Fusion price increase and fiber expansion

[jcarter1]

$10 increase with no increase in speed. This makes sonic no better than AT&T, Comcast, etc.

[ngufra]

I got an email from sonic this morning and it was the first time i heard about the price increase.
Must have missed the previous notice.

$50 + roughly $10 taxes is still great value for what we get.
What i like most about sonic is

• great dependable service
• no cap or throttling
• excellent willing and able customer support
• transparency
• consider residential customers as adults and let them do things like not rent the modem, get a static ip, do smtp, etc
• no extra (static ip is free, fax is free, caller id is free, voice mail is free, etc)
• no introductory offer.

That last bullet point is gone as it seems new customers still get the $40 pricing for a year but there is still all the rest. Although my anchor price has been $40 for so long, so i feel some pain, compared to the other guys, sonic is still the bomb.

Telling us the price is going up to fund something else than my service (fiber expansion) feels funny though.

Go Team Dane!

[Ben2]

Would it be possible to offer an equipment purchase option? to pay for the fiber rental equipment we pay for now?

[qiuwn002]

I am extremely disappointed at this change.

I was paying $39.99/mo for the 300 Mbps plan with Comcast and when I was told there's a 1 Gbps plan costing online $40/mo coming up in the neighbourhood, I was pleased and became a customer.

However, when the bill came up, it tells me I need to pay $62/mo instead of $40, it was hard to explain to my family for the $22/mo increase, but since it's still fiber internet, and with the potential maintenance fee, I will take that.

But now, you are telling me there's an extra $10/mo just because you want to expand the map and keep competative? Dane, this is not how you treat your customers, especially someone like me who already had promoted it to several friends of mine.

Or.. can you just give us a modem purchace option, and for the ones who purchase your modem, you just charge for nothing for repairs??

P.S.

One more important thing.

I get much slower speed than before and my internet goes offline much more often than before. Can you fix that?? Thanks.

[thomasshong]

Hi Dane,

Long time customer and will really be thinking of switching. I read the first four pages and some more and totally agree with most without repeating here. I am in the San Francisco Mission district and get ~7 mpbs. No I don't have fiber and don't see it coming to us anytime soon. I have called on several occasions over the years inquiring if and when I can get your Gigabit service and it is the same ole' service. Stagnant for seven years is a long time in the tech world.

While your competitions are moving forward. At my other location, in San Jose and I have Comcast. Five years when I first tried their service they were terrible. But today I am enjoying their 100 Mbps down (speedtest 120 Mbps) / 5 Mbps up for $49.99. I know when the promo is over it will go up BUT I will gladly pay it for the much FASTER SERVICE.

Let's get to the core. You're an Internet Service Provider. Provide us reliable and fast speeds at the best price possible. And then there's the numbers:
Sonic: 7Mbps for $50.00 + tax = $62.56 total
Comcast: 120 Mbps for (tax included) $49.99 total

Listen to your core customers. This thread is 30 pages long and people are venting.

[lhmeyer]

Another one here who'll be on the lookout for an alternative. I've been a Sonic customer for several years now, but I don't feel like I should be paying more just to subsidize somebody else's fiber (I don't see it coming to my neighborhood anytime soon). I used to recommend Sonic to all my neighbors when they asked for a more affordable alternative, but since these days cable can offer much faster speeds for just a little bit more money then there's no point anymore. At least we're lucky enough to have two cable companies around here to choose from (Comcast and Wave). And they'll gladly sell internet without an unwanted phone line. Besides, if I wanted a VOIP phone, I would just use one of the many dedicated providers which will give me the equipment for free (i.e.: no rent) and would not be tied to my ISP.

[oscarwildcat]

I am also not satisfied with the price increase. I am sure I will not be getting fiber in Fremont for many years- and the truth is, I don't need it, I don't have the fastest service now. I wish we could drop our landline service or purchase a minimal landline service- maybe 60 minutes a month as someone suggested, for a lower rate.

[oscarwildcat]

One additional comment on the service- I am paying for landline service, but it is virtually unusable. When I make phone calls on the home phone, within a few minutes the sound cuts out and I have to call the person back on my cell. I have spoken to customer service and they told me there was no problem.

[ngufra]

Have you checked if VDSL would be a good option for your location?
In the same general area but 1 block from solano CO. Getting great speeds on a single line i think it's 40 MBps down and 6 or 7 Mbps up).

Also think about all the extra you get with sonic: they are not evil, they don't throttle or log what you do longer that necessary, their customer support is willing and able to help you, you can get a free static IP if you want it, etc.

For your location they may not have faster data rate but their bits are better!

-Francois

I just found out about the price increase from my invoice.

I live in Albany near the Berkeley/El Cerrito/Kensington border, is there an estimated date for which
some form of fibre will be available?

$60/mo. for 6/0.6 mbps is a bit steep.

Regards,

Joe

[jcarter1]

Perhaps the people who will see the benefit of your Gigabit service expansion should pay the $10.

I wouldn't be too upset at the increase if I knew Gigabit was coming to my neighborhood. It's not. So, why should I pay for a benefit that I'll never see, yet others will enjoy?