Required Modem--Extra 16.3% - 32.5% Per Month?

[jrodman]

Considering the number of times that sonic has tried to contact me about device failures (0) and the number of times that I have correctly identified that devices have failed (4), this trade seems a very poor one for the customer.

[prodman]

Considering the number of times that sonic has tried to contact me about device failures (0) and the number of times that I have correctly identified that devices have failed (4), this trade seems a very poor one for the customer.

I have to agree. I am very unhappy about the plan.

[mikemee]

Reading this thread as a long time Sonic.net admirer and customer (first at work and then at home) has been very interesting. I had the same gut reaction that many of you did, especially the scenario of recommending to others to find out there is now an extra "hidden" fee.

BUT, ultimately I have to come down on the side of the value for money and the relative openness. Some points I thought were key:

• We are not the target audience. I'd wager sonic.net's customer base has changed over the years, from the technical types who knew enough to look for a better deal and found it. Now sonic.net is more mass market, and, as such, it is adapting mass market practices. This rubs us geeks the wrong way, but ultimately we'll benefit.

• This is a price rise. Oh well, get over it. Its still a good deal with the equipment fee factored in, and existing customers are grandfathered in.

• By making the equipment fee separate, we don't have to pay tax on it.

• Having one standard piece of equipment will ultimately add up to a LOT of savings for sonic.net, which, at the end of the day, means cheaper / better service for all of us.

• Equipment fee / service fee, call it what you want. Its compulsory now. At least its not taxed. Don't use the equipment if you don't want to, but keep it handy for debugging if needed.

• I looked at the pricing on the home page. It seems pretty clear to me. There is a monthly service fee, and there's an equipment fee. And there are also some installation fees. None of the text is so small that I can't read it, or hidden on another page. Perhaps this has changed since the thread began?

I will continue to recommend sonic.net to friends, but now I'm better informed. Reasons I'll promote it:

• Its still excellent value for money! I got a very clever piece of marketing from att a few days ago. It looked like a photocopy with handwritten "check this out!" notes on it. The from address was "a nearby neighbor". Cute, I thought. But the pricing was more than sonic.net and there were all sorts of exclusions with no corresponding fine print. And, to top it all off, this was "intro pricing".

• Sonic is still investing in fiber. I can dream that it will reach my house some day.

• The CEO is active on these lists. Dang that's powerful.

• No gimmicks. Fusion gives me everything, without any asterisks with extra pricing for the one thing I must also have. And I keep getting more. Free calls overseas is something I'm using that didn't exist when I signed up.

• No caps, informal or otherwise. Not that I do much on my line anyway, but when I do have to download an ISO, or backup a new machine online, I don't have to think twice about it

• Great support, with real people

• Sonic respects privacy and backs it up with their actions

• Still a very technology driven company. E.g. I just discovered I can switch between Annex A & M with an automated phone call - nice! Waiting for the new IPv6 solution (which probably wouldn't be possible for them to economically support without their custom equipment)

So, do I think it sucks that sonic.net has to raise their prices and call it an "equipment charge"? Yes. Do I think they could have handled this in a way more in keeping with their brand & image? Yes. Is sonic still the best game in town and have my recommendation? Absolutely.

[soncoman]

I have to agree with those who feel that the mandatory equipment rental is just a cop out to not raise the fee. I have been encouraging a neighbor who is looking to switch off of AT&T to look at Sonic. I told her to forget the 39.95 advertised price, that the real cost is closer to $50 a month after taxes and fees. I also told her that her existing equipment should work fine as she has exactly the same modem/router that I do - I bought them and set them up for her. Imagine her surprise to call Sonic and find out otherwise and that the cost is closer to $60. It looks like Sonic is taking a cue from the airlines - sure, the price of your ticket is low, but if you want to bring a bag... Yes, I know it is disclosed (with an asterisk and smaller print) but I think it really goes against good customer service. You should have just raised the rate and marketed the product as an "all equipment included" package. Seriously, guys. This just doesn't reflect well upon you and makes me wary of future changes.

[mtvernon]

Long-time IT consultant and Sonic.net customer here.

I understand Sonic's technical justification for this move -- standardization of equipment = MUCH easier support.

What I do not accept is the monthly "rental fee" for the equipment. As someone pointed out in an earlier post, over a 5-year term, $6.50 a month = $390. That's a lot of dough for a cheapie house-brand DSL modem. Yeah, I've had a DSL modem or two die over the last 15 years -- but not often enough to justify paying $78 every year as "insurance" against a failure.

Sonic should compromise by requiring the equipment, but giving the customer the option to BUY the modem outright, with a 1-year warranty. If it fails outside warranty -- fine, the customer takes the risk and has to buy a new one from Sonic. But at least give that option.

The "rental" fee is slippery and undermines Sonic's "good faith" approach to its services. Ugh.

[Guest]

This topic needs to be kept front page.

I'd bet good money that the results of this year's "ridiculously quick annual survey" were substantially different than last year's, and not for the better. Post-7/1/12 equipment rental (plus a suspicious, apparently permanent deterioration of my DL speed & line reliability starting that very month), my own likelihood of recommending Sonic to others dropped from 10 last year to 0 this year. Can't afford to go elsewhere, so I'm stuck with the disappointment. Wasn't good that I'd learned about all the price & fee increases from someone I'd recommended to (they did go elsewhere).

[Guest]

I'd bet good money that the results of this year's "ridiculously quick annual survey" were substantially different than last year's, and not for the better. Post-7/1/12 equipment rental (plus a suspicious, apparently permanent deterioration of my DL speed & line reliability starting that very month), my own likelihood of recommending Sonic to others dropped from 10 last year to 0 this year.

I pretty much agree with this, except I'd change my survey response from 7 to 4. (I'd previously knocked off
points because Sonic didn't offer dry DSL (without dial tone), and because they'd deprecated their bonded Fusion
service, making it available only to business customers.) The further drop in loyalty/enthusiasm from 7 to 4
would be due to the mandatory modem rental.

And it's not just the perpetual $6.50 rental which concerns me -- from what I've read in the forums, the Pace
modem itself would not be an acceptable replacement for my current modem/router/wifi equipment, so the
Pace would just sit unused and unplugged except when I'd be required to put it online when dealing with Support.

[kgc]

We didn't deprecate bonded service and anyone can buy the two line business service.

[Guest]

We didn't deprecate bonded service and anyone can buy the two line business service.

Bonded service went from $70 to $90, with no free static IP.

[SC Parent]

If the modems cost you $50 and last for at least 2 years on average, why not rent them for $2/month. $6.50 is more than COMCAST charges for their modem rentals. (Oh, I'm sure you'll say your modems are the BEEZ-NEEZ compared to Comcasts. Are they 3+ times better? I've been a customer for 2 months. I'm checking into what Comcast or AT&T will offer. The funny thing is Comcast will give me internet-only service for less than $45 all-in - I just have to call in every 6-12 months to get the latest promotional rate. So, what exactly is your value-added?