DSL pricing

[wresnick]

I have residential DSL and my first year is up. With my previous ISP, I was told that they couldn't extend the introductory rate because it had to do with how much AT&T charged them for new service. They told me that I could switch my DSL to a different phone number to get the introductory rate, which I did several times on an annual basis.

Sonic is telling me the opposite, and I can't get an introductory rate if I move my service to a new number. I suppose I could accomplish almost the same thing by starting new service on a new number, and a different name if they insist, and then canceling my existing service. But I'm not sure why it should be necessary. I'm not looking for Sonic to lose money, (which they would if I changed ISPs, but I'm very reluctant to do that) but I'd like to know if the AT&T part is true. Frankly, I don't mind if AT&T makes less money off me. They've made plenty already.

The AT&T part makes sense to me since Sonic is now charging me as much as I'd pay for the phone and broadband package if it were available. But if the money comes from AT&T's portion, why would Sonic care?

[bobrk]

I'm glad Sonic doesn't participate in these shenanigans. I'm always surprised that people don't want to pay the full amount for a service. Introductory rate means just that. Come on in, try it out, and if you like it, then you can pay the regular rate.

I've been paying full price for Sonic for over 10 years now, and don't regret a penny. Other than the overpriced web hosting, that is.

If you don't think the regular price of Sonic is ok, I suppose you could switch to another DSL provider.

[dane]

On our older AT&T DSL products, we lose money the first year, at the introductory rate. Our hope is that you like the customer care and features, and stick around when the product moves to a rate at which there is a margin.

If you hope to jump from ISP to ISP for loss-leader introductory rates, please do it back and forth between our competitors, and avoid us entirely. Thanks.

[Jack]

If you hope to jump from ISP to ISP for loss-leader introductory rates, please do it back and forth between our competitors, and avoid us entirely. Thanks. :)

Or, Dane, you can remove yourself from the wasting game. One price from the start and include the modem rental in the monthly fee.

[wresnick]

On our older AT&T DSL products, we lose money the first year, at the introductory rate. Our hope is that you like the customer care and features, and stick around when the product moves to a rate at which there is a margin.

If you hope to jump from ISP to ISP for loss-leader introductory rates, please do it back and forth between our competitors, and avoid us entirely. Thanks.

Actually, I sincerely hope to avoid jumping around, and picked Sonic because the people here know what they are doing. When an introductory rate is higher (or as high as) another package such as your broadband AND home phone, it's only natural for consumers to want to get the best deal. I didn't switch to Sonic because they were the cheapest (although the price WAS competitive) and was willing to pay more for better service and competence. I realize that there are economic considerations here, and reasons why Sonic might be able to offer more service for less when not going through AT&T, which is why I wanted to know if what my previous ISP had been saying about introductory rates was true. My true preference would be to have AT&T out of the loop completely but that's not about to happen any time soon.

But Dane, don't pretend you aren't part of the game here. I'd rather have an ISP that caters to long term customers and provides incentives to stay than one that follows the industry standard practice of loss leaders that encourage customers to jump ship. Frankly, had you lured me in with a higher up front price with a promise to lower it after a year to reward my loyalty, I would have found it refreshing. And I wouldn't have expected you to come near the introductory rate. Part of the reason you lose on the first year is the larger expense of bringing on a new customer and establishing service, with a large risk that the person won't stay long term, and that's a big problem in the telecommunications industry as it is. You are a lot better off having accounts such as mine that are already in place. As I said from the beginning, I'm NOT looking for Sonic to lose money.

You might have been able to figure out that I didn't leave my previous ISP based on price, since they kept switching me back to the introductory rate. Frankly I'd like to see Sonic make a lot of money, especially if it means there would be a better chance of getting Fusion or gigabit service at some point in the future.

I'm always surprised that there are people like bobrk who fail to recognize that when people are in an environment when they are bombarded with offers from competitors to offer service for a much lower price, they tend to leave without ever asking questions such as mine.

[wresnick]

If you hope to jump from ISP to ISP for loss-leader introductory rates, please do it back and forth between our competitors, and avoid us entirely. Thanks.

Or, Dane, you can remove yourself from the wasting game. One price from the start and include the modem rental in the monthly fee.

Or no introductory rate but a marginally cheaper long term price. With the money they'd save by not losing short term customers, the idea isn't untenable.

[george3832]

My apologies in advance for a question which branches off of the previous discussion, but it fits so well under this topic that I think it is probably appropriate. I have been a Sonic residential customer for a little more than a year and a half after making a switch from AT&T in the wake of an AT&T nightmare. At this point I am really happy with Sonic SERVICE. I am not getting quite the speeds I was getting previously with AT&T, but if I have a problem, I know I can talk to real people, people who know what they are doing and not have to go through a robotic system to try to get help and that is worth a great deal to me. So now I would like to migrate my business line to Sonic. But when I go to the Sonic website, I find no pricing or product info for legacy DSL service. As for the modem issue, for me what part constitutes "modem rent" and what part constitutes service charge is all a mind game. The way I look at it the total charge is what I pay Sonic for service and along with that I get a modem AND I can still use my old/own modem if I so choose. That said, I am really happy with Sonic service and am willing to pay a little more for a higher level of service. Things like having qualified people actually answering phones does cost money.

In any case, is there a rate schedule anywhere on the Sonic site for legacy DSL?

Thanks in advance,

George Mitchell
Eureka CA

[dane]

If you check for service availability on the Fusion product page, it will refer you to the DSL products if Fusion is not available in your location. http://fusion.sonic.net/