Switching form AT&T fiber to Sonic

Internet access discussion, including Fusion, IP Broadband, and Gigabit Fiber!
11 posts Page 1 of 2
by rpineau » Sun Jan 27, 2019 3:47 pm
I currently have AT&T fiber 1000 but the customer service is horrific to say the least. Our connection went down and they can't send someone before at least 4 days !!! And my wifi works from home (everybody is remote in her company).
So we'd want to switch to Sonic as they are now also offering the 1000 package at our address. We know it still uses AT&T lines but can we expect better support ?
I also noticed that the PACE gateway from Sonic (which is the same as AT&T thanks to their 802.1x auth) has a proper bridge mode, can someone confirm this ?
So when switching, as I understand it, AT&T deploy the line then Sonic offers the service on it, will Sonic reuse my current line and when there are issue with the fiber, is it dealt with by AT&T or by Sonic ? (like mine is down right now, no light coming fro the fiber.. so ONT goes to alarm and PON led stays down..).
Any input would be welcome.
by dane » Mon Jan 28, 2019 11:30 am
In regards to the regions where we resell AT&T IP Broadband fiber, Sonic doesn't have control over the dispatch and repair, so while it'd certainly be more pleasant to work with our customer care team, I don't think we'd have been able to get this issue resolved for you any faster than you're able to resolve it as a direct retail customers of theirs.

The primary reasons to obtain IP Broadband from Sonic on the AT&T network are:

No usage based billing. Because of our bulk commercial contract, Sonic members get usage without meters or caps. This is important if you're a household with high data usage; backing up a single terrabyte hard drive that you might use for backups or media storage (they're only $50 these days) would totally blow the data cap on a retail service. So for those who want to back things up, or who create media such as video, or who just stream a lot, Sonic's service is great because it's a simple flat rate. See also: https://www.techspot.com/news/78459-mor ... xceed.html

International phone service. Sonic's Fusion offerings include not just unlimited nationwide home phone service, but that service also provides free calling to fixed lines in over sixty countries. It's an amazingly cost-effective home phone service, and particularly for those expats and others with international calling needs, a really great value. I'd also note that as so many folks migrate to a mobile-only lifestyle, having a solid and reliable "landline" - even in cases where it's delivered over VoIP - results in much higher voice quality and reliable call handling than mobile. If you spend much time on the phone each day, you'll be surprised how much less exhausting it is to do it on a line with good voice quality.

Sonic customer service. Our local staff are wonderful, and greatly ease the general frustration of dealing with carriers that many consumers are used to. Day after day, I see feedback from members about how pleased they are with the responsive and friendly customer service, and I'm very proud of that team.

Our mission. Sonic's goal is to build a better internet, and in the process to fix the issues with the cable-dominated internet access here in America. Joining Sonic as a member support that mission, as we continue to expand and build more fiber networks.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by rpineau » Tue Feb 05, 2019 4:32 pm
Thanks for the reply.
So as I have AT&T fiber right now (1Gbps symmetric) what is the procedure to switch to Sonic ?
Do I cancel my AT&T contract and subscribe to Sonic and assume they'll use the same drop ? Or do I need some overlap and they'll use the same drop and I'll cancel my AT&T contract AFTER switching to Sonic ?
Thank you.
Rodolphe
by Larns576 » Tue Feb 05, 2019 7:48 pm
Another guy had the same question. Dunno what he did in the end tho.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8062&p=42323#p42323
by noob513 » Fri May 31, 2019 2:38 pm
Has there been confirmation on this? Does one have to cancel AT&T fiber service and possibly wait up to month for Sonic to install their resold service?
by Marin » Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:29 am
dane wrote:The primary reasons to obtain IP Broadband from Sonic on the AT&T network are:
Dane, while your points may have been good points years ago, today, they are dated and no longer provide a competitive advantage, in fact, particular the forced phone line is a costly disadvantage.
dane wrote:No usage based billing. Because of our bulk commercial contract, Sonic members get usage without meters or caps. This is important if you're a household with high data usage; backing up a single terrabyte hard drive that you might use for backups or media storage (they're only $50 these days) would totally blow the data cap on a retail service. So for those who want to back things up, or who create media such as video, or who just stream a lot, Sonic's service is great because it's a simple flat rate. See also: https://www.techspot.com/news/78459-mor ... xceed.html
AT&T's 1GB Fiber product does not have a data cab either.
dane wrote:International phone service. Sonic's Fusion offerings include not just unlimited nationwide home phone service, but that service also provides free calling to fixed lines in over sixty countries. It's an amazingly cost-effective home phone service, and particularly for those expats and others with international calling needs, a really great value. I'd also note that as so many folks migrate to a mobile-only lifestyle, having a solid and reliable "landline" - even in cases where it's delivered over VoIP - results in much higher voice quality and reliable call handling than mobile. If you spend much time on the phone each day, you'll be surprised how much less exhausting it is to do it on a line with good voice quality.
The nationwide unlimited home phone service is essentially useless, as the majority of people who would be prospective internet service users also have a cell phone plan, and I don't even think there are non-unlimited cell phone plans anymore. (One would have to really search hard to uncover those.)
Phone quality is also much less of an issue with mobile phone's WiFi calling, which pretty much every smart phone comes standard with these days.

