Moving to Chenery Street a couple of years ago, I found that available Internet technology was older than many of my neighbors. AT&T’s Internet service, phone-line DSL, was hopelessly slow. Comcast’s cable speeds were faster but streaming videos ran out of bandwidth on Saturday nights. Many in the neighborhood have despaired of the options, so I spent some time looking further afield.
Most recently, a new company called Sonic has been advertising fiber-optic Internet for Glen Park.
Sonic, a small company from Santa Rosa, has been deep in the installation process in Glen Park over the last year. Sonic trucks have been working their way down Chenery Street from Fairmount.
Sonic claims a download speeds of 1 gigabit per second. For comparison, AT&T offers 50 to 75 megabits. There is an AT&T 1 gigabit option, but it’s not available in Glen Park.
Comcast offers what it calls Xfinity Internet Blast! Pro, which is 200 megabits per second.
Though to clarify, Sonic service actually comes in two types and it’s important to know which you’ll have access to. Those who can get the company’s actual fiber cables coming into their house will get the ultra-fast speeds. Those who must rely on its DSL service get nothing spectacular, which the company is quick to acknowledge, and which is backed up by online reviews.
One complaint some people have had is that Sonic’s rate actually contains hidden charges. For an advertised $40 per month, the company delivers a high-speed Internet connection and basic telecom features. However, taxes and rental of a proprietary router can boost the monthly charge to $70. That bundle includes several email accounts, phone service and web hosting.
It’s not possible to only get Internet, you must buy the bundle.
What this doesn’t include is the type of TV and movie package provided by Comcast.
I’ve had Sonic now for a few months and thus far the speeds have been good and the service helpful. My take: it’s a good service for those who have found themselves frustrated by Comcast and AT&T. But only if you live where Sonic has fiber. To find that out, you’ve got to call them and give them your address and they’ll look you up. It’s block-by-block in Glen Park at this point, so an address is key.
MonkeyBrains
The other option for those looking to ditch Comcast or AT&T is Monkeybrains.net. This SoMa -based company is building out a network of microwave relay stations placed on rooves which deliver Internet service. It’s currently installed on more than 1,000 buildings within the city.
The company guarantees at least 10 megabits per second but on average tends to report speeds closer to 25 to 30 megabits, a staffer told the Glen Park News. Customers must be within two kilometers of one of its antennas, which isn’t an issue in Glen Park but can be in other neighborhoods.
The limitations are that your house or apartment has to have an unobstructed line-of-sight view between one of Monkeybrain’s antennas. Trees, billboards, taller buildings, or one of San Francisco’s many hills can block the signal. The company can usually tell would-be customers right away whether it’s available where they live.
They’ve also got to be able to get up on your roof, install their antenna and run a wire from it down into your house. They do try for “a clean look” by running it along a pipe or something else, the company staffer said. They then drill a small hole to get the wire inside and then install a wireless router so that you have access throughout your house.
The residential service costs $35 per month, billed quarterly, with no contracts or hidden fees. They do not offer any type of phone or cable TV bundle, it’s all just Internet. The residential package is symmetric, meaning customers get equal bandwidth for download and upload. Most other companies offer faster download speeds than upload.
Contributing: Elizabeth Weise
FYI you can use your own router with Sonic to save $10 a month.
I am happy with Sonic. Note that you can use your own router (e.g., Eero or other router) with the gigabit internet service. However, you may want to consider Sonic’s router. Having this service available in Glen Park is an advantage over other areas of the city, i.e., other services may cost more and have lower or inconsistent speeds, especially with respect to upload speeds.
I’ve been dying to dump Comcast, and as soon as Sonic started papering the neighborhood with their flyers last fall, I signed up. I was told that it would be available at my house in December. In December, I received a notice to schedule my installation. The day it was scheduled, I got an email saying it wasn’t quite ready, but they’d let me know as soon as it was. Not having heard anything by the end of January, I emailed and asked for an update. I was told it would be ready to install in February and they would notify me when it was. Having heard nothing by mid-March, I emailed again asking for an update and was told it had now been pushed to May. Technically I guess they haven’t yet broken their promise to notify me when it’s ready. But you’d think when they know a date they had committed to was going to slip, that they would pro-actively give people a heads-up. Unfortunately I’ve been paying Comcast month-to-month rather that locking myself into a cheaper contract so I could make the switch to Sonic when it was available. At this point, even if Sonic is really going to be ready this month, it’s going to take a long time before any savings balance out the extra I’ve been paying Comcast for the last 9 months. So my advice to anyone thinking about joining Sonic is this: If service isn’t ready for your house NOW, make your decision as if Sonic doesn’t exist. Whenever your next contract is about to expire, check in with Sonic again. But don’t wait for Sonic based on any “coming soon” estimates they might give you.
At the Goldmine Hill Homeowners Association in Diamond Heights the board of directors recently approved Monkeybrains to erect an antenna, wire our buildings and promote their service in elevators, as a Comcast alternative. It’s been a few months. I don’t know anyone who has switched over to them, but we have not received any complaints from the homeowners. Sometimes no news is good news.
I have to admit this is a bit of a strange article. Comcast is the most hated company in America:
https://www.pcmag.com/news/350979/comcast-is-americas-most-hated-company?amp=1
Monopolies do that to customers.
Sonic is one of the most responsible corporate citizens out there.
Yes, all DSL sucks. But if you have any sort of potential to get out of Comcast, it’s an absolute no brainer. Sonic will be servicing most of Glen park and the excelsior by October. Monkeybrainz is a great alternative if sonic can’t reach you.
It’s not a question of the details of the tech, but what you value. I don’t understand why anyone would go for Comcast under anything but the absolute last resort.