"Real Sonic" fiber customers: How often does your IP address change?

[bubba198]

Mine changes once every 6 months or so

[rcoaster]

Mine changes once every 6 months or so

I appreciate your update, and the notes here about other IP options.

[dtauber]

Depending on why you need a static IP, duckdns.org may solve your problem. I have a script running so when my IP changes, my DNS entry gets updated with the new address. This lets me use a DNS name to ssh into a Linux box in the closet and VNC over SSH to the Mac that's on my desk.

[espier]

Another potential option depending on the needs is a WireGuard based service like Tailscale or ZeroTier – these allow you to create virtual networks with stable internal hostnames/IP addresses regardless of actual IP address/location. They also offer strong security, which again depending on what the goal is either an advantage or a disadvantage.

[rcoaster]

Thank you dtauber and espier for your notes about options for working with non-fixed IP addresses. I have also read elsewhere about businesses that use dynamic IPs including in multiple-site network systems that work quite well with (good-quality) dynamic DNS services and their matching local-update clients.

The loss of my fixed IP is becoming less of a deterrent/annoyance to a possible cutover to fiber, so now I may only have to look more at my long-term options to keep my real phone service here. --That-- is something that I just do not want to give up; after decades in emergency-communication activities as well as in telecom and computer systems, I still see IP-based or cellular phone systems as truly poor substitutes for real independently-wired telephone service.

[syntaxsid1]

Hello,

You can keep your copper phone service with us AND get our Fiber service once it's available for you there! We can downgrade your current service to Voice Only. This would be copper phone service for $10/month + taxes for the line. For now, hold off on the Fiber pre-order and just order Fiber once it's available for your home. This way you can get Fiber installed for the speed and downgrade your DSL to Voice Only at the same time.

Keep in mind though, that copper service is in its sunset period and we don't know how long we'll be able to offer it in the future since ATT isn't required to lease it anymore. The copper wiring is simply degrading and it won't be long before AT&T will abandon this copper infrastructure for more IP-based phone service. IP/VOIP services are not prone to issues copper wiring has, like being impacted by the weather etc. We hope this information helps.

[virtualmike]

I still see IP-based or cellular phone systems as truly poor substitutes for real independently-wired telephone service.

I used to feel that way. I didn't want to give up my copper POTS service for any reason. However, I've learned that IP-based telephony actually is much more flexible than POTS. I can have multiple providers, and I can take the services to ANY TCP/IP connection. With the way that the copper infrastructure is deteriorating today (because AT&T, Frontier, Verizon, and others simply won't maintain the outside plant), IP telephony opens up a whole new world.

At my last home, I had an ATA with an analog phone. I had to reboot the ATA a couple of times, but otherwise, it worked as expected. My current home, while pre-wired so that every room can have a POTS phone jack, has no connection to the local ILEC. I have a cell phone and a couple of VOIP lines, so my service goes wherever I go. My cell does Wi-Fi calling, so even if I don't have a cell signal, I still can call and text.

I also can have a lot more redundancy should I ever see the need. Besides my primary household Internet connection, I can get a cell hotspot or home Wi-Fi from one of the cell carriers.

And just for laughs... one of my neighbors has gone on a crusade to get a POTS landline. She believes that the "traditional" phone companies are pushing VOIP services because they want to monitor all our calls. She patiently explained to me that copper phone lines are completely immune to any sort of wiretapping or hacking. I didn't have the heart to tell her that any kid with alligator clips and an old phone could start listening in 90 seconds. Nor did I tell her that I have a lineman's butt set and a barrel socket to open telco pedestals. Which I'll probably end up donating to a museum.

[rcoaster]

You can keep your copper phone service with us AND get our Fiber service once it's available for you there!

Wow, this is awesome news, Jeff! I had no idea that this combination would be available (but, I never did ask, either).

That combination would absolutely be the perfect blend of phone and data service. Thank you so much for letting me know of this option.

I have received and saved a few Sonic "special offer but only good -before- fiber is actually in your location" postcards, both in relation to my existing service and as a potential new customer. With these in mind, I will check carefully with your offices to be sure exactly how to set up a new plan, and what the costs will be relative to the advance offers.

Keep in mind though, that copper service is in its sunset period and we don't know how long we'll be able to offer it in the future since ATT isn't required to lease it anymore.

I am over 60, so I am "in my sunset period" now too.

There are still enough copper phone lines into businesses that are explicitly there for their rock-solid reliability (this was a big and specific part of my job until recently), that I do not expect real circuit-switched, dedicated lines to go away for a good long time. As long as they are available, I plan for one of them to be mine. (-:

[rcoaster]

I didn't want to give up my copper POTS service for any reason. However, I've learned that IP-based telephony actually is much more flexible than POTS.

Thank you for your notes, virtualmike. I am very much aware that IP phone systems are "more flexible" than dedicated lines, since I was in that business along with the "copper side" for seven years until last summer. I am not looking for flexibility, though, I want --the same reliability that I have had since 1989-- and nothing more, nothing less.

I can take my cell phone anywhere and use it, and I can hook up my Google Voice number with a Bluetooth box and even use rotary phones anywhere there is Wi-Fi service, all very cool. But, in a -big- emergency such as the 1989 earthquake that happened shortly before I moved to my current home, cell phone service is just going to go "poof!" instantly, and Internet will quite possibly do the same. I mean wired Internet; unless Sonic and other providers truly have multiple-day backup power solutions in place --right now-- we will not be able to depend on it; we just do not know because we have no comparable experience that I am aware of. Internet using "hot spots" or anything like them, over the cell-phone system (basically, anything radio-based that the general public is subscribed to), will go "poof!" just like the phones will.

I appreciate the comments about security. As you mentioned, analog phone lines are completely open to anyone who knows where the right wires are.

[virtualmike]

Understood, rcoaster, but please don't overlook the point that the copper for POTS lines is getting less and less reliable, to the point where the lines may not be "rock solid" for very long.

At my home in the Bay Area, with Sonic Fusion X2, back in the days when AT&T supposedly was still maintaining the lines, AT&T and Sonic had significant challenges trying to find a clean pair. Some pairs had issues whenever it rained, others whenever it was hot, and a few were just plain noisy.

Since you'll only be using the line for voice, likely your experience will be better, but....