As for the international calling, expats would be much more likely to use messaging and video calling apps these days, all much more convenient to use, and a phone call is never even gonna come close to what a video call does for you if you are away from family and friends. Something every expat or frequent traveller will agree on.
dane wrote:Sonic customer service. Our local staff are wonderful, and greatly ease the general frustration of dealing with carriers that many consumers are used to. Day after day, I see feedback from members about how pleased they are with the responsive and friendly customer service, and I'm very proud of that team.
Perhaps for customers who can get Sonic's own Fiber product deployed. But your company is far off from being a 5-star service rated company, judging by comments on Yelp and Nextdoor, leaving quite some room for improvements...
dane wrote:Our mission. Sonic's goal is to build a better internet, and in the process to fix the issues with the cable-dominated internet access here in America. Joining Sonic as a member support that mission, as we continue to expand and build more fiber networks.
I agree that's a great mission to have. However, while you point at other company's issues and the fact that Sonic is trying to fix the industry's sub-par choices for internet service, Sonic come's with it's own issues, one being the forced phone line, the other being limited availability of Sonic's own fiber infrastructure.

Time to pivot and loose the legacy thinking.
by waksomboon » Fri Jun 14, 2019 5:47 pm
noob513 wrote:Has there been confirmation on this? Does one have to cancel AT&T fiber service and possibly wait up to month for Sonic to install their resold service?
I just switched to Sonic today and was just on hold for nearly 30 minutes to cancel AT&T. Now that all is done, I wanted to share my experience with you all.

I knew that the AT&T installers would be the ones sent out to perform the install and they managed to turn a relatively simple job into a 3 hour fiasco. I'm now up and running on Sonic and wanted people to be aware of the following:
  • AT&T Installers don't know what the hell they're doing. If anything doesn't go according to plan, then expect long delays while their supervisor walks them through troubleshooting. If there's no light on the port they're connecting to, ask them to test the port and where it terminates upstream to make sure that port is good. When AT&T Fiber was installed a year ago, we went through the EXACT SAME PROBLEM
  • The ONT and Gateway should both be changed as both devices are associated with your existing service. Some installers will want to just leave it all in place since they would be swapping it out with the exact same equipment
  • When they replace the ONT and Gateway, be sure they leave the old ones with you. AT&T will want them back when you cancel service and hunting having them hunt the equipment down from the installer will be a hassle
  • Both my old and new gateway are the Arris BGW210-700. If you want to use your own router/firewall and WiFi access points, you can turn off the WiFi radios for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, then go to "Firewall" and "IP Passthrough" to place the gateway into IP Passthrough mode. Make sure your router is connected and select it as the device to use from the list
  • Once you call AT&T to cancel, they will ask you for the reason why you're cancelling. I just stated that I want to support a local ISP as the performance and cost will not change
  • Your old equipment can be dropped off at any UPS Store and they will scan it in, package and return it
NOTE: After everything was connected, it took a LONG time for the gateway to actually get connectivity for some reason. Not sure why it was like this, but the installer swapped out another gateway and was ready to swap out the ONT again when it started working. The installer left to talk to call someone when this happened, so I feel like someone may have forgotten to activate the service or maybe there is just a long ass delay
by waksomboon » Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:29 pm
Marin wrote:
dane wrote:The primary reasons to obtain IP Broadband from Sonic on the AT&T network are:
Dane, while your points may have been good points years ago, today, they are dated and no longer provide a competitive advantage, in fact, particular the forced phone line is a costly disadvantage.
dane wrote:No usage based billing. Because of our bulk commercial contract, Sonic members get usage without meters or caps. This is important if you're a household with high data usage; backing up a single terrabyte hard drive that you might use for backups or media storage (they're only $50 these days) would totally blow the data cap on a retail service. So for those who want to back things up, or who create media such as video, or who just stream a lot, Sonic's service is great because it's a simple flat rate. See also: https://www.techspot.com/news/78459-mor ... xceed.html
AT&T's 1GB Fiber product does not have a data cab either.
dane wrote:International phone service. Sonic's Fusion offerings include not just unlimited nationwide home phone service, but that service also provides free calling to fixed lines in over sixty countries. It's an amazingly cost-effective home phone service, and particularly for those expats and others with international calling needs, a really great value. I'd also note that as so many folks migrate to a mobile-only lifestyle, having a solid and reliable "landline" - even in cases where it's delivered over VoIP - results in much higher voice quality and reliable call handling than mobile. If you spend much time on the phone each day, you'll be surprised how much less exhausting it is to do it on a line with good voice quality.
The nationwide unlimited home phone service is essentially useless, as the majority of people who would be prospective internet service users also have a cell phone plan, and I don't even think there are non-unlimited cell phone plans anymore. (One would have to really search hard to uncover those.)
Phone quality is also much less of an issue with mobile phone's WiFi calling, which pretty much every smart phone comes standard with these days.

