Alternatives (was: Neighborhoods with underground utilities)

[rrichard]

Does anybody know whether or not a neighborhood's existing utilities being underground affects where that neighborhood is the priority order for getting Sonic fiber? Does this make installation easier/less expensive or harder/more expensive?

Thanks in advance (and apologies if this question has been answered in emails I missed).

[joeyyung911]

Underground = NO CHANCE!

[rrichard]

Moderators: please feel free to remove this if it violates any forum rules.

Given that I will never be able to get Sonic fiber here, what are my alternatives?

I currently have Sonic Fusion Broadband X2 and am far enough from the switch that I get 8 Mbps. It's inadequate for my needs. I desperately want to rule out Xfinity/Comcast because of a long history of terrible customer service experiences with them. I would break a solemn vow if I ever sign up with them again. ATT doesn't offer FTTN here yet, so I suspect they only thing they can give me is the same service I currently have with Sonic. Cellular internet is ungodly expensive for my volume of data (sometimes 30 - 50 GB per day).

I can wait a while longer, but not forever. Do I have to sell this place and move someplace with above ground uttilities?

[brandonc]

Moderators: please feel free to remove this if it violates any forum rules.

Given that I will never be able to get Sonic fiber here, what are my alternatives?

I currently have Sonic Fusion Broadband X2 and am far enough from the switch that I get 8 Mbps. It's inadequate for my needs. I desperately want to rule out Xfinity/Comcast because of a long history of terrible customer service experiences with them. I would break a solemn vow if I ever sign up with them again. ATT doesn't offer FTTN here yet, so I suspect they only thing they can give me is the same service I currently have with Sonic. Cellular internet is ungodly expensive for my volume of data (sometimes 30 - 50 GB per day).

I can wait a while longer, but not forever. Do I have to sell this place and move someplace with above ground uttilities?

We can/do build out our infrastructure in areas where the utilities are underground. It is mostly just a matter of how much interest for our service is in the area, as we prioritize build-outs based on that. However, it is much more difficult due to all the extra regulatory processes involved. In many cases, cities will turn down our proposal to build there due to all the invasive construction work needed to complete the project. There are also areas like San Francisco where there are laws against micro-trenching, which completely halts us from building underground for the time being.

If we did announce Fiber expansion to your area, we would just need a conduit to run our cable through to reach your home. We cannot use conduits owned by other companies, so it would need to be a conduit that you or the landlord can provide documentation of ownership. If there is none owned by you or the landlord, then you'd have to hire someone and pay for a new conduit to be installed for the property for us to utilize.

I'm sorry our current DSL service there isn't fast enough to meet your needs, but I completely understand if you need to look at other options until Fiber eventually reaches you. I hope that we can expand there in the future!

Kind regards,

[rrichard]

... If we did announce Fiber expansion to your area, we would just need a conduit to run our cable through to reach your home ..

Just to make this idiot-proof, are you talking about conduit from some point in the street near the property line? Or from some point further away than that?

[apl]

We can/do build out our infrastructure in areas where the utilities are underground.

I know I have read about a few examples here where Sonic has participated in new undergrounding projects (and a couple of others where they have declined to do so), but are there cities where you have been able to run fiber to customers with existing undergrounded utilities?
My block in Berkeley has at least 6 or 7 customers of Sonic's resold AT&T fiber, and being able to switch to the native product would be a big improvement.

[rbi]

I just posted a new topic about this viewtopic.php?t=17887.

SB 378 now requires cities to allow microtrenching. It requires issuing a permit by right. Hopefully this will open the door to Sonic rolling out in neighborhoods with underground utilities. Cities can't make the process excessively complicated. It also invalidates SF's rules against microtrenching in their entirety.

Not sure why Sonic wasn't already aware of this change but there you have it.