[NBLUG/talk] Sonic dsl?

[ME]

First, I have has an account with Sonic for a long time. They have been
great. I used them as dialup, and for DSL, and then I moved to a new place
where they had DSL, but I still keep my sonic dialup account.

Sonic is good for Linux and many OS as you can get static IP addresses.
This means you can run services from your IP without playing any games
with DDNS.

Sonic has been more responsive to problem resolulution with any DSL issues
that PacBell. It seems the people at sonic know who at PacBell to talk to
about getting service retored or working. You try that directly with
PacBell as an end user and you generally only get a question that implies
services, but little service, ("How can we provide you with excellent
service?" I think they ask because they have not the people necessary to
meet their obligations and they really want to know how they can provide
excellent service.) Pardon, I have had mostly bad experiences with PacBell
anytime I have had to work with them over the phone or in person: they
have missed appointments (multiple times in a row), screwed up the order
(order gone missing, wrong request entered, other reasons). I have found
that if I call to place an order, and then call 3 more times to verify the
order is good, that the order gets further refined each time until they
have it right. Each followup call seems to include them pointing out that
something was missing, or there was a problem.

My parents have PacBell and everytime a new virus/worm makes its rounds,
it seems the PacBell mailservers get killed. They end up having to restore
some of their mail servers and home users end up with multiple duplicate
messages, missing messages, and slow access.

I should note this, "Sonic is a sponsor of NBLUG." I should also note
this, "Though they do not officially support Linux, they are Linux
friendly and provide links from their site to help users of Linux help
themselved to get Linux to work with Sonic."

As for wireless, and sharing, I think Sonic even has a wireless access
point system and has a program to permit their users run hotspots.

I view Sonic as the best choice for general ISP and DSL ISP in Sonoma
County. They have good service. They do what they say. They work on your
behalf with PacBell to get things resolved faster than you can. They are
responsive to network changes. They actually seem to *know* something if
you have a need to talk to their tech support.

-ME

Cal Herrmann said:
> My daughter is encouraging me to get dsl, I have heard good things about
> sonic, here and elsewhere, what modem do they supply?  Googling I see some
> people say they have replaced Broadmax with Westall for better
> performance, not clear. And does sonic's connect well with a wireless?
> Suggestions?
> Thanks, Cal