As for the international calling, expats would be much more likely to use messaging and video calling apps these days, all much more convenient to use, and a phone call is never even gonna come close to what a video call does for you if you are away from family and friends. Something every expat or frequent traveller will agree on.
dane wrote:Sonic customer service. Our local staff are wonderful, and greatly ease the general frustration of dealing with carriers that many consumers are used to. Day after day, I see feedback from members about how pleased they are with the responsive and friendly customer service, and I'm very proud of that team.
Perhaps for customers who can get Sonic's own Fiber product deployed. But your company is far off from being a 5-star service rated company, judging by comments on Yelp and Nextdoor, leaving quite some room for improvements...
dane wrote:Our mission. Sonic's goal is to build a better internet, and in the process to fix the issues with the cable-dominated internet access here in America. Joining Sonic as a member support that mission, as we continue to expand and build more fiber networks.
I agree that's a great mission to have. However, while you point at other company's issues and the fact that Sonic is trying to fix the industry's sub-par choices for internet service, Sonic come's with it's own issues, one being the forced phone line, the other being limited availability of Sonic's own fiber infrastructure.

Time to pivot and loose the legacy thinking.
While I agree that most of the advantages listed aren't the best reasons to switch in of themselves, here's a legit reason to switch: AT&T SUCKS.

A quick browse through the negative reviews for Sonic.net on Yelp reveals a lot of the dissatisfaction actually has to do with AT&T. Either it's overpriced because it's DSL running over AT&T phone lines (because they're all AT&T phone lines) or flaky AT&T installers that do a shit job. Forced phone line? Do you mean the free phone line included with the Fiber service or the required phone line for DSL? I thought this was a thread about AT&T Fiber vs Sonic Fiber--while DSL is the stark reality for many people, I'm hoping no one here has to suffer through it.

Call me a Sonic shill, if you want. I've been using them off and on for 20 or so years whenever I'm actually in an area that they can provide decent service to--previously using DSL and now Fiber. Customer service has been top notch. You call and an actual human being answers, willing to help. How many ISPs have their CEO responding to people in the forums? Dane--is that really you or do you have an army of minions that respond to posts in your name?

However, it's important to keep in mind that no matter how great Sonic is, if AT&T is responsible for the last mile, installations and repairs will be a nightmare. I have had to deal with AT&T extensively with residential, small business, and enterprise installs--all horrible experiences. Late appointments, missed appointments, shoddy work--you name it. Had an AT&T tech to come out and tag a circuit in the DMARC. Then had to wait another day for another tech to come out and test the circuit. Then another day for another tech to come out and fix it because not all of the required pairs were working (EoC). These were not consecutive days either. No communication informing us ahead of time when they would arrive--just a call from the tech that they were there and waiting. We usually plan 90 days ahead for a new install--this took over 4 months despite that fact that EoC usually get's up and running within 30 days for a building that is on-net. Don't even get me started on Fiber installs.

The fact of the matter is, AT&T has a ton of infrastructure and you don't really have much choice other than to deal with it if they are the LEC. Whenever AT&T is involved in a project--anticipate delays. Plan for them. Budget for them. It will happen.

