suppose I could get X2. I suspect the near future better upgrade will be FTTN, there are a couple AT&T-labelled boxes on pedestals about a block away from my home and in the direction of the CO.