When Sonic has to work over AT&T infrastructure, they have to deal with them as well. However, I'd much prefer to call Sonic and speak with someone who will empathize with my situation and work to get AT&T to do their damn job instead of having to deal with AT&T directly. Also, free VPN anyone? Free phone service is also a perk nonetheless. Sure, I may not use it, but it's there. Why would I complain about free shit that just sweetens the pot?
by Marin » Tue Jun 18, 2019 5:18 am
waksomboon wrote:While I agree that most of the advantages listed aren't the best reasons to switch in of themselves, here's a legit reason to switch: AT&T SUCKS.
waksomboon wrote:A quick browse through the negative reviews for Sonic.net on Yelp reveals a lot of the dissatisfaction actually has to do with AT&T. Either it's overpriced because it's DSL running over AT&T phone lines (because they're all AT&T phone lines) or flaky AT&T installers that do a shit job.
[...]
However, it's important to keep in mind that no matter how great Sonic is, if AT&T is responsible for the last mile, installations and repairs will be a nightmare.
I hear what you are saying, but think of it this way; as a customer, I should not have to care who comes to install or deliver my internet. In fact, most people won't really understand how the infrastructure is managed and who handles what. I am doing business with Sonic. So Sonic needs to get a handle on better managing the installation process and resolution of any issues during and after installation. If they can't, perhaps they shouldn't resell AT&T. Bottom line, Sonic is putting their brand on the service, so they need to take responsibility for it.
Case in point, the reviews on Yelp.
waksomboon wrote:Forced phone line? Do you mean the free phone line included with the Fiber service or the required phone line for DSL?
[...]
Free phone service is also a perk nonetheless. Sure, I may not use it, but it's there. Why would I complain about free shit that just sweetens the pot?
It is forced in that I don't have a choice and it is not really free, because it comes with a whole lot of taxes and fees that increase the cost every month.
waksomboon wrote:I have had to deal with AT&T extensively with residential, small business, and enterprise installs--all horrible experiences. Late appointments, missed appointments, shoddy work--you name it. Had an AT&T tech to come out and tag a circuit in the DMARC. Then had to wait another day for another tech to come out and test the circuit. Then another day for another tech to come out and fix it because not all of the required pairs were working (EoC). These were not consecutive days either. No communication informing us ahead of time when they would arrive--just a call from the tech that they were there and waiting. We usually plan 90 days ahead for a new install--this took over 4 months despite that fact that EoC usually get's up and running within 30 days for a building that is on-net. Don't even get me started on Fiber installs.
I totally get that everyone's mileage varies. I can tell you that my experiences with the installation and service delivery for internet service has been great, and I have been on AT&T Fiber since Day 1, the moment it became available here in Mill Valley. My issues have mostly stemmed from calls into their Contact Center, which is typically when one really starts to feel the pain of dealing with that huge bureaucratic and siloed heavyweight of a company.
waksomboon wrote:The fact of the matter is, AT&T has a ton of infrastructure and you don't really have much choice other than to deal with it if they are the LEC. Whenever AT&T is involved in a project--anticipate delays. Plan for them. Budget for them. It will happen.
When Sonic has to work over AT&T infrastructure, they have to deal with them as well. However, I'd much prefer to call Sonic and speak with someone who will empathize with my situation and work to get AT&T to do their damn job instead of having to deal with AT&T directly.
Again, that should rather be Sonic's concern, not the (end-)customer's concern, as most people won't understand where Sonic's service ends or starts, and where AT&T's starts or ends. Customers shouldn't have to worry about any of that, only whether or not the experience end-to-end has been great or not.

In closing, let me also say that I was a Sonic customer and that my experience during that time was great as well. And there is a great chance that I would at least try Sonic's own Fiber service, if it wasn't for the two key issues that Sonic still has to deal with, the forced phone line (taxes & fees) and the limited availability.
waksomboon wrote:I thought this was a thread about AT&T Fiber vs Sonic Fiber--while DSL is the stark reality for many people, I'm hoping no one here has to suffer through it.
Oh well, you know how that goes in public forums...
by jkleckner » Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:51 pm
waksomboon wrote:If you want to use your own router/firewall and WiFi access points, you can turn off the WiFi radios for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, then go to "Firewall" and "IP Passthrough" to place the gateway into IP Passthrough mode.

Make sure your router is connected and select it as the device to use from the list.
IP passthrough mode will eliminate the double NAT, but is there some material advantage, say in performance?
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